03/03/26: Amplifying Content Impact Through Radical Perspective
Each quarter, our leadership and fulfillment team reads a book together as part of our internal DBM Book Club.
This quarter’s book was Endless Customers by Marcus Sheridan — an evolution of his well-known They Ask, You Answer philosophy.
We don’t read books for inspiration. We read them to sharpen our standards. And this one directly impacts how we’re approaching your content strategy in 2026.
If you notice your Account Manager asking more detailed, specific, and though provoking questions in your upcoming Quarterly Strategy Meetings… It’s intentional.
What’s Changed
The search landscape is not what it was even two years ago.
Buyers today are:
- More informed
- More skeptical
- More impatient
- Increasingly consuming AI-generated summaries instead of clicking through websites
Surface-level content doesn’t build trust anymore.
Generic answers get summarized.
Overly polished marketing language gets ignored.
If your brand doesn’t clearly communicate:
- Cost
- Tradeoffs
- Comparisons
- Problems
- Honest positioning
You lose trust before the first call ever happens.
What We’ve Always Done (And Why It Works)
Our content strategy has been built around what Marcus Sheridan calls The Big 5 :
- Cost & Price
- Problems & Drawbacks
- Comparisons
- Reviews
- Best in Class
These are the five categories serious buyers research before making a decision.
We already structure your written content around these pillars.
That’s not changing.
What is changing is the depth.
What We’re Elevating in 2026
Answering the question is no longer enough.
We have to answer it better than anyone else in your market.
That means:
- Less generic.
- More specific.
- Less safe.
- More honest.
And that’s where your input becomes critical.
In 2026, your Account Manager will dig deeper with questions like:
- What do low-cost competitors consistently leave out?
- Where do homeowners misunderstand deck pricing?
- What jobs do you quietly turn down?
- What materials do you personally avoid — and why?
- What fails most often when replacing decks?
- What objections show up right before a deal stalls?
We’re not asking for more information.
We’re asking for sharper insight.
Because generic content builds traffic.
Specific content builds trust.
And trust is the ultimate currency .
The Big 5 — What We Need From You Inside Each Category
We will continue choosing the topics and writing the content.
But here’s what strengthens each category:
1. Cost & Price
We need:
- Real pricing ranges in your market
- What truly drives cost up
- What drives cost down
- What’s usually missing in low bids
- How you explain value vs. price
If we don’t address cost clearly, buyers assume the worst .
2. Problems & Drawbacks
We need:
- What service/ products fails most often
- What you service/ products replace regularly
- What buyers regret choosing for products/designs
- What tradeoffs rarely get discussed
The “law of the coin” applies here — every decision has two sides.
When we openly address the downside, trust increases.
3. Comparisons
We need:
- When composite makes sense — and when it doesn’t
- When wood may actually be smarter
- When a competitor or other contractor service might be a better fit
- When you are not the right choice
Honest comparison content consistently performs at a high level .
But only when it’s real.
4. Reviews
We will continue systemizing review generation.
But we also need:
- Stories behind standout projects
- Lessons learned from difficult ones
- Real customer hesitation moments
Buyers want transparency — not perfection.
5. Best in Class
In some cases, we may:
- List competitors directly
- Create “Best deck builders in [city]” content
- Openly discuss strengths and tradeoffs in your market
This level of transparency builds authority.
It signals confidence.
What This Means For You
You don’t need to create content.
You don’t need to brainstorm topics.
You don’t need to become a marketer.
You need to be clear.
The more detailed and honest you are during Quarterly Strategy Meetings:
- The stronger your authority positioning becomes.
- The more educated your leads arrive.
- The shorter your sales cycle gets.
- The less price resistance you experience.
Our standards went up.
Because the market demands it.
And our goal remains the same: To position you as the most known and trusted deck builder in your area.