6 Smarter Ways to Market in a Flat Economy

Baer spoke on content marketing in Sydney

At the recent Content Marketing World Conference US author Jay Baer unpacked his concept of Youtility: marketing so helpful customers would be willing to pay for it.   

And Youtility is what can make you stand out in a flat economy.  Particularly when people have limited money, short attention spans, an overabundance of information and are spoiled for choice. 

It used to be salespeople provided information then closed the sale with customers relying on them for product knowledge.  Now their job is to close the sale with savvy customers armed with online research and willing to move on if they feel something is not right.   

The role of the marketer is also transitioning - from hyping products to helping customers - offering accessible and timely information that will help their customers make decisions and become brand loyalists.

Jay outlined six steps to build a content marketing strategy to set you apart in a tight economy:

• Discover customer needs through market research, keyword search, social chatter etc.
• Map those needs to a specific service or product your organisation has.
• Develop user-friendly information around that product through case studies, tools, tips, apps, videos and other devices.
• Distribute and then market that content through the channels where your customers live.
• Skill your staff to continually come up with information to help customers.

Most importantly recognise that helping customers is a process not a program and marketing today is a marathon not a sprint.  

Other posts:

The age of content is new again 

Four ways to drive content marketing