One of the highlights of the Social Media Marketing World conference that I recently attended was a presentation by Marcus Sheridan, owner of River Pools & Spas, and creator of The Sales Lion blog.
Marcus shared his story about how he was able to rescue his pool business from near bankruptcy when the recession hit in 2008, by starting a blog. Marcus did something unique with his very first article, that no other pool builder had done before. He wrote an article that talked about how much a fiberglass pool costs.
Marcus was following the Golden Rule of Blogging and Content Marketing which is, “They Ask, You Answer.”
The most popular question River Pools ever received from a prospect was, “How much is this pool going to cost?” The answer was, it depends. Much like a car, there are different options. So, the article explained that.
The fact that he was willing to address this issue in a blog catapulted his company to number one on Google for a dozen search terms.
It generated over a hundred leads alone. And Marcus says that one article has brought him $1.7 million in revenue since that time.
Many businesses are reluctant to address the cost issue on their website because they are worried about the competition, and that they may scare away customers if their prices are perceived as too expensive.
The trouble with this theory is that these two groups don’t pay your bills. You should be more concerned with what your real prospects want to know. If someone thinks you’re too expensive, then they probably aren’t the right client for you anyway!
Take the time to listen to your customers and prospects. Then, answer their questions in your blog. You’ll be amazed at what a little honesty can do to enhance your reputation and generate sales for your business.
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