Jon is a kitchen designer and he is struggling. There are so many other kitchen design businesses in his area that he is finding it difficult to compete.
There are few industries these days that aren’t saturated with new businesses. In 2017, there was a total of 5.7 million businesses in the UK. With so many businesses in operation, a good many of them are likely to be in your sector or industry. So, what can you do to get you noticed?
Unless you are a big fish in your ocean then you won’t have the means to advertise enough to be noticed among all the other businesses. Small firms like yours will not have the resources to out spend the bigger businesses in promoting itself. But, what you can do is out educate them by creating useful and practical content.
Why teach?
When readers learn something new, their brain recognises the content as rewarding and their dopamine levels increase. This makes them want to seek out more content in the future to repeat these feelings of pleasure, and if it’s your content they’re reading they’ll appreciate you for it. It also makes them want to share this valuable resource with others.
Teaching helps your customers
Jon is good at what he does, building quality kitchens, using only the best sustainable materials. He has noticed recently that some of the clients that come to him have little idea about where to start choosing their dream kitchen. He decides to offer them some tips and guidelines in the form of blogposts. He writes about where customers can find out about the different options available to them, he creates case studies of previous clients and how they created their dream kitchen, and he writes about the best materials to use as well as many other topics that he thinks his readers might want to learn about.
By educating his readers about kitchens, Jon benefits in two ways. Firstly people are interested in what he has to teach them so they keep coming back, and they share Jon’s website with all their friends. Secondly, customers have a better idea of what they want when they come to him because his blog posts have given them the guidance they need.
Teaching helps your business
By teaching others about your industry, you show yourself to be knowledgeable; an authority in your subject. Nothing brings more respect than being considered an expert. To teach what you know to your readers, and offer some practical utility puts you at the forefront of your industry and gives you a distinct advantage.
Tileflair are tiling experts – they know everything there is to know about tiles and tiling. Every month they publish blog posts about how to install tiles, how to use them in décor and they give ideas for interior styling using floor and wall tiles. People visit their website because they offer this service for free. This bring them respect in their industry and among their customers, but it also inspires their readers to buy tiles from them.
The more you become known as a business that teaches, the more people will see you as an expert, and a resource, the more opportunities you’ll get for exposure. It is this exposure that helps lift your head up above the crowds of other businesses identical to yours and will nurture those all-important relationships with your business community.
Teaching shows you as an expert
Readers want actionable advice. Once they know you can offer this, they will come to you to learn, and if you deliver again and again your business will benefit. Some of those people may sign up for your service or email list because they want to repay you for the content that helped them, or they’ll want to share your practical advice with others. Either way, you win.
At Rather Inventive we are practicing what we preach. We’ve create many blog posts that inform and teach readers the vital parts of marketing. So, how can you educate your audience? How can you share your knowledge and experience so that they’ll want to visit you again?
—
Image Credit: Cea+ Art Rotterdam