The 7 Real Reasons You Need to Be an Expert at Something Employing authority marketing as a strategy to grow your brand and increase your reach as a business has many benefits.
By Brian Ainsley Horn Edited by Dan Bova
This story originally appeared on Personal Branding Blog
Employing authority marketing as a strategy to grow your brand and increase your reach as a business has many benefits.
Authority marketing, which could also be referred to as expert marketing, simply means that you become known as an expert within your field. Most of the time, the process involves you helping customers overcome a problem, writing a book or articles, or it could even include an appearance on podcast broadcasts.
Eventually, when you are seen as an expert, or authority, in your field, your brand will become well known and profitable. In addition to those attributes, there are seven other real reasons you need to be an expert at something, and they are listed below:
1. You Don't Have to Chase Clients, They Will Come to You
Your customers will come to you when you become an expert in your field. Consider Dave Ramsey as an example.
He is thought of as an expert in the field of finances, yet, he doesn't ever lobby for work and doesn't seem to compete with anyone. He simply offers his advice and is seen as an authority; therefore, customers come to him.
They buy his books, they attend his seminars they read his website, all due to the fact that he is now considered an expert in his field.
Related: 7 Steps to Becoming an Expert in Your Field
2. Your Advice is no Longer Called Into Question by Your Customers
In general, when you know someone knows what they are talking about, you probably won't argue with them. A surgeon for example know lots more than we do about the inner workings of the human body.
If they say a person needs a certain operation, within their field of expertise, most people will not argue the point with them. In the same way, once you are considered an expert in your field, your customers will stop questioning your judgment and advice.
3. You Gain Influence Within Your Marketplace
If you are considered an expert within your field, or marketplace, you will be able to influence others within that realm.
For example, if you own a home remodeling company and have worked your way up to being considered an expert in the field, other home remodeling professionals will likely copy, or at least admire, what you do.
This will give you influence within your marketplace and enable you to make changes and voice concerns within your industry.
4. You Can Raise Your Rates For Services Rendered
When a customer hires someone to do a service or to provide a product, they will pay more for it if that person is considered an expert in their field. Using the aforementioned point about Dave Ramsey as an example, this is easily explained.
Would you pay more for a financial book written by a known financial expert like Dave Ramsey than you would a book written by some unknown accountant? Of course you would. In the same way, your customers will be willing to pay more for your services when they see you as an expert.
5. You Will Attract Attention Due to Your Role As Authority
Once you are considered an expert in your field, you will get the attention you deserve.
This could include invites to be on television or radio or could involve publishers asking for you to share your insights in a book. Regardless of how it takes shape, being considered an "expert" will give you the attention and respect you deserve.
Related: The Do's and Don'ts of Business Cards
6. You Have a Clear Understanding of Your Marketing Message
Becoming good at utilizing authority marketing and becoming an expert in your field means you have a clearer understanding of your overall marketing message.
In other words, you have successfully micro specialized within your field to understand where your strengths lie, and therefore understand what your marketing message should be.
As a way to illustrate the point, consider you are an architect by trade. You have taken jobs within a wide range of fields in the past, including everything from drawing home plans to creating the blueprints for major commercial projects.
Consequently, you have a wide range of customers to gear your marketing towards, making it a difficult task. However, if you determine to figure out where your strength as an architect lies, you can then gear your marketing strategy straight to those customers who fit that more narrow category.
For example, perhaps, you determined that commercial jobs are a better fit for you.
If that's the case, you stop marketing to home builders and instead concentrate all your marketing efforts on government municipalities and other business owners who could use your services as a "commercial" architect. As a result, you have focused your marketing strategy and streamlined the process of acquiring clients.
7. Other Authorities and Experts Seek You
You know you are truly an expert when other experts began seeking you out. After all, another expert should be able to recognize the value of what you know.
A good example of this process could include a fitness expert who seeks out another fitness expert to make an awesome workout series that involves both expert's styles of exercise. Another possibility is a syndicated talk show host, who is considered an expert in their field, seeking out an expert within the same field to appear on their show.
Being generally knowledgeable about many things is fine, but you probably won't be considered an expert in anything if you have too broad a reach.
Since the benefits of being an expert in something are so vast, it makes sense to focus on what you are good at and take the steps necessary to become an "expert" in your field.
When you do, the seven benefits listed above will all come to fruition.
Related: Why Learning From Successes Trumps Learning From Failure
