In my last post, I talked about how your prospects are the most important part of any Content Marketing campaign. Let’s look at prospects more closely.
Ask your sales reps who is it easier for them to sell your company’s product or service to. Invariably, they will tell you the person with the greatest need. Recall the example I gave you in my last post.
A beach thronged with sun bathers. 95 degree temperature on a Saturday afternoon. The forecast never called for it to be that hot. Most showed up without enough water.
A vendor appears selling ice-cold water. He just hollers out once he has water to sell. Very quickly he sells all his water and has made a killing.
The vendor was that successful because the beach goers were so thirsty.
Those are the type of prospects your sales reps want.
Prospects Who Not Only Want Your Product or Service but Will Fight Others to Get It
In November of 2015, David Vranicar, the CEO of Redwell B2B, a management consulting firm, posted an article on Linkedin. The title was “Why B2B marketers must get comfortable with pain.”
In this article, he had this brilliant chart:
You probably recognize it. There is a similar one in most doctors’ offices and hospitals. It has been modified for the business world. Personally, I think it’s great. Any sales or marketing person can easily classify a prospect they’re working with.
In his article, David says
” Every well-trained B2B sales person is eager to find a prospect who’s feeling pain at level eight or higher. Sometimes a good salesperson can uncover latent or unrecognized pain in that range. “
Are These the Prospects You Have in Your Content Marketing Campaign?
Yes, there will be some. The majority are not.
How did that happen? There is only one reason – at the start of your campaign, you and your people cast a much broader net. You included all those who may have met the general guidelines of the persona of the ideal customer you created.
Unfortunately, you ended up with many prospects who never needed your product or service or never thought they would.
In much of your marketing you’re probably trying to sway them to be more interested in your product or service.
It’s Like Trying to Sell Ice Cold Water to Eskimos
At the start of each Content marketing campaign, you have to be more deliberate in selecting the prospects for that campaign. Rather than just adding businesses in the same niche as your ideal customer, you and your staff need to do more research.
- Look for those companies who have a need for the product or service you offer. The one they are using is seriously outdated. It’s costing them a lot of money not to replace it with what you offer.
- Add in those companies who are trying to expand. Those which would be able to expand more quickly if they had the product or service you offer.
- Include those companies which are in second or third place in their niche and are anxious to become number one. Your product or service will help them do this more quickly.
Businesses which fill each of these criteria would be at 8 or higher on this chart.
Also take into account that the average Content Marketing campaign is going to last an extended period of time. Some business that may not be at a level 8 right now may be there at a later point during the campaign. So, you would also include companies you feel are at level 6 or higher.
Ask Your Sales Department and Sales Reps for Help
Get them to assist you with this. Have them review the list and see which businesses they would rate at level 6 or higher. Also ask them for the names of companies not on your list they would consider a 6 or higher
There is not much sense including companies at level 5 or lower. Your marketing efforts are going to be wasted.
If you follow this strategy, it will be much easier to develop great marketing pieces which will lead them through your marketing funnel and turn them into buyers more quickly.
By the way . . .
. . . Don’t discard the companies you have at level 5 or lower. At the start of your next Content Marketing campaign, go through all of these. Include as prospects any who you feel now are at level 6 or higher.
