The first step in any Content Marketing campaign is to get unknown prospects to raise their hand and indicate they are interested in learning more about your company and the product or service you offer.
Through various marketing pieces from then on, you convert as many as possible into Great Leads and then into Hot Leads Ready to Buy.
At each step in every campaign you are dealing with smaller numbers. You may start with 300 prospects. Out of that 120 may become leads. That narrows down to 60 great leads. Out of those 15 are Hot Leads Ready to Buy.
The Objective of Every Content Marketing Campaign – Get More Prospects and Convert More into Customers
The objective in each and every one of your Content Marketing campaigns is to get a larger number at each level. Your first goal may be to get
150 leads instead of 120.
75 Great Leads instead of 60.
20 Hot Leads instead of 15.
What is the Secret to This?
How Do You Do it?
It’s not in the marketing pieces themselves. Yes, your marketing pieces have to be well written. They have to appeal to the people reading them. However if they don’t hit the hot buttons of the people who need what you offer, you are going to move less to the next step in the process.
The challenge that we have today is compounded by the fact that more and more marketing pieces are published every day. People are being inundated by all they’re getting. They are turning off to it and are deleting more and more of what they’re getting without reading it.
How do you get them to read your marketing?
The Answer is Simple
Your Marketing Has to Appeal to
Those Who Need What You Offer
You may say you’re already doing that. Most probably you’re not. If you were, you would be getting better results.
How do you do what I am suggesting? You have to get to know your ideal customer at the deepest possible level. You have to know
- the problems they face,
- the problems are they having with their competitors,
- the anxiety and worry keeping them up at night, and
- the number one thing they need to correct right now
You may think you already have the answers to these. Do you really?
- Their main problem may not be what you think it is.
- What is keeping them up at night may be something different than what you imagine.
- The number one thing they need to correct may be something you never thought of.
How Do You Find This Out?
The only way to get the answers to these questions is by talking to people who you would consider to be the ideal customers you want.
Start with your best customers. Call them on the phone. Get their answers to these questions. Find out why they chose your company rather than one of your competitors.
Go out with your sales reps on visits to other customers. Get to know them. See what challenges they have on a day to day basis. Find out their concerns. See why they purchased your product or service.
Set up a small advisory panel of your present customers. Meet with them monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly. Find out what issues they are facing. Learn their concerns.
Host periodic webinars. Don’t promote your product or service at these. Use them to get the same information.
Attend industry association meetings. Find out the main problems companies you are targeting are facing.
Attend conferences and trade shows. Listen for the problems people are talking about. Then discuss these with individuals you meet there to see how great a concern these are for them.
Once you have this information, you will know what you need to address in your marketing pieces in each of your Content Marketing campaigns. Your marketing will connect with those you are targeting at a deeper level.
You will see more and more of your prospects becoming leads and then have greater success at each step after that.
