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Cutting through the noise to connect with and convert a prospect to a customer is one of the biggest challenges facing sales and marketing teams today. The noise is everywhere. Visual. Auditory. Olfactory. Textile. Intellectual. Social. Emotional. Prospective customers are being targeted and solicited at every turn.
Billboards. Bus benches. Newspapers. Magazines. Radio programs. Street signs. Social media ads and advertorials. Online retargeting ads. Jingles. Search engine ads. Packaging. Emails. Directories. Fence banners. Flags. Wrapped vehicles. Digital signs. Scents in retail locations. Podcasts. Commercials. Coupons. Skywriting. Junk mail. That’s just the tip of the selling iceberg.
Selling is happening literally everywhere… on the ground and in the sky. And it is infiltrating every medium and bombarding all of our senses. In fact, marketing experts estimate the average person experiences between 4,000 and 10,000 ads / solicitations in a single day. That’s an average of four to eight ads per minute, every single minute of the day… actually more since we spend about 360 to 480 minutes (out of 1,440 minutes in a day) sleeping.
The sales and marketing NOISE is deafening. Salespeople have to cut through all that just to be heard. And then they have to persuade that jaded, oversaturated consumer to buy this product or service over that one. These potential customers are busy, weary and/or distracted. They simply don’t have the bandwidth to give their full attention.
What’s more, consumers are not only distracted, but they are also distrustful. In fact, according to Danny Brown, award-winning marketer and blogger and author of the books, Influence Marketing and The Parables of Business, “90% trust peers on social networks; only 15-18% trust brands.” When a marketing department says “we’re the best,” it is often perceived with skepticism. So what’s the solution?
Online Content to the Rescue
Online content creates value for buyers before they make a purchase… sometimes before they’ve even thought about making a purchase. Online content helps attract and convert prospects who are looking to make a purchase. For salespeople, online content delivers a baker’s dozen of benefits:
- bring relevant prospects to specific landing pages of the company’s website;
- increase prospect’s engagement with the brand;
- encourage prospects to develop a business relationship with the salesperson;
- nurture leads by providing important information in an insightful way;
- answer a prospect’s questions;
- address pain points;
- establish thought leadership and authority for the salesperson as well as the brand;
- build trust;
- improve brand recall;
- generate leads;
- create a personalized buyer experience;
- improve conversions; and
- build a long-term connection that can generate referrals and repeat business.
What’s more, online content can be found on the web for months or years (maybe forever).
Developing an Online Sales Content Strategy
To use this approach effectively, salespeople must think through how their content will satisfy their audience’s interests, and then create a systemic way to appeal to that audience in order to move them closer to a sale. There are lots of content vehicles that can work. Which one a particular salesperson chooses needs to not only reach the targeted audience but play to that person’s strengths. Last week, we looked at two important ones:
Blogs
Today, just about everyone is familiar with Blogs. They are not just a valuable source of site traffic when constructed properly, but they are a great way to deliver content as a drip campaign. People read blogs without even realizing they’re doing so. It is part of what they see when they do searches online for a particular topic, and they rank well when published regularly because they are fresh. Ideal length varies based on audience and industry, but 1000-2000 words is common. For a salesperson to be known as an authority in an industry, in-depth content is best.
eBooks
eBooks are another great approach for salespeople who are authorities in a particular topic, industry or niche subject. It is an excellent way to establish a salesperson as a trusted advisor and a subject-matter authority. Because an eBook is a non-editable, reflowable book that is converted to a digital format to be read on any digital device such as computer screens or mobile devices, it can be offered as gated content, where readers must provide contact info in order to download the document, or it can be added to a person’s LinkedIn page or website and offered for free. The key is for an eBook to be well written, well designed and have some good calls to action.
Here are some more Online Content Options.
White Papers
White Papers are designed for prospective customers who are at a very specific point in the “Buyer Journey.” This document is usually more in-depth and technical than an article, and focuses in on a specific pain point, question or issue that a customer typically faces. This document provides hard facts and important details how to solve the problem, and how the brand might assist with that process. For example, a title company might write a White Paper on Construction Lien Laws in certain states or municipalities. Or a property management company might write a White Paper on Multi-Family Opportunity to Enhance Portfolio Income, Appreciation and Diversification.
A prospect might turn to a White Paper to better understand the answer to a question that is too complex for blog article, but the person doesn’t necessarily want to read a whole book about it. In reading this White Paper, the prospect might learn not only about the brand but also the salesperson as a thought leader in the space. For prospective customers who have subscribed to a company’s newsletter and blog might also receive the White Paper on the topic as a courtesy, reinforcing the salesperson’s authority on technical or complex issues.
Case Studies
Case Studies are excellent tools to help a prospective customer step into the shoes of a customer and see how a brand solved a particular problem or delivered a specific service. The beauty of Case Studies is that it zeroes on a specific type of customer that an organization is trying to reach. For example, a salesperson for a company retrieves and stores post-closing trailing docs might offer this service to mortgage lenders, banks and real estate holding companies. That means the salesperson is speaking to various different prospective customers who each have their own issues and pain points. With a Case Study, that salesperson is able to show how the company was able to come alongside a mortgage lender and not only help them streamline the retrieval and storage of their trailing docs, but also ensure that it happens in less than 90 days so that there are no issues when the mortgages are bundled and sold to investors. That case study would serve as an example of what the brand could do for other, similar mortgage companies. It would speak directly to a particular segment of the company’s customer base. Each Case Study effectively appeals to a distinct stakeholder.
Great Case Studies are based on real customers that the brand helped, but without sharing private details. These are excellent tools for a salesperson to use when speaking to specific customers and wanting to show a proof-of-concept. If a prospective customer wants to see proof of how a product or service can help or produce results, a 1-2 page Case Study is the perfect vehicle for allowing someone else’s situation to tell that story.
Infographics and Slide Carousels
Time is limited and many people are too busy to read eBooks, White Papers and Case Studies. This is especially true if they aren’t familiar with the brand or salesperson. So a much more abbreviated way to deliver a powerful message succinctly is with Infographics and Slide Carousels. These capture attention, deliver information in a way that is easy to digest and they take just a couple of minutes to read. These are excellent tools to use on social media platforms because they deliver insightful data and establish authority quickly. It is the amuse bouche of online content. And it can drive people to connect with a brand and then request more information. It is also a highly shareable tool and helps deliver lots of inbound leads.
Social Media Posts, Tiles and Memes
Social media is a potent tool because it is both a platform for original sales content and it can also drive people to view other sales content. The primary platform for B2B business is LinkedIn, but there are a host of other platforms that reach various audiences, such as NextDoor to reach communities, Pinterest to reach women, Facebook to reach Boomers and GenXers, and Instagram to reach Millennials and Zellenials. Knowing which platform to use to reach specific audiences is key to creating content that engages. For example, a financial planner who wants to engage with GenXers would probably not generate much interest in his content if he is posting information about an upcoming webinar on Instagram.
Social media is also a great tool to leverage user-generated content. So brands that have customers using their products or services in a creative or engaging way, they can be encouraged to share photos, videos or testimonials on the salesperson’s page. This kind of social proof speaks volumes about brand love and third-party endorsements are invaluable.
Online content – in its various forms and approaches – helps to open doors, deliver leads, answer questions, and even convince skeptics. When done right (tactfully, respectfully, consistently, professionally, and in a timely manner), online content empowers customers and makes them smarter. It can also be a salesperson’s number one go-to strategy to gain reputation and drive sales. Now that’s a win-win.
Quote of the Week
“Good marketing makes the company look smart. Great marketing makes the customer feel smart.” Joe Chernov
© 2022, Keren Peters-Atkinson. All rights reserved.
