I need to get my vehicle fixed. The mechanic I know, he is skilled enough to fix my problem, but I don’t trust him to deliver on those skills. So I will take business somewhere else. He is a nice guy and all, but I have work to do…
There is respect for the mechanic, but not trust.
Trust and credibility is a function of your integrity and your way of doing business.
Respect and authority is a function of your skills.
As a creative entrepreneur, I need both. I need you to
- respect my skills to solve your problem, and
- trust my character to deliver the product/service on time.
There is a one unifying action you can take to get both.
Education as Marketing
To reach your potential client, you have spent time and money.
What if you can use the same time and money, but get trust and respect in return as well?
And as we have seen, we need trust and respect to be able to make more sales. And when it comes to online selling, where face-to-face interactions are “still” limited (live video is changing that to an extent though)… you need to apply the tactics even more so.
Which is a good thing. Marketing needs your input to make it more humane, more helpful and more useful. More pull and less push.
There are a lot ways to do marketing:
- pamphlets/brochures,
- websites/blogs,
- emails…
- Facebook updates, Instagram stories,
- YouTube videos
- even casual conversations
- introductions at weddings and dinners (this becomes tactic # 3 in these 3 fundamental tactics for beginner creative entrepreneurs).
How can you make the above “marketing” efforts more educational for your clients? How can you make the same informational marketing material more useful?
[notification type=”alert-info” close=”false” ]Also, to be clear, I am not saying that all education should be treated as marketing. Quite the opposite: I am saying that most marketing should be treated as education. [/notification]
Get the most out of your advertising
One of my clients was a photographer, and he wanted to get more clients.
“Who is your primary audience?” I asked
“Advertising agencies,” he said. This was news to me.
“OK, aand what is the biggest pain point they have when it comes to hiring a photographer? Write a pamphlet with a title what’s like: “5 things ad agencies need to look out for when hiring a professional photographer”
That becomes your leaflet, your pamphlet. Mail those to all ad agencies in your city, and if you want to take this a step further: find out the decision maker who hires photographers within each agency and address your registered letters to him/her directly.”
This is completely different from sending out a “me too” type of pamphlet/brochure. A pamphlet usually is used to inform. You can use your pamphlet to actually educate.
Education > Trust and Respect
Instead of “just” advertising, lets start educating our potential clients.
Worst case scenario: people don’t buy from you, but you still leave an impression. You end up talking to the right audience and give them something of true value. Best case scenario: people thankfully buy from you because they see you as the authority.
Here’s a question for you: How do you plan to get more clients for your business/brand? Let me know in the comments section below.
