The Mystery of the Marketing Trilogy Part 2

“What, sir,” I began, hoping for a reaction.

“In regards to…” The Detective replied, trailing off in anticipation that I would explain myself.

Wanting to, but in the end unwilling to extend the game, I replied, “What, sir, is the second part of the Marketing Trilogy, which you are expounding upon.”

“Ah, yes, quite right Watson!” The Detective recovered, and quickly moved into the explanation.

“The What is the tricky part, and the one that so many marketers seem to fall short on. Once your prospects know why they should be interested, the what is literally telling your audience what they need to do to solve their problem. Outline the process. Tell them what they need to do!” The Detective exclaimed.

“By providing a solution you are establishing that you truly know what you are talking about, without having to go through the drudgery of say writing hundreds of articles that, sad to say Watson, are most likely going to get lost in the noise. That said, I cannot in good conscience claim writing and speaking – in the multitude of presentation forms and venues available,  should be eliminated from your ongoing marketing process. However, by directly providing truly rich and most importantly, useful, content you gain the added bonus of building trust. No one feels like you pulled a bait and switch on them. You told them why something was a problem, and what they should do to resolve it.

“But sir, aren’t you giving away what you are trying to sell? Won’t some of your audience just run off with your ideas?” I asked in consternation.

“Ah Watson, that is the beauty of this methodology, and the most difficult part. Telling someone WHAT they must do does not necessarily end their pain. Tell me Watson, if I said to you that to conduct an effective email campaign you must first review your list and segment it demographically, then design a content delivery process with a mixture of usable content and sales promotions utilizing an automated tool, did I or did I not tell you what you must do?”

“Yes, sir, but there is something missing.” I answered cautiously.

“Precisely Watson! And exactly what that something missing is we will review in our next discussion,” said The Detective, effectively ending the discussion for the day.