They Ask You Answer

They Ask You Answer

by Marcus Sheridan, Krista Kotrla
Released January 2017
Publisher(s): Wiley
ISBN: 9781119312970

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Book description

A revolutionary marketing strategy proven to drive sales and growth

They Ask You Answer is a straightforward guide to fixing your current marketing strategy. Regardless of your budget, you are almost certainly overspending on television, radio, and print ads, yet neglecting the number-one resource you have at your disposal: the Internet. Content marketing is no longer about keyword-stuffing and link-building; in fact, using those tactics today gets your page shuffled to the bottom of the heap. Quality content is the key to success, and you already have the ingredients in-house. This book shows you how to structure an effective content strategy using the same proven principles that have revolutionized marketing for all types of businesses, across industries.

Author Marcus Sheridan's pool company struggled after the housing collapse; today, they're one of the largest pool installers in the U.S., turning away millions of dollars in business they simply cannot accommodate every year. How did he manage it? He answered questions. This book shows you how Marcus's strategy can work for your business, and how to use your keyboard to bring customers through the door.

  • Boost your company's web presence with methods that work
  • Build a level of trust that generates customer evangelism
  • Leverage your in-house resources to produce winning content
  • Utilize tactics that work, regardless of industry or sector

When people have questions, they ask a search engine. If you have answers, the right content strategy will get them to the top of the search results and seen by millions of eyes every day. Drop the marketing-speak, stop "selling," and start answering. Be seen as an authority, not just another advertisement. They Ask You Answer describes a fresh approach to marketing and the beginning of big things for your business.

Table of contents

  1. Foreword
  2. PART I A Very Different Way of Looking at Business, Marketing, and Trust
    1. Chapter 1 The Fall
      1. How I Became a “Pool Guy”
      2. 2001–2008: The False Economy
      3. 2008: The Wheels Start to Fall Off
    2. Chapter 2 A Massive Buying Shift and the Blur between Sales and Marketing
    3. Chapter 3 This Book Won’t Work for You If . . .
    4. Chapter 4 The Discovery of They Ask, You Answer
    5. Chapter 5 “They Ask, You Answer” Defined
    6. Chapter 6 Brainstorming the Questions You Are Asked Every Day
      1. Putting It Into Action
    7. Chapter 7 The Ostrich Marketing Strategy
    8. Chapter 8 The CarMax Effect
      1. The Beginnings of CarMax and a New Way to Sell
      2. Putting It Into Action
    9. Chapter 9 The Discovery of the Big 5
    10. Chapter 10 Content Subject 1 Pricing and Costs: Why We Must Talk about Money
      1. 1. Every Solution Is Different
      2. 2. Our Competitors Will Find Out What We Charge
      3. 3. We’ll Scare Customers Away
    11. Chapter 11 How One Article about Money Generated More Than $3,000,000 in Sales
      1. Putting It Into Action
    12. Chapter 12 Case Study 1 High-End B2B Technology Company Generates More Than $8,000,000 in Additional Revenue
      1. About Segue Technologies
      2. The Snowball Begins
      3. Segue Technology’s Astounding Growth
      4. Improving the System to Produce Content
    13. Chapter 13 Content Subject 2 Problems: How to Turn Weaknesses into Strengths
    14. Chapter 14 Addressing the Elephant in the Room
    15. Chapter 15 How Talking about Our Problems Generated More Than $500,000 in Revenue
      1. Putting It Into Action
    16. Chapter 16 Case Study 2 An Equipment Financing Company Becomes a Digital David and Conquers the Industry Goliaths
      1. About Smarter Finance USA
      2. Smarter Finance USA Embraces They Ask, You Answer
      3. Smarter Finance USA Focuses on Educating Small Business Owners Searching for Equipment Loans Online
      4. Smarter Finance USA’s Educational Content Pays Off in a Big Way
    17. Chapter 17 Content Subject 3 Versus and Comparisons
      1. The Results
      2. Putting It Into Action
    18. Chapter 18 The Critical Need for Unbiased Content
      1. Disarmament: The Quickest Way to Build Trust
    19. Chapter 19 Content Subjects 4 and 5 Reviews and Best in Class
      1. Putting It Into Action
    20. Chapter 20 Using Reviews to Establish Yourself as an Expert
    21. Chapter 21 The Impact of Discussing the Competition
      1. Putting It Into Action
    22. Chapter 22 Case Study 3 Small Retail Appliance Store Dominates Online and Makes Millions
      1. About Yale Appliance
      2. A CEO Becomes the Head of Business Development
      3. Yale Appliance Tackles the Tougher Questions
      4. Yale Appliance’s Success with Inbound Marketing
    23. Chapter 23 The Competition
      1. The Bad Fits
      2. The Customer
    24. Chapter 24 How They Ask, You Answer Saved River Pools and Spas
  3. PART II The Impact of They Ask, You Answer on Sales Teams
    1. Chapter 25 How Great Content Is a Total Game-Changer for Sales Teams
      1. Seven Major Benefits of Sales Teams Embracing They Ask, You Answer
    2. Chapter 26 A Dramatic Discovery
    3. Chapter 27 Assignment Selling
      1. An Example of Assignment Selling in Action
      2. The Special Rights of the Teacher
      3. What Homework Can Tell Us about the Prospect
    4. Chapter 28 How One Remarkable Couple Changed My Perspective on the Power of Content to Sell
    5. Chapter 29 Content Never Sleeps
    6. Chapter 30 Using Assignment Selling to Avoid Common Sales Pitfalls
    7. Chapter 31 Using Assignment Selling to Determine Compatibility
    8. Chapter 32 Case Study 4 How a Start-Up Company in the Health Care Space Became the Thought Leaders of an Entirely New Industry
      1. Phase 1: Uniting the Marketing and Sales Silos
      2. Phases 2 and 3: Live Webinars and Events
      3. Success and Plans for the Future
  4. PART III Implementation and Making It Culture
    1. Chapter 33 The Power of Insourcing and Using Your Team to Create Incredible Content
    2. Chapter 34 How Block Imaging Embraced a Culture of Insourcing
      1. The Silos Must Be Eliminated
      2. Understanding the What, How, and Why
    3. Chapter 35 Starting Off They Ask, You Answer with a Bang Company Workshops
      1. Principle 1: Consumer Expectations Have Changed
      2. Principle 2: The Way Google and Other Search Engines Work
      3. Principle 3: The Way Consumers Search and the Big 5
      4. Principle 4: Group Brainstorm of Content Ideas
      5. Principle 5: The Impact Content Can Have on the Sales Process and Closing Rates
      6. Principle 6: The Reason Why Everyone’s Voice, Talents, and Knowledge Are Critical for Success
      7. Principle 7: The Editorial Guidelines Going Forward
      8. Principle 8: A Look into the Future
    4. Chapter 36 The Content Manager Qualities, Hiring, and More
      1. Someone Must Own It
      2. Duties of a Content Manager (per Week)
      3. Choosing the Right Leader of Your Content Marketing Efforts
      4. Ten Essential Qualities of Great Content Marketing Managers
      5. Why a Trained Journalist May Be a Perfect Match for Your Content Marketing Needs
      6. How Do You Ensure the Candidate Is  a Match for the Organization And Brand?
    5. Chapter 37 On the Importance of Tools Measuring Return on Investment, the Power of HubSpot, and More
      1. 1. The Continuous Ability to Measure ROI of Your Digital Marketing Efforts
      2. 2. The Ability to Track Lead Behavior and Use This Advanced Intelligence throughout the Sales Process
      3. 3. The Ability to Track SEO
      4. 4. The Ability to Test Your Website
  5. PART IV Your Questions Answered
    1. Chapter 38 How Do I Find More Time to Make This Work within My Organization?
      1. Every Single E-mail You Ever Send Out That Answers a Question Very Well May Be a Blog Post
      2. Start Talking to Yourself Out Loud—a Lot
      3. Participate in Blogathons or Videoathons with Employees
      4. Get a Content Manager . . . Yesterday
      5. Insourcing Is Huge
      6. Learn How Each Employee Best Communicates, and Then Run with It
      7. Turn On the Camera and Hit “Record”
      8. Stop Doing the Thing That Does Not Bring the Greatest Returns
      9. Is It about Time, or Is There Something Else Really Going On Here?
    2. Chapter 39 Just How Important Is Video to Inbound and Content Marketing? How Does It Relate to They Ask, You Answer?
      1. Everyone Is a Media Company
      2. If They Can’t See It, It Doesn’t Exist
      3. We Must Show It
    3. Chapter 40 How Long Will It Take They Ask, You Answer to Work?
      1. Doing Content Marketing the “Right” Way
      2. Five Stages of Content Marketing Success
    4. Chapter 41 Is Content Marketing and They Ask, You Answer Just a Fad?
      1. What Exactly Is Content Marketing?
    5. Chapter 42 How Can I Keep My Team Engaged in the Content Production Process?
      1. Ten Ways to Keep Your Employees Motivated to Participate in Content Marketing
    6. Chapter 43 “I’ve Been Told If We’re Not Adding Anything New to the Conversation, Then We Shouldn’t Be Talking about It”
    7. Chapter 44 A Revolutionary Marketing Strategy
  6. Index
  7. EULA

Product information

  • Title: They Ask You Answer
  • Author(s): Marcus Sheridan, Krista Kotrla
  • Release date: January 2017
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9781119312970