Customer Education ➔ Builds Trust ➔ Increases Sales

By: Jeff Hennen, Owner, The Rag Company

The Rag Company has long taken the “Education First” approach with customers since its inception over 23 years ago. Educating customers as a priority helps quickly build trust. Building a positive level of customer trust will help increase the likelihood of positive ongoing sales for your business’ products and/or services. Sales are easier to manage and become consistent contributors towards the long-term health and success of your business because they’re built upon a foundation that is as solid as you can get.

Educating your customers can occur in many ways – some planned and some spontaneous. It can be as basic as offering simple experience-based advice over the phone or through email, sharing many of your favorite tips and tricks in a video, or much more detailed in a well-structured class.

The variety and quality of social media tools available today to help educate your customers continue to exponentially add value while dropping in overall cost. The educational power of just your cell phone is undeniable and without limits. Used effectively, it can connect you with customers in ways that were unimaginable in the past.

About five years ago, my team asked if they could start a podcast. My immediate (uneducated, unimaginative, and uninformed) reply was, “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. Who wants to sit and listen to you guys talk about towels for an hour?” Wow, was I ever wrong! What I failed to recognize was the power potential of them effectively building a worldwide customer base for The Rag Company’s expansive range of products through dialogue that was informative, creative, and entertaining – AND cost-effective. Thankfully, they eventually convinced me that the conditions were right to take on this type of project. Five years later, they have proved me wrong with two successful live podcasts broadcast consistently every week. And I’m not embarrassed to say so.

Another, more local example of education The Rag Company conducts is a Spring Clean and Prep demonstration conducted by our IDA Certified training team with our local Porsche club. The training session is consistently sold out each year and results in high ratings and repeat customers.

We have many other examples of how The Rag Company uses education to build trust and increase sales, including our large annual week-long online trade show event, TRCMA, that brings all our vendor-partners from around the world together in our Boise, Idaho, studios the first week of April.

Every business is different, and you’ll need to determine your own best approach in support of customer education. The good news is that developing educational content has never been easier, with relatively low cost and technical barriers to entry, and a customer base that is hungry to learn more.

Ten years ago, The Rag Company was based out of our garage, with one employee trying to figure out the most effective approach towards building The Rag Company brand and business. Education has been our key, and I’m comfortable saying it should become a foundational part of your business as well. 

The time has never been better or more cost effective for you to create your own methods of educating both your current and future customers. Good luck!

*This educational article was provided by The Rag Company, an IDA Diamond Sponsor. It does not constitute an endorsement, guarantee, warranty, or recommendation by the IDA. The IDA makes no representation or warranties about any information contained herein.