How to Craft a Messaging System that Moves Prospects to Action
Human beings are wired to avoid loss. We fear change because it involves risk—a potential for loss. For this reason, many B2B buying decisions get put off (or worse, permanently tabled). A buying decision involves change. There’s inherent risk. If a purchase doesn’t work out well, the decision-maker could lose a promotion—or lose a job.
So how can you motivate prospects …Read More
Differentiate from Competitors by Standing for (and Against) Something
You’ve heard that having a UVP which clearly communicates how your product or service is better than others will help you differentiate from competitors. But is this true?
As it turns out, a company’s UVP typically isn’t enough to motivate prospects to choose it over a competitor. In a survey sponsored by Think with Google, only 14% of buyers perceived enough …Read More
Work Smarter, Not Harder: Let Content Do the Work of Selling
Salespeople are a tenacious bunch. They send email after email, make call after call, meet with prospect after prospect, then get up morning after morning and repeat. Salespeople work hard. But hard work doesn’t make sales — at least not efficiently.
Most B2B companies now understand the role that content plays in marketing, to generate leads. But many companies are still relying on “hard …Read More
Powerful Case Studies: Buying Decisions Are Made at the Intersection of Insight and Customer Stories
Everyone is drawn to a good story. Why? We love to imagine ourselves as the protagonist, overcoming the odds and winning. Stories are inspiring. Stories help us understand how the world works.
Ultimately, stories give us clues about how to solve our own problems in the real world. And stories are attractive because they’re concrete. They’re visual, easily pictured in the …Read More
To Capture the Attention of Decision-makers, Your Content Has to Go Deep
Content quality has improved significantly since Google changed their algorithm to reward quality. But while much of the B2B content out there now features good writing and nice design, it tends to be shallow. This content is ideal for those who are just beginning to explore a topic, but doesn’t provide real value to those who are experienced.
That’s a big …Read More
Creative Communication is a Revenue Turbocharger
Scientists have debunked the myth that we only use 10% of our brains. But the myth is persistent because it’s so believable. One of the worst offenders that makes this false statistic so convincing is marketing copy. Cliches invade websites and sales collateral like a particularly nasty insect species. Buzzwords and abstract phrases that mean nothing are everywhere, and they’re …Read More
4 Steps to Improve Your Content Quality for Better Leads and More Conversions
Content marketing has grown up—nearly every size company in every industry is using content. As a result, there’s a lot of content out there. But although much of that content features good writing and nice design, it tends to be shallow and similar to what’s already been published. Which is why companies (and the marketing agencies creating content for them) …Read More
Improve Your B2B Lead Quality by Adding These 3 Elements to Your Content [INFOGRAPHIC]
Many B2B marketers are getting lots of “likes” and “shares” on their content, but they struggle to get leads to convert into paying customers. People genuinely appreciate their content—it’s helpful, engaging, and interesting. But while engagement is important, it’s not what B2B marketers ultimately need. 85% of B2B marketers say their top goal is lead generation, and 84% say it’s …Read More
Use Case Studies to Shorten Sales Cycles and Convince Wary Prospects
Committing to an enterprise-level purchase is a stressful decision for most B2B buyers. There are real consequences to the business if a vendor performs badly, such as angry customers, lost revenue, or fines associated with failing to follow regulations. An individual’s promotion (or job) could be on the line if things don’t go as planned. Which is one reason big decisions tend to …Read More
Want to Win at B2B Content Marketing in 2017? Focus on These Fundamentals.
Marketing has gotten pretty complicated. There are so many strategies, infinite numbers of tools available, and myriad metrics to track. It can be overwhelming.
Marketers are getting so focused on the new and the changing that they’re losing sight of the fundamental. But the reality is that the fundamentals are still fundamental and they haven’t changed. And if you stay focused …Read More