Even when there is a clear sales opportunity, both brands and businesses often do a poor job of providing the kind of detailed, balanced guidance that could positively influence a purchase decision.

Instead, potential customers may go elsewhere to seek out the information which helps them to make a decision – forums, social media and, most crucially, competitor sites.

So, can businesses educate customers, keep them away from competitor sites, and sell more?

At Threekey, we believe that the best sales experiences are subtle – where the buyer is not really aware that they are being sold to.  

With this in mind, here are two quick actions that any sales team can quickly undertake:
 

1. Get to know your potential customers better and sell to a person

Create customer personas so you know who you are talking to.  Combine any in-house sales, feedback and analytics data with freely available information from sources like the Office of National Statistics to build the profiles.  Consider the types of questions that your customers may have and create the content that is likely to help them make a decision and purchase.  This could include online reviews, social media, forums, articles, YouTube videos, and more.
 

2. Look at your competitors and beat them at their own game

It’s worth considering that most of your customers will undertake 90% of their research before they even contact you – or they may not contact you at all.  Once you’ve got a better idea of who your customers are, consider what their purchase journey might be – and have a go yourself. Take a critical view of your own website and your competitors’.  Are there any areas you can learn from or opportunities to capitalise on? Identify the content you need to create to drive more positive purchase decisions.

By making an active attempt to welcome potential customers with compelling, relevant advice that meets their needs at key points during their decision-making process, you’ll be front of mind when they make a purchase decision.  

These steps should be a good starting point but if you need any help – it just so happens we specialise in creating well written compelling content and getting it in front of as many potential customers as possible.