Having been in this business a long time, we’re well aware of the ever evolving nature of marketing and how much it has changed in recent years.
The latest trend has seen an increase in the number of customers who are no longer passive – in fact, current customers are very active in their search for solutions to business problems, as they do research online and network.
Bond gives five pieces of advice on how to achieve this:Nowadays, marketing is much more about engaging the customer along their journey toward becoming a buyer, Dan Bond, head of digital marketing at Adestra, writes in an article for Business2Community. To do so, a company must first design a strategy that maps every stage of this journey, while offering relevant, engaging and consistent content at every stage.
1. Know who you’re dealing with
A business must know who their customers are. If a company is selling a product or a service to another business, it is not a single person’s decision to buy, but rather that of a number of stakeholders. The approach to selling must therefore reflect this, and Bond’s suggestion is to personify every member of the decision-making chain: Who are they? What is their job role? Are the decisions usually cost-driven, or data-driven? Be sure to create a profile that answers these questions. Next, pick out the features of the product or service that best addresses the person’s specific needs. After that, do the same for every stakeholder involved, and send personalised offers to everyone.
2. Analytics are important
3. Create relevant content
Create content that connects with the target audience. In order to sell a product to customers, who are experts in their own right, a business must be portrayed as experts themselves. Blogs and other pieces of content should be informative, but they should also be professionally written. It can be a good idea to hire an in-house journalist to review all the content and make sure it engages, educates and resonates with the audience.
4. Share your content
Share content on all possible channels. Smaller pieces of content can easily grab the attention of a potential customer even if they are at the very beginning of their buying journey. The earlier they become engaged, the better chances a business has of closing a deal. To find potential customers, identify the niche forums and networks where they can be found, like LinkedIn. Once some content has been posted on these sites, there is a bigger chance that the target audience will come across it in their search.