Share your Wealth of Knowledge and Reap the Rewards

It is customary in South Africa to closely guard ones knowledge and abilities – particularly in the professional arena.

Fact 1 – You’re the Expert

By sharing what you know and how you do things, you are not giving away trade secrets. You are showing a potential customer that you are worth what you charge and that you have an in-depth knowledge about what you do. Sharing what you know develops confidence in what you do on the part of your customer. The key when sharing knowledge, is to provide information that adds real value to a customer by increasing their understanding of your product and/or area of expertise.

Fact 2 – They will Hire You

Maybe you enjoy servicing your car, or even know what there is to know about your car’s engine. Even if the garage gave you step-by-step instructions on how to perform the service yourself - do you have the tools, or the time to do that service? Probably not, so you will be sending your car to a reputable garage instead!

In virtually all areas of specialization there is either an understanding, but limited degree of experience/proficiency in carrying out a task, or simply a time/capacity/resource constraint that requires the hiring of a professional. What we are trying to illustrate here is that by giving customers valuable information, you are certainly not going to lose the work. Quite the opposite in fact.

Fact 3 – You’re Unique

You may understandably be concerned about the competition getting hold of your secrets, or doing things the way you do. Fear not! for it is your method of service delivery or a particular product benefit that sets you apart from your competitor. This differentiator needs to be defined and utilized! By providing practical tips, valuable statistics and relevant insights you won’t be giving away information in detriment to your business.

Fact 4 – You’re Open and Honest

Back in the day, being secretive about an ingredient or a process may have been intended to reserve something particularly special. To another audience from another time – this may have been rather attractive. By being overly secretive about products and processes today however (and we have seen companies who still label their process as ‘Secret’), potential customers can be put off – even if subconsciously – as this may be construed as dishonesty even if it isn’t intended that way!. We live in a society that over the last decade has transformed how it shares and distributes information. Think Wiki Leaks and no more need be said.

Round-up

Sharing information and knowledge is probably one of the most valuable marketing approaches a company can take.

Instead of only saying you’re the best, or showcasing your successes, you are in a subtle manner, proving that you’re a serious player, while allowing your customers to develop a relationship of trust with you, making the acquisition of new customers a simpler reality.

© 2011 Jolene Bestbier. Author. i-literate.