The Economy and Fear

Written by: Gary Horsman

Content Marketing and Fear

How can content marketing help in this economy? 

The economy is what it is. Perhaps the recession is over. We may be in a recovery. Maybe the pain is behind us. I hope that Congress will make the right moves. Business marches forward even surround by uncertainty. No businesses proceeds certain of what’s going to happen. A business owner needs to move forward and operate in a business climate with a strong component of uncertainty about the economy and market conditions.

To help your success you need to think like your customers and potential customers. Think about how the state of affairs affects buyer behavior. If fewer people are buying and buying less then what will you do? If there is a shift in the motivating factors of buyers then you need to understand them. You need to create the motivation with buyers that help them to make a decision to engage your business. This is where content marketing plays a role.

Here are some buyer motivations:

• Fear
• Greed
• Self-indulgence
• Prestige
• Logic

Keep in mind that logic is the weakest of the motivating factors. Today, fear is probably the most powerful motivator. Greed can be a powerful motivator but with more concern and uncertainty the motivation related to greed diminishes.

In this economy, fear is a key motivating force. Both consumers and businesses have fears about buying something of low value. They fear not getting their money’s worth. This fear can be broken down further. Let’s define some more specific fears.

Fear of Waste

Prudent people and good business managers will not waste money. Every dollar counts. Guilt or embarrassment (additional fears) from spending on something that doesn’t work or collects dust on the shelf from lack of use is something to be avoided. As a business you must demonstrate the full value of your products or services. Do not let anyone think that making a purchase from your business may lead to waste.

Fear of Extravagance

Few businesses want to be seen as ostentatious when so many are hurting. Companies have greatly reduced the way they spend on visible items, such as parties and travel so as not to upset their stakeholders. Keep this in mind so that your product or service is seen as an essential – not an extravagance.

Fear of No Cash on Hand

Having the strongest possible cash position is the order of the day. No one wants to have a depleted the bank account. Prudent people and good managers are keeping their bank balances as flush as possible. Keep this in mind and examine whether you can help the cash position of your customers with some creative financing or a special alliance you create that can help the cash position of your clients. Does working with you make things happen quicker, more efficiently or consume fewer internal resources? If es then let people know this as this helps the cash position of your clients and potential clients.

You need to be sensitive to the cash position of your clients in order to do good business.

Here is some advice.

1. Focus on Empathy

When buyers are in fear mode do not make a strong sales pitch. This may only serve to put potential buyers in a more defensive posture. Think about how to add more value by putting yourself in their place. Learn as much as you can about their situation. Create products and services that bring value and communicate how your offering will solve their pain in a compelling way.

Content Marketing Value: Create compelling content about your products and services that removes fear and helps purchasers to make a decision with confidence.

2. Establish a Niche

It’s much harder to create broad appeal in an uncertain market. A commodity approach will only lead to price pressure. Find a need and focus on filling it in a deep and meaningful way. The perceived value may appeal to a smaller market but if your appeal is done well this smaller marketing will be more passionate and your approach can be more focused and more directed to the specific niche.

Content Marketing Value: Do your homework on the niche. Use the language of the niche. Relate to their fears and provide solutions that relate specifically to their concerns. Use content marketing to share and inform your customers and potential customers of your solutions.

3. Make Working with Your Business Fun

In this economy many people are uncertain. This can be depressing and painful to many. Counter balance the general pain with some specific fun by working with your business. How can create some fun? How do you show your appreciation? How do you get people to look forward to meeting with you of talking with you on the phone?

Each of these ideas requires creativity, consistency, and commitment beyond what is typical of most businesses. Ultimately the challenge for a business today is providing an offering that is overall more compelling than the established fears.

Content Marketing Value: Content marketing informs and educates. Content marketing can be entertaining. Be creative with the creation of your content so that people know that your business is professional and has expertise but that your business is also fun to do business with.

Summary

Do the research to understand your audience and then create great content that they an relate to. If you can make your content delightful and fun then this is even better and can be a differentiator in your niche market.

To learn more about content marketing we have create a set of Content Marketing Tutorials. Content marketing is a powerful marketing approach in any economy we trust that you will find these tutorials interesting and valuable.