They Ask, You Answer

Brainstorm every question you’ve ever been asked by a prospect or customer. Focus on their fears, issues, concerns, and worries. State them on paper exactly as the buyer would ask (or search) them, not the way you (as the business) would state them.

Just as we did with used cars, take a moment to brainstorm every single reason (fear, worry, question, concern) as to why someone would not buy from your company. What would hold them back? What would keep them from clicking “buy,” swiping their credit card, or writing that big check?

Once you’ve made this list, address these questions honestly and transparently throughout your digital marketing efforts—be it with blog posts, videos, buying guides, webinars, and so on.

How many have been addressed within your sales process?

What does the competition say is a negative about the thing we sell? What do consumers and buyers see as the negatives of our products and services? (Is it that you’re the most expensive? Is your product only a good fit for certain applications?)

And “content marketing” was simply the act of teaching and problem solving to earn buyer trust.

As you might imagine, by doing this, CarMax has eliminated salespeople’s need to think about themselves (wanting a higher commission) over the consumer (finding the right vehicle based on need)—ultimately leading to dramatically more trust during the buying process because customers believe the company, and the salesperson, have their best interest

And when I say “obsession,” I really mean that. It extends past “What are they thinking?” to “What are they searching, asking, feeling, and fearing?”

If you’re going to be good at content marketing as an organization, you’d better be great at understanding exactly what prospects and customers are saying, thinking, feeling, and searching. You must know their pains, worries, issues, and desires. Simply put, you must be dialed in.