Is it Copy? Or is it a Content Marketing Strategy?

It's not that long ago when I had clients who saw so little value in copy that they took all content generation in-house to be written by product managers and sales professionals. (12 years, in case you're wondering)

Now, industry research states that 91% of B2B marketers from companies of all sizes use content marketing to grow their business.*

We’ve come a long way baby.

Good copy attracts customers who have “pain” and are looking for a solution. It builds relationships and communicates a competitive advantage. It can connect brands to buyers – even in the B2B marketing world.

What I hear from clients today is: What’s the difference between "copy" and "content marketing?" It’s a valid question.

Copy, while often crafted within the framework of an integrated marketing communications strategy, functions as a creative element rather than a strategy unto itself. It's an important part of the whole.

Content Marketing is a strategic approach to developing and deploying customer-centric content that:

-- Engages the customer at each touchpoint throughout the life cycle, from awareness to engagement to brand advocacy. The goal of the strategy is to use content to attract, inform, engage and connect.

-- Is relevant based on where the customer is in the buying cycle;

-- Delivers custom messaging targeted to the buyer’s role in the organization and is more valuable and educational as the customer progresses through the funnel.

Generating custom content that targets your customers and prospects throughout the life cycle sounds like a large task, particularly to small or medium sized businesses that must manage financial and human resources carefully.

But considering what a sound Content Marketing Strategy can deliver you may want to get started sooner rather than later.

Some thoughts on getting started…

1. Create a Map
Where do your customers turn to research solutions such as yours? Consider delivery method, timing and competitive voice. What does the "funnel" that transforms your target audience from unaware prospect to engaged prospect to customer look like? Where are the highest impact communications opportunities? What messages are needed and do they support top-level corporate goals? What is your current marketing strategy and how will a Content Marketing Strategy alter or improve what you’re doing?

2. Prioritize
Based on your map, what can you reasonably accomplish given your time and financial resources? What can you execute well on a consistent basis? If you'll be executing a partial program (there's nothing wrong with doing so), make sure that you are fully integrated with corporate objectives (new lead generation, greater share of wallet, etc.).

3. Craft a Plan
Help ensure that once you've started, you'll maintain momentum by identifying a series of messages in advance. Identify (through prioritization) what elements you’ll add to your campaign after you’ve reached certain benchmarks of success.

4. Establish Key Performance Indicators
How will you measure the effectiveness of your content strategy? Are the program results that you plan to report meaningful to other internal stake holders? Will your KPIs provide insight that is valuable enough to take further action, tweak program execution and make effective decisions?

Content Marketing can help your company create awareness, generate leads, build relationships and more. Most organizations have the knowledge base to drive an effective content marketing program. The challenge is in getting started and in keeping momentum. Don’t be afraid to start with small chunks and evolve as time and resources allow!

*B2B Content Marketing: 2010 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends (MarketingProfs and Junta42 in Association with American Business Media, BMA and CMI)

Lead Nurturing for Measurable Success (Sales!)

If you've read our blog before you'll know that I'm a proponent of customer-centric messaging.

Today, I find myself in the midst of my own customer-centric messaging project as it applies to a new client. The manufacturer is based in Shanghai and establishing an office in Jersey. We're tapped to establish their U.S. brand.

So what. What does MY business development have to do with YOUR marketing needs?

Just this: The value of understanding and aligning your messages and value proposition to the true needs of the prospect cannot be overstated. Company/customer alignment will make a measurable difference in sales. By measurable I mean you make the sale or you don't.

Many companies understand the value that their prospects and customers are seeking and effectively communicate these benefits throughout their marketing communications. Many of these same marketers still find themselves asking not for more leads but for better conversion numbers.

Where's the opportunity for success? In mapping, analyzing and improving the prospect experience. Then in identifying ways to personalize the conversation and provide customer-centric value messages throughout the chain of communication. This can be done for customer retention initiatives as well of course. It simply involves reviewing a different set of communication methods with different objectives in mind. (upsell and cross sell)

As I head into my meeting on Monday, I'll be thinking about:
-- Based on where we are in the buying stage, what do they expect to hear from me in terms of my value and offering?
-- What are the individual motivators for the parties at the table? For example, at least one will be concerned with "mianzi," (saving face) and will be responsible for the decision to work with my Agency.
-- Have I accurately assessed what it is that they value in my service offering? If so, am I prepared to communicate my value in their terms, so they experience alignment that leads them to be fully comfortable with our relationship.
-- What next step can I anticipate? What will each person need in terms of personalized and value-driven communications at that next stage?

This is lead nurturing = Taking the time to understand the buyer's role, crafting communication to align with his or her needs, selecting communications methods that are appropriate based on their preferences and where they are in the buying stage.

Whether you manufacture heat pumps or are a politician the lead nurturing concept can be applied and used to increase conversions. Ultimately, it can be used to increase the lifetime value of a customer.

Don't wait to review your communications process, identify gaps and ways in which you can personalize the conversation. Even if you can only implement a portion of the improvements identified, you'll be on your way to increasing conversions or customer lifetime value.

Now Why Don't He Write? (Or, Where are all my leads?)

As a marketer of a product or service have you ever had that thought with respect to your prospects (or customers)?

"We have a high-quality, value-added fill in the blank. We're marketing it. Why don’t we have more business?"

There could be lots of reasons. Maybe your competitor has a better offering. Maybe you aren’t marketing in the right places (where your prospect is seeking your product). Maybe you aren’t using the right messages (we often find this to be the case). Maybe it’s a combination.

Even if your marketing efforts are working, it’s likely that you have sales goals to reach and that “someone from above” is asking you to improve performance.

So how are you going to improve marketing's performance to increase sales, improve customer retention, drive new customer acquisition (or another top-level objective).

Some thoughts:

• Scan and evaluate your competitors. In addition to considering their tactical execution, what relationship are they attempting to develop with your customers and prospects? Marketing messages and content can be as revealing as tactical selections.
• Consider your call (or calls) to action. Is it compelling from the prospect's point of view? Is it role specific? Does it promise something of value?
• Review your metrics. It's possible you aren't reviewing the right metrics. Customers may be responding but not in the way that you anticipated.
• Prospects are responding. You just don't know about it. It's an ugly truth to uncover, but a worthy one in the end: Are leads coming into to your company via a selected mechanism (phone, web, etc.) but not being properly parsed to the correct internal respondent? There may also be a disconnect between internal departments. Either way, you can't measure and improve upon what you don't know about.
• There is a serious disconnect between sales and marketing. This can be an issue of message being out of synch, lack of timing/orchestration between the two departments or something -- anything else -- that represents disparity between these two departments. Whatever the issue the result can be damaging: dissonance between sales and marketing can confuse prospects and prevent them from responding to your offer.

There are countless ways to improve the performance of your marketing program. We've offered just a few for consideration.

If the marketing strategy you've deployed in the past is not delivering the results you're expected to deliver, by all means don't replicate what you're doing! Before 2011 begins, re-visit, re-think and re-set your strategy so you can deliver improved -- and measurable -- results.

Marketing in the "New-Normal World"

I googled the phrase "New Normal" and find I'm one of many using the phrase to describe how business -- and marketing -- has changed thanks to the recession.

There are plenty of industry experts asserting that the rules of busines have changed and maybe for good. Or at least for a good, long time.

Some thoughts on how B2B marketing has been effected:

The involvement of the CFO on more than a peripheral level. Close inspection -- and I mean close -- of the planned marketing spend and occasionally without overt enthusiasm for the positive impact on top-line results is a trend we've seen repeatedly in the past 18 months.

The requirement to do more with less budget. Do I really need to go into detail on that one?

The use of technology to build communities, streamline communications, engage customers, wash the laundry, walk the dog and deliver actionable marketing metrics. Yep. Technology carries a full load these days.

The use of "integrated PR" as a priority program element. PR tends to increase in use during a recession. "Searchified" and "social media-ized" public relations isn't NEW...it's more that the prioritization of these extensions of an already powerful tool may be new. (You could argue with me on that one...)

Lots has changed.

And so have marketers. And their agencies.

Unless your marketing strategy is delivering "send me straight to retirement do not pass go" kind of results, you'd be wise to audit what you're doing and identify ways to re-work your program as you enter 2011.

We urge you not to look for budget cuts, but rather to seek out ways in which you can improve program performance while playing by the new rules.

-- Seek a better understanding of what motivates your prospects in today's economy. Often this is enhanced through improved integration of sales and marketing. Craft your messages, select your tactics, time your activities, in ways that demonstrate your understanding of the prospect's current points of pain. You've changed, right? Well so have "they."

Commit to using audience-centric messaging and tactics. Execute a program that is completely customer centric as well as fully integrated.

-- Consider a shift in focus from customer acquisition to customer retention, but only if this is aligned with top-level objectives and will not handicap your company in 24 or 36 months when you'll be hungry for leads. (We offer this only as a sample strategy, not as one that's appropriate to all companies.)

-- Identify ways in which you can effectively support your sales team or channel. This may be a planned distributor communications program, a co-marketing program or even a Mobile Phone App that aligns sales and marketing teams. There has never been a better time to support sales than now.

What does YOUR new normal look like? How can you evolve your marketing in a way that allows you to take advantage of the opportunities existing within today's economy?

Can we help?

Are You Considering Your Customer's Point Of View? Customer Engagement Strategies Improve Lead Nuturing

This year, we have heard recurring themes from many of our clients as they place their marketing focus on penetrating existing account relationships and improving their lead qualification processes:  “We are struggling with converting our leads into sales opportunities,”  “We aren’t sure what happens to our lead after an initial introduction or meeting,” “Our sales cycle is months long.  How do we keep our customer engaged during that time?”

Often, these struggles bring us back to a fundamental question:  ‘Are you demonstrating relevant value to your prospect through all communication touch points as you develop the relationship with them?”

It’s important to remember that EVERY communication that the prospect receives from you gives
that prospect insight on:

§       How much you truly value them

§       If you will honor promises made

§       What differentiates you from a competing brand

Connecting the customer relationship with where the rubber meets the road is the further “connection” to your company’s bottom line.  Harris Interactive recently found that:

§       86% of consumers quit doing business with a company with whom they have a bad experience (up 27% from four years ago).

§       60% will PAY MORE for a good experience (even in a down economy)

§       53% will recommend you based on an outstanding experience, and experience trumps price (50%) and the quality of product (41%) in driving word of mouth promotion.

The Impact of Marketing on the Lead Nurturing Process

It’s key to remember that the customer’s experience of your company and brand does not begin and end at the sales call, the web site visit, or trade show.  Marketers can no longer think about their marketing efforts as individual “tactics.”  Why?  Because, it is the TOTAL set of communication experiences that your prospect has with your brand that drives your prospect’s impression of your company and has direct impact on your ultimate goal:  converting the lead from prospect to customer.

Today, our challenge as marketers is to orchestrate and engineer our marketing messages to the customer and organize the timing and delivery of those messages in an effort to successfully encourage the action we want our prospects to take.

Often, an unplanned lead communication process contains gaps that the customer falls through on the process of becoming aware of your offering, becoming a customer, and ideally a brand advocate.

Strategy + Message + TIMING.  A little bit of organization can go along way to increase the effectiveness of your communications strategy.  A customer engagement strategy maps the communication tactics that are deployed along the relationship stages that the customer advances through on his way to becoming a buyer of your product or service.

So, how do you help drive your customers through the sales cycle and make your marketing efforts a stronger asset to the company (and to the sales organization)?  Incorporate these six steps, and you will be on your way:

1. Inventory your current lead management process and the communication tactics that are currently used in that process (create the chain).
2. Organize your current process by the key stages that the prospect is at in his relationship with your company.  (AIDA marketing models frequently works well.)
3. Start to analyze this process from your customers POV (that’s “Point of View”).
4. Complete a GAP analysis – where do things fall short?
5. Identify points of “conversion.”  What measurable actions will you ask your prospect take that will tell you that he is developing a closer relationship with you.  (“Conversions” are today’s “Call to Action.”)
6. Develop your communication strategy:
1. Identify tactics
2. Orchestrate timing
3. Identify ownership within your team for tactics, timing, and delivery
7. Implement, Analyze, and Act

Customer engagement mapping allows you to more effectively create and communicate value to the customer, position you as expert, and build trust and credibility more quickly. Thoughtful engineering of messages provided to your customer along the demand generation process will guide them to a closer relationship with you.

Where have you had success in pulling the customer through your lead communication cycle?