Education-Based Marketing Sells

In the article, “Education Based Marketing Sells” , the author gives example situations to convince the customers. More generally, tele- marketing and salesperson’s daily examples are given. For example Company X wants to sell a telephone system and uses the old method they calles some big companies and try to tell their new product. In fact, according to the article, 5 or more years old telephone systems are not useful now and should be changed, if the change done the companies will have more benefits then they ever imagine. After discovering education based marketing, three steps are necessary to convince the customers.
Step 1- Company X must target bigger companies.The bigger the company, the bigger the phone system. The bigger the phone system, the bigger the sales potential.
Step 2- The salespeople called the 2,000 largest companies in their market with two simple questions: "Hi, we're doing our annual telephone system survey. I just need to know two things. What is the model of your phone system and how old is it?" By the way they got 508 companies’ telephone system information.
Step 3- Now education based marketing comes, company X has a list, when they call to these companies they offer one thing; "We have a new educational program entitled The Nine Ways You're Wasting Money on Your Voice and Data Spending. We've been in the telephone business for 10 years now and we've found that every company wastes money on its voice and data spending in at least nine areas. We've put together a white paper to teach companies how to stop wasting and start saving money. If you ever need any help at all with your voice, data, or telephone system needs, we want you to know about us. So we're sending you our white paper."
This new method increases the appointments from 3 to 30 in a week.Company X’s revenue also increases.
Cristine Comaford-Lynch also submits that three inefficient ways of education based marketing and their efficient ways examples:
For a real estate agency;
Ineffective offer: "Let me teach you why you should list your house with me."
Effective offer: "Let me teach you the five mistakes everyone makes when selling a house. No matter who you list with, you'll need to know these things."
The whole article is about building a warm relationship with your customers, building a rapport. When you sold something, you often break the rapport. However if you are educated, you won’t break the relationship, your credibility increases, when you begin meetings with data to the prospect.
If a company embraces education based marketing, it will out market its competitors at every turn. Education based marketing attracts more buyers, even they did not think of buying something. It provides wider viewpoint, attracts more people if the education is done properly, and also gives high percentage of expectations.

Çiğdem Tümer

Education-Based Marketing Sells. By: Comaford-Lynch, Christine, Business Week Online, 00077135, 10/9/2007