Photo Credit: HubSpot
Marketing teams think that everyone should love their content because they produced it. However, if marketers do not share that content with the people who are most important to us (especially our sales teams), then how are they supposed to use it to their advantage to close their next deal? It’s our responsibility as marketers to constantly inform our sales teams of the content that is available to them to use while they are in the prospecting process. If you do not let them know the information is available, then your content is not as valuable as you may think it is.
In order for sales and marketing teams to be most effective, they need to collaborate and share insights with each other.
Sales Team Pain Points
Usually marketers are good at discovering the pain points of our prospective customers. This time I am saying, get to know the pain points of your sales team – Hmm… seriously? Chances are, they will let you know a few things that will definitely help you produce content marketing that will be even more effective. Don’t forget, a happy sales team typically means more sales revenues are coming in as well as a healthier company. When that is not happening, nobody is happy. Remember, good content marketing is not just about targeting your prospective customers. It’s also about fully understanding your company’s internal sales challenges and how business development teams communicate best with the prospective customer. That’s where content marketing comes in.
“Content marketing is extremely important in the sales cycle. Our sales team works hand-in-hand with our content manager to create messages that capture and engage both prospective and existing clients. We devise content suited for email campaigns and social media, not only to promote our conferences, but also to provide information such as free e-Books with great marketing tips. Content marketing helps build and strengthen relationships that help us gain clients.”
– Erika J. Sievert, Global Strategic Management Institute
One Size Does Not Fit “All” With Content
What the marketing team produces may not always focus on just the message of the content. Good content also relies on the media used to communicate to the prospective customer and how short or long the content is. One size does not fit all with content marketing. Your sales team and your customers should define the types of content that can be most effective. Good content is not just about the actual content; it’s also about the method of distribution that is important.
Talk to your sales team and ask them what they need in order to communicate even more effectively to prospects? Maybe the sales team’s pain point is that customers want a simpler explanation of a complex product line. Instead of a 40-page white paper maybe the content is repurposed to a shorter, sexier, image rich, 8-10 page eBook or even a video. Maybe customers want more industry research to help validate what the sales team is saying. An infographic just may do the trick here. Either way, the sales team’s answer to your question just may arm the marketing team with more information to produce more effective content.
Content Blueprint
Once you get to understand the sales team’s pain points and what could work best for them, producing your content marketing will become easier and more effective. I like to ask myself a few questions before I begin to produce content. Do I want to earn customer trust? Inform the customer? Educate the customer? Or attract the customer? Sometimes it’s all of them. When you answer these questions, it will accommodate both your sales team’s needs and the customer’s needs and also provide the marketing team with a blueprint for what to create and how to create it. Also, take some time to understand the people that are most important to you and start with your sales team. They will be able to provide some information that nobody else has, and that information will lead to effective content marketing that ultimately leads to sales.
YourBrandExposed is designed to look at digital with an eye into the future using a creative, innovative marketing perspective. We’re a consultative and tactical resource for companies looking to leverage the power of digital, web, social and content marketing strategies. Contact us if you’re feeling the digital squeeze on how to best market your company.
Scott MacFarland
Linkedin | Huffington Post | Twitter: @scmacfarland
Email: Yourbrandexposed@yahoo.com
Photo Credit: HubSpot
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