The truth is, we get asked questions all the time throughout the workday.

Out on a sales consulting call, inside the clientCONNECT Center, or in the middle of a courtesy service call, we address concerns, issues and challenges customers face — no matter how miniscule or massive they might seem. But how does that in any way relate to producing content? We’re not marketers. We certainly don’t consider ourselves writers. Why should we get involved? And how? By helping us, you're helping you.  

“They Ask, We Answer.” It’s a company-wide opportunity for creating relevant content on the web and in collateral that matters most to our audience. It’s a simple, yet effective approach at addressing key elements of our products, services, processes, and transactions that people most want answers on. By keeping your eyes and ears peeled, you can share this information with our marketing team, and our collective ideas will come alive through fresh — and ultimately, relevant — content. 

Buy why include everyone? The short answer is this:

• Our customers’ biggest questions are fielded by everyone,
• Resolving their greatest concerns is a role of everyone, and
• Having our fingers on the pulse of both prospects and customers is a reality for everyone.

By not including everybody, we’re missing out big time.

Consider what Marcus Sheridan, author of “They Ask, You Answer,” says about a similar approach his company took: “If anybody has ever asked it, we feel it’s our moral obligation to address it,” Marcus says.

Marcus owned a successful pool business until the 2008 market crash. He knew a different approach was his only chance at survival. So he sat down at his kitchen table late one night and began listing out every single question that he’d been asked —ANYTHING! — about pools. He then began blogging about them, providing concise, honest answers to each.

His pool website eventually became the most visited site of its kind in the world.

“Just think of ourselves as buyers. Say I’m looking at a car, I begin to wonder what questions I should be looking for,” Datamax Inc. President Barry Simon said. “If we can answer those questions people are asking about our business, those people look at us being the experts. We are creating a relationship that has value for that customer. And we’re not always competing on price. We’re creating value.”

Here’s 5 Ways that ‘They Ask, We Answer’ is a Valuable Initiative for All of Us.

1. Let’s start with our tagline – particularly the first word.

“When we began creating the Datamax Little Blue Book, we kept coming back to that word (relevant). We wanted to be relevant, in everything that we did and said,” Simon said.

We can’t be relevant without continuously feeling the pulse of what customers are wanting from us.

As defined in the Little Blue Book, relevance to us is "about the customers and the needs they convey, not about us, or assumptions of what we think they need." In the end, it's our belief that great sales and raving customers will come from such. 

2. We can all be better listeners.

Research shows that we’re not all that good at it.

According to Jaynie L. Smith, author of "Relevant Selling:"

98% of the time companies have little or no internal agreement on what matters most to customers. External customer alignment falls apart. This is why most companies are not engaged in Relevant Selling. Price trumps value if you don't know how your customers define value. Internal strategic decisions risk going aground when the customer perspective is ignored,” Jaynie said.

How closely we pay attention to, record, and pursue answers to the questions clients are asking directly correlates to how closely we're really listening. It's a lost art.  It defines what we're talking about,  the content we’re publishing. and our overall relevance as an organization. By listening, really listening, we give ourselves the opportunity to become not just another vendor, but a trusted expert and partner.

3. We’re all subject matter experts.

There's a reason all jobs matter. All have insights we want to tap in on. 

Datamax Philosophy #4: “To invest in the continued development of our employees’ skills and knowledge. It’s not there just to fill the white space. It's a call to action for our organization.

Whether it’s advanced technical training, online tutorials or just the mentorship of superiors, we are all given the tools to become the best in our field in each individual role. We have the capacity – and, with the “They Ask, We Answer” initiative, the opportunity – to link our expertise to essentially what questions should be answered and what content should be shared with customers.

4. Our buyers are smarter than we think.

Google things much? So do our buyers. If they’re not informed on services and solutions related to our industry, they’ll learn soon enough through a few minutes of online searching. Our simple choice is this: Hey, they’ll either learn from us, or they'll learn from the competition.

As Sheridan says, buyers expect to be educated, and understood. If they don’t feel these things (when they’re on our website or talking to our sales team) they will quickly move on to someone that is willing to hear their questions and answer them.

We better know our story. And we better be sharing it online. 

5. We’re all together in the trust business.

Whether we’re selling copiers or sports cars, trust is the one business we all share. How do you engineer more trust than anyone else? By building a culture of listeners and teachers. Which is exactly the foundation that “They Ask, We Answer” hopes to create. Through relevant content. Through valuable trust. And through simply answering questions that are top of mind of the ones we serve.

Or look at it like this: If they’re asking, it’s our moral obligation to personally address it.