donfperkins.com

Before you go prude on me, remember that this is a sales and content marketing blog. Would I really blog about humans having sex? I make no apology for the tagline. It got you here didn’t it, you prevert. Stay with me here, because this is a pretty good analogy about value creation for our customers. Business is all about relationships and there’s

no shortage of analogies relating sales to dating. With that in mind, imagine that there are a lot of potential “lovers” out there and as they check you out, they might even think they are in love. But then as you get to know each other better, one or both of you may realize that it was just a surface attraction and you are not really a compatible match, and so you part ways. Content marketing can be just like that. Here’s why:

When I’m Ready, I’ll Let You Know

Consider that half of all consumers spend 75% of their buying experience time doing online research. When shopping for a major purchase item, it’s not unusual for people to spend days or weeks researching the best price, the best features, etc. For a large software or complex system purchase, this is greatly magnified. The average buying cycle for information systems purchases is now 5.4 months, a 20% increase since 2009! During that time, they may consume gads of your content, even “like” what they see, share it with their friends and colleagues, and come back regularly to consume more content related to the item/idea, all the while comparing you to other similar providers. But when will they commit? Why is the buying cycle increasing? Meanwhile, what are the chances of that prospect finding another provider with a better fit, a better price, etc? 

Like it, Love it, Buy it, Tell Others About it

Attracting buyers with content marketing is only a small part of the story. Getting them to “like” you, that’s the easy part. there’s very little consequence to hitting “like.” But getting them to convert to a customer can be vastly more difficult, as many are finding out. Liking you online is easy, but parting with the Benjamins is going to take more than emotional attachment; it’s a commitment of resources; a substantial risk, and so the intellect must weigh in as well. (Hint: That’s the part that could take 5.4 months.)

There are a lot of companies foolishly pinning their hopes  on the latest and greatest content marketing strategy, while the rest of their sales and marketing strategy (or even their production, service org, etc)  languishes in old ruts and bad habits ill suited to match it. In many cases, there are underlying deficiencies that are being ignored, rendering any benefit they might receive from the content marketing less than effective.

Converting likers into buyers is going to take more than great content marketing. It also takes:

• A solid lead nurturing strategy to keep customers interested until they are ready to buy
• Strong qualification to keep from wasting time on the wrong prospects
• Careful sales planning and execution so you aren’t bleeding those expensive leads
• Great follow up and support so you secure more and more repeat business

The Best Part About Great Content Marketing

Done right, you can even count on the holy grail of sales and marketing: referrals from happy customers. But all of this is going to cost ya. It’s going to take time and lots of hard work. It’s going to take an honest reflective look at how you’ve done business in the past; the health of your entire organization, and perhaps some badly needed revamping of other programs and systems. That is the difference between companies who simply grasp at content marketing, and those who put their blood, sweat and other bodily fluids into it. I like that. Why? Because consumers are not stupid. They reward hard working companies by buying their stuff..! The posers are automatically weeded out because they cannot sustain customer engagement long enough or well enough without all of the other moving parts working together with their shiny new content marketing to keep them in the black. The deserving companies who get content marketing AND take the opportunity to take a fresh look at their core business strategies and bring them up to the level of their new toy will win.

So blog like mad, go for the likes +1′s, comments and shares. Build community,  network your butt off, but don’t forget the rest of the value chain. Make sure there are healthy systems in place to nurture leads, convert them into sales, execute well, deliver your customer what was promised and then provide excellent service post sale. Otherwise, your content marketing spend is simply throwing good money after bad.

You might also want to check out these other fine posts about sales and marketing working in unison:

Salespeople: Inbound Marketing Alone Won’t Save Your Ass – Mike Weinberg

Getting Marketing And Sales Together – David A Brock

6 Sales and Marketing Communication Tips to Build Smarketing – Mike Volpe

Sales & Marketing Effectiveness Blog – Will Technology Solve My Sales Problem? – Scott Gruher