Educating customers is something businesses can benefit from, but many don’t.
Some businesses believe that a more educated customer will take away the need for their services and make them less loyal. In my experience, the opposite is true.
Your customer needs you to be the expert. They want a safe pair of hands that will guide and assist them. They want you to do it for them so they can get on with running their own business.
BUT some business owners want more – some want to learn and do it themselves. And let’s face it, if your customer has the desire, then there are many places they can go. They can quickly and easily Google it or YouTube I t… and guess what … if you’re not educating them, your competitors will be! And they may just tempt them into using their services and not yours!
It’s time to empower your customers with knowledge and insights that help them understand your products / services and how they can be of value to them.
Here are 5 ways of educating your customers, together with the benefits:
- Let them know that you feel their pain. People want help from those who know what they’re going through and who can help them solve those issues. The best way to make yourself attractive to a customer is to help them solve their problems
- Let them learn from your mistakes. Point out the mistakes you made, what you did to resolve them and what you learnt from the experience. This shows empathy towards your customers, having overcome some of their struggles yourself. Furthermore, it helps your customers by not letting them fall into the same traps you did!
- Let them get to know the real you. Join in discussions and share your points of view. Attend networking events, speaking engagements and exhibitions. It’s a great way to show that you are the expert in your field. People buy people that they know, like and trust, so get out there and let them know the real you.
- Let them learn from you. Share the knowledge and educate them through “How-to” guides, blogs, videos, hints and tips. Do workshops at exhibitions and even consider creating an online course.
- Continued learning and development. You may be the expert in your industry. However there’s always a place for extra learning and development. Show your contacts that you are eager to expand your knowledge and that you aren’t just resting on your laurels.
As you can see, there are ways you can show that you are the expert and be an educator too.
Giving your customers the confidence that you are there to help and educate them is a win-win in my book. Plus, it’s a great way to stand out from the competition.
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