Providing Value Beyond Sales in Digital Marketing

While income from sales transactions will always be important, digital marketers are increasingly recognizing the need to provide value beyond just making sales. Customers now expect brands to offer relevant and useful information that improves their lives.

To begin with, customers have more options than ever before. If your brand only talks about your products and promotions, customers will tune out and turn elsewhere. However, by providing valuable information and resources, you distinguish your brand as a helpful partner.

Furthermore, valuable brand content unrelated to sales can earn customers’ trust over time. When customers do have a need, they’ll be more likely to turn to your brand that has proven its worth through helpful guidance. Trust leads naturally to transactions down the road.

In addition, valuable brand content demonstrates your expertise and thought leadership within your industry. It shows customers that you understand their concerns and have solutions they may not have considered. This positions you as an authority worthy of their business.

To provide value beyond sales, focus on creating content that informs, educates and entertains customers in useful ways. Examples include:

• How-to guides and tutorials
• Informational articles and news
• Educational webinars and videos
• Interviews featuring industry experts
• Advice columns answering customers’ questions
• Quizzes and personality tests for fun

Avoid being overly promotional within this educational content. Mention your brand and products sparingly only when highly relevant.

Furthermore, distribute valuable content across your owned channels like your website and blog as well as paid and earned media. Update continually so customers keep returning for more informative updates.

In summary, while overt product promotions have their place, valuable brand content demonstrates your brand’s unique ability to offer something beyond transactions – genuine insight, expertise and assistance that improves customers’ lives. By prioritizing the creation of content that goes beyond sales, you build powerful trust, goodwill and authority that enhance customer relationships, nurture brand loyalty and pave the way for future revenue growth. Over time, customers will remember not just what you sell, but also what you’re willing to give – positioning you as a brand worth investing in for the long term.