January 19, 2022

There’s a lot involved in not just starting but maintaining a successful podcast. Before you take the leap, it’s important, as with any other marketing tactic, to do your homework and not make an impulsive decision.

Here are three questions to use as a guide:

Question One: Is your business a high ticket, B2B professional services practice?

Reason:  The primary way a high ticket B2B professional services provider builds their business is through relationships. There’s a direct correlation between the growth in high quality relationships a solo or small professional services firm experiences and the overall growth in the business itself.

Properly executed, a podcast can help deepen existing connections and open the door for brand new relationships in a low key, elegant manner. There’s a profound difference between using interruption marketing or social media to sell your service vs. shining the light on someone else, allowing them to talk about themselves and their business, and giving them a piece of content they can point to with pride and use in their own marketing.

Question Two:  Do clients for your business/vertical do a lot of research before they buy?

Reason:  The more complex and higher priced the product or service, the more likely it is that a prospective client will do a lot of research to understand the source and depth of their issues, and develop an understanding of what to look for in the ideal services provider to solve those problems.

For example, a business owner with a complicated business and personal tax return, who is also looking for business advisory services, is highly likely to do extensive research on a services provider, even if that professional has been referred by a trusted third party.

A podcast builds authority (see below) and allows someone to get to know you in a way a blog or website cannot match.

Question Three: Is your perceived authority an important aspect of your marketing?

Reason:  A high quality, consistent podcast allows you to showcase your expertise in a direct and engaging way. The consistency of a podcast over time builds trust as well, trust which only deepens as the library of back episodes grows.

Further, as a former local broadcast news anchor once said to me, whoever is behind the mic in the middle of a city (in his case) or a particular group or industry is viewed as a figure of authority in that region (or group). If you own the mic, he said, then you're at the center of it all.

If the answer to all three of these questions is yes, then you should give thoughtful consideration to launching your own podcast.

 

(This blog post was also posted on LinkedIn.)

©Ray Business Advisors, LLC and John Ray

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About me: I help solo or small professional services firm owners with the confidence and positioning necessary to improve their pricing and change the trajectory of not only their business but their life.

I have a podcast called The Price and Value Journey, which features interviews with industry leaders and audio versions of my blog posts. You can find the podcast on your favorite podcast app.

I also have a book coming out in 2023:  The Price and Value Journey: Raise Your Confidence, Your Value, and Your Prices to Grow Your Business Using The Generosity Mindset.

For more information, go to PriceValueJourney.com