Journey Through the Sales Funnel
The buyer’s journey is a tool we use with every client – B2B and B2C, any industry. Here’s why it’s critical. I probably don’t have to tell you that people research product solutions well before reaching out to a salesperson or entering a store. According to SiriusDecisions, 67% of the buyer’s decision process is complete before they reach out to sales. If you’re just marketing your product’s features and benefits, you’re probably reaching buyers after they’ve already scoped a solution to their problem. By reaching them earlier, you can help define the problem and lead them to the ideal solution (your solution). The buyer’s journey reflects your buyer’s research process—from becoming aware of a need, to considering various solutions, and finally deciding on a particular solution. We call these three main stages Awareness, Consideration, and Decision. For each stage of the journey, you’re going to map your buyer’s key questions, and develop marketing content that answers those questions. In the Awareness stage, your goal is to connect the buyer to the problem/challenge, and persuade them to take action. This is typically not product information; more often it’s helping them understand their problem and showing them how others solve that problem successfully. In the Consideration stage, you get into product – educating the buyer on the benefits of the solution, and differentiating your solution from competitors. Finally, in the Purchase stage you offer investment rationale. The Purchase stage tends to be more complex the more expensive the product, and the more people that are involved in influencing or approving the decision. Did you know that we offer buyer's journey workshops? Now available via web conference, custom to you, with a step-by-step guide to implement or optimize your existing buyer's journey.
Quick Tips: Ebooks
Ebooks are frequently used as content magnets in the Awareness and Consideration stages of the buyer’s journey. Make yours even better!
An ebook is a ‘how-to’ guide with actionable takeaways. Consider including useful components like checklists and step-by-step processes.
Easy to read – Put it in a format that’s easy to read online, like a flipbook. Use graphics to illustrate your points.
Don’t sell; educate.
Quality over quantity. Customers are bombarded with mediocre content, but there’s never too much useful, insightful content. If you’re managing a team, create the right incentives: instead of measuring marketers on how much content they create or campaigns they run, measure the results.
Get more bang for your buck with derivative content. You can use much of the content within a good ebook as standalone content. Things like checklists, infographics, and quotes often work great on their own. You can also easily create a webinar, video, or slideshare from ebook content.
Personalize the content experience to keep the buyer engaged. At the end of the ebook, include links to related content, plus social sharing links. Create an email nurture program based on topics they’ve shown interest in.
Cool Stuff
Check out our Insta post for 7 free and cheap tools for scrappy startups (including the ones we use to design, collaborate, and research competitors).
More free stuff – visit Almanac.io for crowd-sourced documents and templates for virtually anything business-related.
Need to jumpstart your content marketing brainstorm? Flip through They Ask, You Answer by Marcus Sheridan.