5 keys to using content for effective lead generation
DESCRIPTION
This presentation covers the 5 keys of using content to generate high-quality leads.TRANSCRIPT
5 KEYS TO USING CONTENT FOR EFFECTIVE LEAD GENERATION
What is Content Marketing?
Creating and distributing valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a target audience - with the objective of driving profitable customer action.
Source: Content Marketing Institute
Source: “B2B Content Marketing:2010 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends” by MarketingProfs and
Junta42
Source: “B2B Content Marketing:2010 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends” by MarketingProfs and Junta42
Buyers Have Changed
Buyers find relevant online
content only 42% of the time.
Source:“Technology vendors may be losing close to 50% of their potential sales due to inadequate online information,” IDG Communications, 2008
95% of B2B buyers chose a
solution provider for a recent purchase who:
“provided them with ample content to help navigate through each stage of the buying process.” Source: “Inside the Mind of the B2B Buyer,” DemandGen and Genius.com, March 2010
Self-education
Fewer than 1 in 3 peopletrust marketing messages.
Source: Edelman Digital’s 2010 Trust Barometer
The Good NewsBuyers want high-value
content
But….No sales pitches
The New Sales Process
Source: Ardath Albee, “eMarketing Strategies for the Complex Sale”
Source:”B2B Content Marketing: 2010 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends” by MarketingProfs and Junta42
Benefits of Using Content
• Lower cost of sales• Shorter sales cycles• Better qualified leads• Builds relationships
The 5 Keys
Key #1
Understand your buyers
(Really, really well)
Get out of the office and talk to them.
How do you do it?
1. Win/Loss interviews **2. Informational interviews3. Casual (but directed) conversations
• Do interviews regularly (at least 3-5x/quarter)
• Focus on prospects, not customers
Questions to Ask
• What are their most important responsibilities?
• What are their top obstacles/problems? • Why haven’t they considered a product like
yours?• What alternatives do they believe will help?• How does their boss measure their success?• Where do they look for new information?
Key #2 Focus on
“How can we help you?”
versus “What can we sell you?”
Don’t be this guy
Adopt a helpfulness mindset
From: Who are these guys? I'll take a chance and click this link to see.
To: Hmm. That was an interesting article.
From: Oh, another article on this topic.
To: They have good information. I'll forward it to Joe and see what he thinks.
From: Oh, good. A webinar showcasing a customer like me.
To: I'll register and see how these guys solved the problem.
From: Ah, they simplified the complexity. This might work for us.
To: Now I have a question.
From: Good answer. Thanks for the follow-up links, too!
To: I can tell my boss about this.
Buyer’s Thought-Cycle
Source: Ardath Albee’s Marketing Interactions Blog “Payoff for B2B Content Marketing is Movement”
How do you do it?
1. Freely give away great content that addresses your buyer’s concerns.
2. Resist “selling.” Think “educate.”
Key #3
Nurture your leads
Only 10-15% of sales leads are qualified and ready to buy.
- MarketingSherpa
Build a Content Path
• Determine what content your buyers want at each sales cycle stage
• Create a plan that maps content to buyers and sales stages
How to do it
Polling Question
What is your biggest content marketing challenge?
Source: “B2B Content Marketing:2010 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends” by MarketingProfs and
Junta42
Key #4
Create outstandingcontent frequently
Avoid content creation overwhelm
Think Economies of ScaleFrom one white paper: • Article series• Blog posts• Video interview with author• Scripts for slide deck• Webinar on same topic• Stand-alone executive summary
sheet
Adapted from Ardath Albee’s Marketing Interactions Blog “The Rule of 5 for B2B Content Development”
• Create content from scratch• Re-imagine/re-purpose
content in other forms• Curate content from other
sources
How to do it
Key #5
Expect incremental buyer movement
• Set expectations with Sales and Senior Management
• Resist pressure from other teams to go for “quantity vs. quality”
How to do it
Where Do I Start?
60 Day Plan
1. Interview 3 buyers.2. Inventory your existing content.*3. Develop preliminary content mapping plan.4. Determine gaps between what you have
and what you need.5. Pick two most pressing pieces of content
to create.
*Download Word template from www.kimgusta.com/templates1
For More on Content Marketing, Download:
“How to Engage Technology Buyers with Remarkable Content: 7 Steps to Developing a Content Marketing Process”from www.kimgusta.com
www.kimgusta.com Technology Content Marketing Blog:
kimgusta.com/blog