Marketing BitesThe Content Gap

Why it’s harder to get in front of customers?

The Old World: Customers wanted to see you to find out what products and services were available, and when you saw them they had budgets they were empowered to and comfortable with spending.

The New World: Now, they do their research online, only see you to haggle over price and have to get the numerous other ‘stakeholders’ to buy into the decision before signing off on.

A study of more than 1,400 B2B customers revealed that 57% of a

typical purchase decision is made before a customer even talks to a supplier.

Harvard Business Review July/Aug 2012

Buying Decision Timeline

57%

The Impact

• Sales find it harder to get in front of customers• Marketing in a ‘promotional’ manner i.e. promoting your

products /services, is less effective• Sales involvement comes too late in the buying process to

really add value and influence the solution required• Without having been able to influence the specification or

add value the sales role is reduced to price negotiation

Sales figures suffer as deals are scarcer, harder won and margins are reduced

REGAINING A VALUE POSITION REQUIRES MARKETING THAT SUPPORTS THE

SALES PROCESS AND TAKES OWNERSHIP FURTHER INTO THE

FUNNEL

Awareness Education Consideration Preference Action Loyalty

Rethinking the Roles of Sales and Marketing

Move Prospects through the Sales Cycle

Marketing

SalesSales & Mkt

Marketing take ownership further into the sales cycle

Sales need to redefine the value they add, not expect to turn up and take an order from a marketing lead

• Companies that blog build up to 88% more leads

• Business that nurture leads with relevant content generate up to 20% more leads

• Asking, ‘Shall we do a video or eshot or whitepaper is the wrong question!

• 80% of sales collateral ends up in the bin

But: Only if they are providing valuable insights (i.e. shouting ‘buy

from us’ won’t do!)

Better question: What have you got to say that will interest your customers?

Marketing is traditionally a creative department, product provide technical info. Who is producing the valuable, customer-relevant content?

Hint : They are interested in their business – not yours

Content Requirement

Awareness Education Consideration Preference Action Loyalty

Marketing content focussed

on commerci

al insights based on market

knowledge, & social

listening

Mkt should lead

Content depth

increases with more

product /technic

al content needed

Nurturing

Sales intervention must be credible,

& assisted

with sales enablemen

t tools

Infiltrate

Sales and

technical

documentation

Sell

Marketing have they skills to drive the process with integrated campaigns BUT need the content to feed it

How complete is your marketing function?

Content Creation

Content Distribution(Marcomms Activity Plan)

Prospects move through the Sales Cycle

Many businesses’ Marketing is creative and not equipped to generate such content

Who manages Content Creation in your business?

Maria @ marketingbites.biz or 0779501951

PLUG YOUR CONTENT GAP