Are you a small business owner struggling to implement your marketing strategy? Do you wonder how your content marketing can help you convert prospects into paying customers?
If so, then you're in the right place.
You already know that your customers don't want a canned sales pitch. They want to know how your product or service can help them.
So, keep reading to learn all about how your content marketing can help you reach your sales goals.
What Is a Marketing Strategy?
Let's start with what a marketing strategy isn't.
A marketing strategy isn't just a list of tactics you need to implement. It also isn't posting on social media or running ads.
Your marketing strategy is a formal document that ties your marketing goals with your overall business plan.
Your marketing strategy first defines who buys your product or service. Then, based on what their motivations and pain points are, you can target your marketing activities to best speak to your prospects. Finally, you can improve results over time with data analysis and campaign optimization.
In short, your marketing strategy is the big-picture view of how your marketing and sales team can drive your business forward towards success.
What Is a Content Marketing Funnel?
Today's customers are more informed than ever before.
Regardless of whether you're selling a product service, or if you're in the B2B or B2C sector, you need to create content that answers your customer's questions.
And this is why you need to create a content funnel that speaks to your target purchaser at their current stage in the customer journey.
Your content marketing funnel is a system you create to help guide your prospects from strangers to leads to customers.
Let's get some definitions out of the way here, so we're all on the same page:
- Content marketing - a form of marketing your business using content you create and publish for your audience
- Buyer personas - a fictional person that embodies your ideal customer and their interests and demographic traits
- Buyers journey - the buying process your customers go through before they purchase your product or service
- Pain points - the specific problem your customers are going through that you can solve with your product or service
Your digital marketing plan must incorporate content that is specifically made for your ideal audience that addresses their pain points.
Now, let's look at the content you can create for each stage in the buyer's journey, so you can see the benefit of targeting your customers where they are in the purchasing process.
Customer Journey Mapping Stages
There are four stages your sales team must consider when they're working with your prospects.
Let's go over each of them here and show you examples of what you can create for the entire customer journey.
Awareness Stage
The awareness stage is the point where your ideal buyer persona realizes their pain points and is looking for a solution to it. They will begin to search online for solutions. And if the content you're creating answers their questions in this stage, they will look for more content in further stages.
As you create content in this stage, it's important to talk with your ideal audience. Ask them questions and talk to them about what concerns them and what problems they're having. When you talk with your audience, you can see a sneak preview of what the rest of your audience is also wondering about.
Then, you can create the content that answers those questions. When you create content, think outside the blog box. Consider how your audience would like to consume content, and if they would prefer audio or video content, then create that.
Consideration Stage
At the consideration stage, your customer is aware of their problem and they're looking at different possible solutions to their pain points.
Whether you're in the B2B or the B2C sector, customers today are much more informed than ever before. So, the content you create in this stage must answer their questions to the fullest.
Consider creating in-depth case studies that show previous customers and how your product or services have solved their problems. Also, if you have a vlog or podcast, ask your customers to be featured on your show. Ask them questions and invite them to share their successes thanks to your company.
And, if you do have a blog, create comparison posts that show various alternatives to your product or service. Provide in-depth comparisons, including price points and how each product can fulfill your customers' needs.
Your customers might know they have a problem they need to solve, but they're not committed to the solution yet, you need to share that with them.
Purchasing Decision Stage
The decision stage is when your customer chooses the solution or strategy that will relieve their pain point.
To help your customers make their final purchasing decision, consider offering a demo or trial of your product or service.
Price guides and product data sheets are more examples of great content you can create for your clients and customers at this stage in the buyer's journey.
If your content has gotten your prospect to this stage in the process, they will trust the content you create for them in this and the last stage.
Loyalty Advocacy Stage
The final stage of the buyer journey is when your clients become loyal, repeat customers.
It's easier to keep your current clients than to constantly need to find new customers. That's why you need to impress them with the content you create in this stage.
After your clients purchase from you, don't drop the ball when creating content now. You've brought them this far, and you need to finish with great content in this final stage.
Onboarding your new clients with user guides and video sequences can show your customers the many features of your product.
Ensure that your clients are continually impressed with your product or service by regularly sending them a customer newsletter. Include any new product updates so that they always know everything that your product can do for them and solve their problems.
The content in this stage is easy to neglect, but it can turn a one-time buyer into a repeat purchaser and future brand advocate.
So, be sure to create content for all four stages of the buyer's journey!
Now Your Content Can Be Relevant to Your Inbound Marketing Plan
If you're concerned about creating enough content for each stage of the buyer journey, then consider hiring a marketing agency.
When you work with a professional, you'll know that your content will fulfill your marketing strategy. You'll know that every piece of content you create serves a purpose and helps your clients.
So, if you're ready to work with an expert to create content you need to grow and scale your business, then reach out to us today. We've helped businesses just like yours to create the content they need to grow their business and increase their sales, and we're always just an email away!
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