Last week, I was interviewed by a technology services marketing team looking to improve their Demand Generation activities.
They had a very cohesive but small team and they wanted to ramp up activities to drive brand awareness and lead generation. But as you might expect they had limited funds and bandwidth (don’t we all).
I suggested a few different places like investing in more Content Marketing, Lead Nurturing and Social Media. And here is how the conversation went:
Content Marketing - is the bait you need to have out there that attracts the type of customer you want to talk to – in fact the entire first experience(s) of your brand online are all around the quality of content you put out there AND what people have to say about it. It’s time to crank on the quality of your content machine not just the quantity!
Lead Nurturing - if this isn’t high on your list, it should be. If the best place to get make a sale is with your existing customer base then the SECOND best place to make a sale is contained in your lead nurturing system. A person who downloads the paper and opts into our database becomes a lead start (notice I didn’t say lead). And with the lead nurturing system we have in place we can then develop a lead to the point that they are willing to talk to someone from our sales organization.
And finally …
Social Media – unlike traditional media …. Print, TV and Radio – which can cost big money. Social media’s upfront costs are very little and we actually use money within my team to experiment with it so we get A) get a better understanding of the technology and B) start to understand how we can use it and measure the results along with all the other media we have. Also try to map your tactics more to the buying cycle when you deploy them. Don’t think this next podcast is going to drive awareness through the roof …. it might …. but the goal should be to feed those that are already in your long sales cycle with more good quality content on what your company can deliver.
Bottom line – this team pushed me by asking “ok but if you only had a dollar, where would you put it?” My response – Content. You can have the best Lead Nurturing system and the best Social Media plan – but without content you aren’t going to get very far.
Paul, great advice for a B2B firm. How would you answer to the question, “if you only had a dollar, where would you put it” in a B2C scenario?
Why not go for the first best place to make a sale and invest your dollar on customer centric programs. If the goal is to create brand awareness and lead generation, maybe a customer referal program will provide more effective buzz and leads. Since your customers will be promoting your business to their collagues.
When you hear about a company /solution from a collague or a friend, you are more likely to buy from the company.
Paul, I totally agree that content is number one. It helps build top-of-mind awareness and especially in B2B, it promotes in-bound leads.
@ Elaine – totally agree it is the foundation for a good in-bound lead strategy
@ Paul – While B2C isnt my bag – I still think it would be content – look at Ford (aka Scott Monty)
@ Aslihan – and whats at the heart of a customer referral program … Content.
Great point or focus of a good content effort – Customer Success Stories, Customer Testimonials etc
great point!
“If you had a dollar, where would you put it?” What a lovely way to put across the point.
Thanks I am a content writer.