Linking Content Marketing and Sales Cycles
Too often, sales is often considered a separate entity from digital marketing. The reality is, the two are very closely related, and the two departments should absolutely work together. The sales department makes the marketing department stronger, and vice versa.
One of the greatest ways that this applies is in content marketing. Sales and content marketing are can sync nicely in digital marketing because if a content strategy is created properly, there should be pieces of content that represent every phase of the sales cycle.
Determine the Right Sales Cycle for Your Business
Before determine a comprehensive content marketing strategy, you need to figure out the details of your sales cycle. A great content strategy will include pieces of content for all of these stages.
Here’s a quick summary of how this could work:
- Early Stages. This is when someone first hears about what you do and your offer. They are just gathering information. They might call and ask questions, fill out a lead form, and read someone preliminary information about your company. This content is all about attracting
- Middle Stages. This is when your prospects are being nurtured, and you need content for this phase, as well. They may be about ready to make a purchase from you, but they could still be exploring. What are the benefits of them using your product or service? Depending on the nature of the business, this part of the phase could last for several months or longer.
- Late Stages. This is where someone is very close to buying, but they just need some very specific pieces of information that will make the difference. Content written with this phase in mind could directly influence whether the purchase is made or not.
Early-stage content is more about discovery. People want to discover what the company is and what products or services they offer during this phase. During the middle stages, prospects are being nurtured. They need content that will help them discover more about the company and the products. It will nurture them. During the late stages, prospects are looking to have specific questions answered and are looking for really specific information. This content will help them decide whether or not they will buy.
Perform a Content Audit
The next phase is to determine if your current content can be included in each of these phases. Do you have content to appeal to everyone, no matter where they are in the sales cycle? Carefully examine all the content that you have on your website, including static pages and blog posts. Carefully considered not only the hard data associated with these pages, but also determine where they fall in the sales cycle.
Once you determine where your current content stands, you can better determine if you have any content holes that need to be addressed. From there, you can use this information to overhaul your content strategy. This information will help you determine the best content strategy for your company, and one that aligns with the sales cycle.
Categorized in: Content Marketing
LIKE AND SHARE THIS ARTICLE:
