How to Leverage Buyer Beliefs to Improve Your Marketing

Wish you were more persuasive? Wondering how to tap into people's beliefs to improve your marketing results?

In this article, we’ll explore how people’s beliefs impact the buyer journey.

Why Beliefs Matter in Marketing

As marketers, we often use tactics and strategies to reach our target market and audience. But what if there was a more fundamental approach that could make all our efforts more effective? Billy Broas, author of Simple Marketing for Smart People, argues that understanding customer behavior and shaping their beliefs is the key to a successful marketing strategy.

Beliefs are at the core of why people buy products or services. Billy defines a belief as “an acceptance that something is true.” When your potential customers have the right beliefs, they're much more likely to see the value in your offer. This concept goes beyond simple features and benefits; it's about creating a mindset that aligns with your product or service.

The ‘Curse of Knowledge’

The problem is that many marketers assume their audience already has the necessary beliefs. This is what Billy calls the “curse of knowledge.” When you're an expert in your field, it's easy to forget that others don't share your understanding or perspective. In other words, you see all the details and complexities when you're an expert. But someone new to the topic just sees the basics.

For example, let's say you need to stain your new deck. You assume you just need to choose a color, and that would be it. However, you quickly discover the complexity hidden behind this seemingly simple task. You have to consider whether you want an oil-based or water-based stain, whether it should be transparent, semi-transparent, or opaque, and then navigate the various brands available. You didn't even realize you might need to hire a professional painter.

You become quickly overwhelmed. 

This experience mirrors consumer behavior when they're new to a product or service. They don't know what they don't know. For marketers, your potential customers don't even know they need your service.

The most effective marketing campaigns would use language that attracts first-time deck owners.

It would speak to people who don't know the difference between oil-based and water-based stains or understand the pros and cons of different options.

To overcome the “curse of knowledge,” ask yourself this simple but powerful question: “What does my customer need to believe in order to buy?” This question forces you to step back, consider your audience's perspective, and meet them where they are rather than assuming they share your knowledge and beliefs. Billy says to compress your expertise into a simple package. Then, you can unfold it later as you educate your customers.

By focusing on beliefs, you can make your marketing more effective, connect with your audience on a deeper level, overcome objections before they arise, and ultimately make selling easier. It's about creating a foundation of understanding and agreement before you ever make an offer.

How to Use Buyer Beliefs in Marketing  

While marketing can be challenging, it doesn't need to be complex. By focusing on beliefs, you can create a clear path for your target audience: understand where they are now (existing beliefs), know where they need to be (required beliefs), and guide them along the journey (building beliefs).

#1: Identify Your Customers’ Existing Beliefs

Let's say you launch an online course and get great sales at first. But when you try to sell it again, nobody buys it. Why does this happen?

The first buyers are usually people who already know and trust you. They've been following you for a while and believe in what you're selling, so it's easy to sell to them. But there aren't many of these people, and you sell to them quickly.

The challenge is getting more people to buy after this first group. This is where marketing comes in. Peter Drucker, a famous business expert, said that marketing aims to make selling unnecessary. This means good marketing messages should make people want to buy without you having to convince them.

The ‘Chain of Beliefs'

The “chain of beliefs” is a way to consider how much someone already agrees with your ideas. It's like a line of thought that leads to buying your product.

Some people have a short chain of beliefs. These are usually people close to you or your business. They already believe in most of what you're saying. For example, with artificial intelligence (AI), they already think AI is important, believe it can help them, and think it's the future.

For these people, you don't need to convince them about AI itself. You just need to show them why they should buy from you specifically.

Other people have a long chain of beliefs. These are people who are far from agreeing with you. They might not believe AI is useful, think it's just a fad, and fear it. For these people, you have to start from the beginning. You must convince them that AI is important before you can even consider selling your specific AI product.

Understanding the chain of beliefs helps you decide who to focus on. Smart marketers warm up their inner circle and those outside it—potential customers—by building belief. 

Uncovering Your Prospect’s Beliefs

The first step to belief-based marketing is tapping into buyer behavior and what your potential customers believe. This includes both true and false beliefs. Billy says to look for the “three M's”: myths, mistakes, and misconceptions. These are the beliefs that might be holding your audience back from fully appreciating what you offer.

To uncover these beliefs, speak directly with your customers or potential customers to understand their perspectives. This customer feedback could be through formal interviews, casual conversations, or even monitoring online discussions. The key is to listen carefully, paying attention to the questions people ask, especially the ones that seem “bad” or overly simplistic to you. These questions often reveal important gaps in understanding your marketing needs to address.

For example, when Billy was teaching beer brewing, he found that many beginners asked advanced questions about which yeast strains they should use. This revealed they had misconceptions about what was truly important for brewing good beer. 

After guiding them to a better question, Brian found that they were focused on minor details while overlooking crucial basics like adequately cleaning and sanitizing their equipment—a critical step in homebrewing. This insight helped Billy tailor his teaching to address these misconceptions and prioritize the most important information for beginners. 

Another helpful technique is explaining your concepts to someone outside your industry. This can help you identify jargon or assumed knowledge that might alienate your audience. Always aim to use simple language and start with the basics before gradually introducing more complex ideas.

Your job as a smart marketer is to help people understand what's truly important—what Billy calls “the ladder of importance.” You need to take the really important things and move them to the top of their “ladder.” 

When identifying existing beliefs, don't limit yourself to a small list. Try to create a comprehensive “brain dump” of your audience's potential positive and negative beliefs. You can refine and prioritize this list later, but starting with a broad view can help uncover valuable insights you might have missed.  

#2: Determine Your Customers’ Required Beliefs

Once you understand your audience's current beliefs, the next step is to identify what they need to believe to become customers. Billy suggests reframing the earlier question as: “What needs to be true for my offer to be a complete no-brainer?” This question helps you focus on the core beliefs that will make your product or service irresistible to your ideal customer.

For example, Billy worked with productivity expert Tiago Forte, who teaches a note-taking system called “Building a Second Brain.” They realized that before people would even consider Tiago's course, they needed to believe that note-taking itself was important. This seemingly simple belief was a crucial foundation for Tiago's business. Without it, no amount of marketing about the specifics of his system would be effective.

Once Tiago asserted or claimed that note-taking is important, he gained more social media followers, quickly grew his email list, and ultimately scaled his business to seven figures in just a few years. 

To help structure this process, map beliefs to the customer journey. At the awareness stage, consider what beliefs are necessary for someone to recognize they have a problem you can solve. In the consideration stage, consider what they need to believe to see your solution as the best option. Finally, at the decision stage, focus on the beliefs that will lead them to choose you specifically over other alternatives.

For instance, when Billy first looked at Tiago's sales page, the headline was simply the name of the course: “Building a Second Brain.” Billy suggested a different approach. Instead of using the course name as the headline, they created a headline that spoke to people in the awareness stage of the buying journey. The new headline asked: “Are you consuming a ton of interesting information but feel like it's not leading to meaningful results in your life?”

This headline taps into a common belief: many people absorb a lot of information but struggle to use it effectively in their lives or businesses. Many people recognize this problem, making it a great starting point for marketing.

Once you've identified a belief or problem your audience has, the next step is to move them from awareness to consideration. Billy explains this using the concept of “argumentation.” You start by making a claim based on the problem you've identified. Tiago's claim might be: “You are consuming a lot of information, and it's not leading to meaningful results in your life.”

But you can't just make this claim without support. You need to back it up with proof. This could involve helping your audience calculate the hours they spend consuming information through podcasts, books, and other sources. The goal is to clarify the problem, like a doctor pointing out a health issue you've overlooked.

In the consideration stage, it's important to acknowledge other options your potential customers might be considering. Don't ignore your competition. Instead, compare your approach to others and explain why your method is better for your audience.

By guiding people through this process of belief-building, you're not just selling your product. You're offering a solution to a problem they recognize, backed up by an approach they believe in. The specific product or event you're selling becomes the vehicle to deliver that solution.

This method of marketing based on beliefs can be more effective than simply listing features or benefits. It connects with your audience on a deeper level, addressing their real concerns and motivations. By the time you present your offer, they're already convinced of its value.

#3: Build the Necessary Beliefs for Your Customers

The final step is to create marketing content that instills the required beliefs. This is where many marketers go wrong. Instead of focusing on features or benefits, your content should provide proof of the claims supporting necessary beliefs. This approach turns your marketing efforts into a form of education, guiding your audience toward a new understanding that aligns with your offer.

Billy draws on Aristotle's classic modes of persuasion to structure this proof:

• Ethos (credibility and character of the speaker)
• Pathos (emotional appeal)
• Logos (logical reasoning and data)

By combining these approaches, you can create well-rounded, persuasive content that builds the beliefs you've identified as crucial.

Storytelling, which falls under the pathos category, is one of the most powerful tools for building beliefs. A good story can make an abstract concept feel real and relatable. 

For example, Tiago tells a compelling story about a time he was preparing for an upcoming online course. Unexpectedly, he received a last-minute consulting opportunity with Toyota. Some of their executives wanted him to come in and give a presentation. This sudden request could have been a cause for panic—after all, preparing a high-stakes presentation on short notice is stressful for anyone.

However, Tiago had a secret weapon: his “second brain.”

This system, full of notes he had taken over time, allowed him to assemble a presentation quickly. The result? He didn't just deliver—he wowed the Toyota executives.  

This story is powerful for several reasons:

• It's relatable: Many people have experienced the stress of preparing for an important presentation on short notice.
• It demonstrates clear value: The story shows how Tiago's system saved him in a high-pressure situation.
• It provides social proof: Impressing executives from well-known companies like Toyota adds credibility.
• It creates desire: After hearing this story, listeners (including Billy himself) think, “I want a second brain, too!”

This story instills a crucial belief: that note-taking is important. It transforms note-taking from a mundane task into a potential career-changing skill. By sharing this story, Tiago isn't just telling people that his system is useful—he's showing them through a real-life example. 

While emotion is powerful, some audiences respond better to hard facts and logical arguments. This could involve statistics that support your claims, case studies showing results, or detailed explanations of how your product or service works. The key is to present this information in a way that directly supports the beliefs you're trying to build.

Establishing your credibility is also crucial. This might involve sharing your credentials or experience, featuring testimonials from satisfied customers, or demonstrating your deep knowledge of the subject. The goal is to position yourself as a trustworthy authority, making your audience more likely to accept the beliefs you're promoting.

Billy also suggests using demonstrations to build belief. This involves giving your audience a quick, hands-on experience that proves your claims.

For example, when teaching beer tasting, many of Billy's students believed their tasting abilities were fixed and couldn't improve. This false belief kept them from developing their palates, an essential skill for home brewers.

Instead of just telling people they could improve, Billy offered a simple demonstration:

• He explained that most people take quick sniffs when smelling beer.
• He taught people that most of what we taste actually comes from smell.
• He instructed people to take a long, slow inhale instead of quick sniffs.

This quick win helped them believe they could develop their palate, making them more likely to invest in further training. 

Combining these approaches can create a comprehensive strategy for building the beliefs necessary for your marketing success. Remember, the goal is to make selling easier by establishing the right mindset before you ever make an offer.

Other Notes From This Episode

• Connect with Michael Stelzner @Stelzner on Instagram and @Mike_Stelzner on X.
• Watch this interview and other exclusive content from Social Media Examiner on YouTube.

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