Education-based marketing is a solid fundamental that you need to be leveraging in your business, and it’s so simple many people consider it an eCommerce hack. If you implement the 3 strategies I outline on this podcast, you’ll see higher engagement rates, more repeat buyers, and a stronger presence in your market. Don’t miss all the details on this great episode of Marketing For eCommerce.
What is education-based marketing?
You’ve heard of content marketing, but are you aware of education-based marketing? Simply, it’s marketing that seeks to share knowledge while building a relationship of trust between a buyer and a company. Rather than telling your audience about your product’s features and specs, you paint a bigger picture of the entire market, industry, and why the buyer needs the solution your product offers.
Strategy #1 – Leverage market data vs. product data
Education-based marketing starts by sharing market data, not just product data. Your market should know the broader benefits of using your product or service, not just why product X is better than product Y. For example, when a carpet cleaning company started putting out content about how having clean carpets benefits a family's health, they had customers go from purchasing once every 3 years to twice a year. It’s all about identifying the angles that pique a customer’s interest, and that curiosity doesn’t come from simply sharing product specs.
Strategy #2 – Identify your competitors’ smoking gun
The second strategy for education-based marketing involves identifying the weak points in your competitors' businesses. When done gracefully, it can guide customers towards your products rather than everyone else’s. When utilizing strategy #2, you can choose to highlight the stronger areas of your business, rather than speak out negatively against your competitors. For example, does your company offer a better product return policy or service liability protection? If you can educate your customers on the potential pitfalls of selecting another company, you can capture their trust and long-term business.
Strategy #3 – Share your process with your audience
The first company to share their process with an audience captures their attention on the subject, even if your competitors have the exact same process. The audience associates that positive, educational experience with YOUR company and not your competitors. That’s why sharing HOW you do business can be such a powerful method of education-based marketing. Be the first to tell that story and you’ll be glad you invested the time into the storytelling process.
Using these strategies in your business is simple, and it starts with reading all that you can about your market, the trends, your competitors, and the bigger picture behind WHY you’re selling your product. Then, identify the points of interest that can be shared with your audience. Latch onto a few ideas, make it your calling card, and watch your engagement rates skyrocket. For the full story, don’t miss this episode.
Outline of This Episode
- [0:30] There’s power in education-based marketing
- [2:55] Strategy #1 – Use product data vs. market data
- [7:07] Strategy #2 – Find the smoking gun in your competitors
- [9:00] Here’s your action plan for using education-based marketing
- [10:27] Strategy #3 – Share your process
Resources & People Mentioned
- BOOK: “The Ultimate Sales Machine: Turbocharge Your Business with Relentless Focus on 12 Key Strategies”
Connect With Bryan Bowman
- On Facebook
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