Youtility

02The Power of Being Helpful in Marketing

Ever wondered why your meticulously crafted marketing campaigns aren't yielding the desired results? Maybe it's time to rethink your strategy. Instead of focusing on hyping up your products or services, why not try being helpful? This is the core idea behind 'helpful marketing', a concept that Jay Baer explores in his book "Youtility: Why Smart Marketing Is about Help Not Hype". So, what exactly is 'helpful marketing'? Picture a salesperson who, instead of pushing a product, offers you valuable advice or solutions to your problems. That's helpful marketing in a nutshell. It's about providing value to your customers, not just selling to them. It's like the difference between a pushy door-to-door salesman and a trusted advisor. The former might make a quick sale, but the latter builds a lasting relationship. This relationship-building is where the real power of helpful marketing lies. By providing value and solving problems, you build trust and loyalty among your customers. And loyal customers are worth their weight in gold. They not only buy more but also become advocates for your brand, bringing in new customers through word-of-mouth. It's like planting a seed and nurturing it into a tree, which then bears fruit year after year. Several companies have successfully implemented this strategy. For instance, the home improvement store Lowe's created a series of 'how-to' videos on YouTube, providing valuable DIY tips to their customers. Instead of directly promoting their products, they focused on helping their customers solve problems. The result? Increased trust, loyalty, and ultimately, sales. Another example is the tax software company, TurboTax. They created an online community where users could ask tax-related questions and get answers from experts. Again, the focus was on being helpful, not selling. And it paid off, with increased customer loyalty and repeat business. This shift from hype to help is not just a more ethical approach to marketing, but it's also more effective in the long run. It's like choosing to build a sturdy bridge instead of a flashy billboard. The billboard might catch people's attention, but the bridge will get them to where they want to go. And isn't that what marketing is all about? So, next time you're planning a marketing campaign, ask yourself: How can I be helpful? How can I solve my customers' problems? Because in the end, the companies that help the most are the ones that succeed the most. And isn't that a goal worth striving for?

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