While most buyers today will evaluate your products and services on their merits – delivering memorable and emotional experiences at business events can distinguish you from your competitors.
In the past decade, content marketing has become a widely established practice. Companies have hired writers and chief content officers to run departments, create blogs and other materials, and, in the process, some have assured sales people that content marketing can mean the end of cold calling.
The playbook sounds simple: attract prospects with content relevant to each stage of their buying journey and extend offers that motivate them to contact your sales team for a demo or discussion. With online technologies and targeted lists, this should be a cost-effective tool for separating the suspects from the prospects, accelerating customer conversion through the sales funnel, and, equally important, optimising ‘data-driven marketing’ by tying each piece of content to metrics like opens, reads, downloads, and so on.
But as Churchill reportedly said after Gallipoli: “However beautiful the strategy, you must occasionally look at the results.” Consider: blog output by brands has increased over 800% in the past five years but organic social share of blogs has decreased by 89% and about 5% of content gets 90% of engagement. An estimated 70% of the content generated by marketing is never used by sales reps and a similar percentage of the leads generated disappear into a ‘sales lead black hole.’ And despite the repeated mantra about “data-driven,” there is contradictory advice about which content marketing benchmarks indicate success as well as many blithe assertions about best practices in this area.
We examined 34 million interactions between customers and content on DocSend’s platform, which allows sales organisations to upload and share documents with prospects. The result is empirical data and a good starting point for examining core aspects of any content marketing initiative: how much time prospects actually spend on content, on which devices, when, and the type of content they prefer.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Getting Over Your Fear Of Cold Calling Customers
A recent research study found that 48% of business-to-business salespeople are afraid of making cold calls.
10 Tips To Get Honest, Productive Feedback
Great leaders are great learners. Their never-ending pursuit of information pushes them to constantly improve and sets them apart from the rest. Getting and learning from feedback isn’t always easy, but it is necessary, if we want to become better.
The 5 Things All Great Salespeople Do
The best salespeople know they’re the best. They take pride in their art form. They separate themselves from the rest of the pack regardless of circumstance. So how do they do it? What’s their secret? Are you one of them?
Why Trade Shows Are Worthy Of Your Marketing Budget
Given unrealistic expectations against a modest budget, marketing leaders are routinely tasked with making trade-offs on what stays and goes in their annual budget. In a highly digitised world, trade shows might seem like the ancient way to do things, but they remain one of the best forums for exposure to customers. Increase your success rate with trade shows through more thoughtful planning that aligns sales and marketing to common goals and objectives.
Why CRM Projects Fail And How To Make Them More Successful
CRM is an important tool, but it is just a tool. When the laptops are shut down for the day, it’s your sales team that is responsible for bringing value to clients and driving revenue. Implement your CRM with that in mind and you’ll be pleased with your ROI.
Is Your Corporate Strategy Paying Off?
Key questions to determine if your strategy is working.
3 Ways to Improve Your Ability to Diagnose
Selling requires a strong ability to diagnose the client’s problems and challenges.
How To Create Compelling Content
How do you create content that cuts through the noise? How do you get attention now that there is a glut of content being created?
Build Up Your Resilience By Asking Yourself Two Simple Questions
You may surprise yourself and find good in the bad.
How Marketing Can Increase Customer Lifetime Value
Marketing can play a pivotal role in boosting customer profitability.
