As a business owner, sales does cure all as it is key for growth and survival. Like so many of the entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses I’ve helped, the trend of needing more leads, sales, and awareness continues to be a targeted goal. However, what I find is that the system set up to achieve these goals is broken somewhere along the way and one of the missing pieces is typically overlooking the buyer’s journey. Deeply understanding the buyer’s journey will help with creating relevant content from the top of the funnel (TOFU) all the way to the bottom of the funnel (BOFU).
More specifically, it’s important to note that content is at the very core of every single execution. “Content marketing” has become a buzzword that’s been thrown around within every marketing initiative, yet only 21% B2B of marketers are able to successfully track the ROI of it and only 43% of B2C marketers can attest to a clear sign of success with their efforts.
In this blog post, I’ll highlight 4 types of content that will undeniably boost sales for you…
1) Case Studies and Testimonials
Line up the people who have experienced a positive impact with your help. Focus on obtaining video and written testimonials. Then work on narrowing down one to two customers who are willing to do a more extensive case study. This will allow you to highlight their challenges, show how you solved these challenges and how you were able to yield positive results along the way.
Further, consider pushing a referral program where you give customers an incentive for bringing new business to you. Believe it or not, word-of-mouth advertising is still an incredibly effective way to grow your business. Here are the stats to prove it:
- B2B Referral Program Stats
- 91% of B2B buyers are influenced by word-of-mouth when making their buying decision. [USM]
- 61% of B2B buyers report that colleague recommendations are the most important factor when making a purchase decision. [B to B Magazine]
- 56% of B2B purchasers look to offline word-of-mouth as a source of information and advice, and this number jumps to 88% when online word-of-mouth sources are included. [BaseOne]
- B2C Referral Program Stats
- 84% of consumers say they either completely or somewhat trust recommendations from family, colleagues, and friends about products – making these recommendations the information source ranked highest for trustworthiness. [Nielson]
- 74% of consumers identify word-of-mouth as a key influencer in their purchasing decision. [Ogilvy/Google/TNS]
- 88% of people trust online reviews written by other consumers as much as they trust recommendations from personal contacts. [BrightLocal]
2) Webinars
Running webinars are nothing new; however, running a effective and high-converting webinars consistently can be a challenge. Webinars are an easy win when it comes to getting new customers and used as a platform to showcase your expertise. In order to run a successful webinar, here’s an image that depicts the key elements you need to include:
3) Exclusive Programs
Developing programs such as boot camps, trainings or live workshops are the way to go when it comes to taking your potential customers and existing customers beyond the free content (like webinars). Here’s an example of how you can start implementing an exclusive program today:
Keep in mind that people buy from people, so understanding your audience and messaging to their needs will play a large role with conversions/sign-ups. Always highlight key benefits of what people will get when they sign up for your exclusive program. More importantly, don’t be afraid to highlight “who” shouldn’t join your program. This will help set expectations so that people don’t walk into your program thinking they’ll see positive results right away.
4) Email Follow Ups
Knowing what motivates people to open your emails is one thing, but knowing what will entice them to click through and convert – be it sign up for a webinar or for your exclusive program(s) – is an even more powerful action.
For starters, make sure you segment your email list by non-customers and customers. Then set up workflows (or drip campaigns) that segment your lists based on lifecycle stages (remember, TOFU to BOFU). Have relevant content and messaging within each stage that speaks to the challenges as well as the needs of your target audience. Below is an image that illustrates the perfect anatomy of an email. Use this as a guiding resource, but do your own tests to see what works best for you.
Lastly, keep in mind that the success or failure of your content lies within your ability to create meaningful connections with your target customers. Use their needs and challenges to help you create content pieces that will resonate best when it comes to driving sales. Also, be persistent with your testing. Not everything you do will always generate sales, but don’t get discouraged by that. Rather, utilize your learnings as a way to improve every step of the process.
If you haven’t downloaded my free eBook on The Ultimate Guide to Winning Sales with Content Marketing, grab your copy here >>
