Education-based marketing is a marketing method that involves sharing information and educational resources with prospects while setting the purchasing criteria they should use to favor your offering. Rather than trying to sell your product or service to a prospect who, all too often, is not ready to commit to the purchase at that moment because they are still researching options, education-based marketing is a way to share your expertise to assist buyers in their decision making.
Let’s face it, consumers no longer rely on advertising messages to make buying decisions. Today’s customers are skeptical and want to do their own research or homework to gather all the facts to make their own decision on what product or service to buy. Add to that the fact that they have way more information at their disposal than at any other time in history. The Internet has made it easier than ever to learn anything about any topic. Education-based marketing gives customers the information they need to understand what your business offers and to appreciate your company’s products and services. Education-based marketing also gives you the opportunity to develop a much deeper relationship with your customers. After all, for a prospect to trust you, they need to be assured they are dealing with the right company that has their best interests in mind.
At any given time, there is only a small percentage of prospects that want what you offer, have the money to pay for it, and are actively seeking the solution that your business provides. According to the research, the percentage of visitors that meet all three criteria is less than 10%.
Why Education-Based Marketing Works
Most marketing strategies are designed to reach only the 10% of prospects who are already actively looking for your product or service. Most business owners spend all their time and resources trying to win a share of this highly competitive segment. But what about the other 90%?
Research indicates that two-thirds of prospects are interested in your products or services but require a bit more of an education to determine that your product or service is the best option. Few business owners know how to access the two-thirds of their ideal clients who have the type of problem their business can solve, but the prospect just requires that extra bit of education to know they need it.
Education-based marketing informs two-thirds of your target market why they need you and why they should buy from you today.
Even if the prospects aren’t willing to buy right now, they may be at some point in the future. Education-based marketing is an excellent way to build trust and goodwill and positions your business as the authority and go-to expert in your industry.
If you think about why people choose to purchase anything, it’s either because it’s a necessity they need right now, or because they’re influenced to buy it. So how do you influence someone to buy something that’s not a necessity? You educate them on how it solves one of their real-world problems. This is the philosophy behind education-based marketing.
What is Education-Based Marketing?
Essentially, the name says exactly what it is. Education-based marketing is marketing that focuses on educating, informing, or entertaining your prospect with content. With education-based marketing, you are leading with value. Said another way, you are giving value to the prospect before they commit to making a purchase. Moreover, education-based marketing is the sharing of knowledge to build trust and reciprocity. It is a strategy that establishes credibility and trust with your prospects through educational messaging.
Rather than simply pitching or trying to make a sale which is what the vast majority of marketing efforts do, and can be perceived as cold, aggressive, or sleazy, with education-based marketing, you are leading first with value and make a much better first impression.
The Value Ladder
I recommend that you provide the prospect with a good degree of value directly on your website or channel. You can drive traffic to your free content by following good SEO practices, choosing keywords wisely, using hashtags, and of course running paid ads.
Once a prospect lands on your value-rich education-based squeeze page, I encourage my clients to add a call to action to download a report or some additional piece of information to enhance their knowledge even more. This is not your sales brochure. The content you provide is in exchange for the prospect’s email address and needs to be something that the prospect will really value while seeming logical to provide an email address to get it.
For example, I alternate between providing a free 126-page eBook or an 8-page pdf report in exchange for the prospect’s email. It is easy for the prospect to see that you would need an email to send this kind of information, so it seems natural to have to provide an email address to get it.
Providing an email address is a prospect’s first micro commitment as you move them up your value ladder. Of course, once you have their email, you can continue to build upon the trust that you have earned and share your paid offerings as well as more valuable content to deepen the level of trust without renting someone else’s audience as you do when you run a paid ad.
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