What Is the Educational Spectrum?

The Educational Spectrum isn’t about talking, convincing, or forcing people to buy something. It’s all about giving, educating, engaging, and helping customers find the right solution for their needs. The pressure to perform and close more deals push salespersons to force customers to buy a product. This makes buyers lose trust in the salesperson and see them as people who just want to make sales. Today, customers are well aware of cold calling, emailing, referrals, old-fashioned sales pitches, and boring claims. It’s high time to bring changes to the marketing approaches and create a marketing plan that educates customers and build trust. You can get help from the professionals at Strategic Marketing Consultants, a digital marketing agency in Atlanta to develop a strategic business marketing plan that earns you more profit.

Most companies think about marketing as a competitive sport and gear their marketing strategies to convince prospects and show them that they are the best choice. The real challenge is to educate your prospects that you are offering the exact solution they are looking for their problem or need. It’s imperative for marketers to say the right things at the right time to build trust and educate their prospects. In order to determine what you should be saying to your target audience at a particular time, the principle of the educational spectrum is used.

Consider the educational spectrum as a horizontal line marked from 0 to 100 from left to right. Each point represents customer behavior, such as their idea to buy a product (not necessarily from you), researching about the products, asking for referrals, and more, respectively. Here is a detailed analysis of the steps taken by the customers on the spectrum from left to right.

• The customer gets the idea to buy a product they need
• They collect basic information regarding the product
• Ask for referrals
• They perform deep research and collect information from the internet
• The customers analyze the data collected and involve in major fact-finding
• They narrow their choices by the process of elimination
• Check social media to find out reviews and testimonials on the product or service
• They eliminate options and choose their favorite product
• Make a decision to buy or not to buy (in this phase, they aren’t sure about from whom to buy)
• They look at the current circumstances, timing, and delays buying
• They commit and buy

When the interest and urgency to buy a product increases, the customers move closer to the right side of the spectrum. If they aren’t interested in purchasing the product, they will retreat to the left side of the spectrum.

From points 80 to 100, heavy decisions are made such as from whom they should buy the product, the transaction happens, and money changes hands.

Why Is It Important to Understand the Educational Spectrum?

As a marketing expert, when you create a marketing plan for your business, it’s vital to understand where your customers are at on this educational spectrum. Most of your prospects will be on the left side of the spectrum if your product or service is new to the market. In such cases, trying to talk them into buying is a complicated process and a waste of time.

On the other hand, if your product is reaching the targets on the right side of your spectrum, you can easily focus on the message of why they should buy from you. If you are focusing on the people who are in the middle part of the spectrum, you must pay special attention to what their objections are and how to overcome them.

What Changes Can You Make to Your Marketing Plan?

Bid Adieu to Boring Claims

As mentioned earlier, customers are aware of all the boring claims and old-fashioned practices salespeople use to force a sale on them. So, using pointless claims, again and again, isn’t going to work or solve your customer’s problems. So, get rid of meaningless claims such as ‘We are the best,’ ‘Leading provider,’ and more.

Say No to Generic Advertising Campaign

According to the experts at Strategic Marketing Consultants, a digital marketing company in Atlanta, sales is all about focusing on the targeted audience at the right time and place. So, avoid running generic advertising campaigns that are created by some random production person without any in-depth knowledge or a strategic plan for your business.

Create a Strategic Marketing Plan

In order to close more sales, it’s essential to perform research to find out where your target audience is in the educational spectrum and create a strategic plan that works at different phases of their journey through the spectrum. This customized plan helps them understand your service or product and make them realize you care for them. It also enables you to get a leg up on your competition and educate your audience to reach a favorable decision.

Hot Buttons Motivate Prospects Across the Educational Spectrum

A hot button is a cue that encourages a person to buy a product or service from you. In other words, it’s an emotional pull that triggers your customers to keep their trust in you and make a purchase. It’s crucial to add hot buttons to your campaign to capture the attention of your audience, address their needs and wants, and help them take an action.

Engaging Content Accelerates Movement Through the Educational Spectrum

Publishing an article or sending a brochure isn’t enough to get the attention of your audience. You must be more creative and deliver high-quality, engaging content that answers the questions of your targeted audience. This includes creating professional videos, podcasts, and other materials that educate your customers and results in a sale. You can get help from top marketing agencies in Atlanta such as Strategic Marketing Consultants to create engaging videos and content that addresses the unique needs of your customers.

A Professional Website

Launching a professional website is the beginning of your digital marketing journey, and having a user-friendly, active, and engaging website educates your audience and helps them make a better decision. It also improves your brand image and moves prospects to the right side of the spectrum quickly.

Understanding the Educational Spectrum and Closing Sales

In this digital world, it’s easier for your prospects to get information and content on what they need and purchase.  It’s crucial for businesses to stand apart from their competition, to close more deals. If the product you are offering is of true value, it’s your responsibility to educate your customers on why they should buy from you. Understanding the education spectrum and personalizing the marketing strategy to meet the needs of your customers at each point of the spectrum will help you bring your customers to the last point on the spectrum and close deals.

The Bottom Line

Getting a customer from the left side to the right side of the spectrum is difficult and can be achieved only through strategic marketing plans. Understanding the educational spectrum and adopting the right marketing plan improves your marketing effectiveness and helps you close more sales.