Let’s say you’ve drafted a remarkable article that checks all the boxes.
You’ve nailed the persona (people who you’re writing the article for) and you think this article will be so helpful that it’ll get incredible feedback.
But did you think about how this article will help your sales and marketing efforts?
I’m going to show you the #1 secret weapon that will make your business a dangerous competitor in the market.
Enter buyer’s journey…
You see, even though your article is targeted at your persona, it’s not necessarily relevant to their stage in the buyer’s journey.
So what does that mean?
It means it doesn’t help them get one step closer to buying your product.
To illustrate:
Let’s say you’ve got a group of people who just ate a five-course meal. They’re full as a tick.
Now, let’s pretend that you own a burger restaurant with a new fantastic offer: two cheeseburgers, a loaded fries and large drink for $7.
If you tried to target this same group of people with your new stunning offer, do you think they’d take it up? Don’t think so.
The opportunity to pitch the offer was ideal before they ate their five-course meal, not after.
This is all about sending the right message, to the right person, at the right time, every time.
You’ve got to think about who would find your article useful, and what stage of the journey would they find it useful?
If you targeted that group of people in the afternoon, as opposed to dinner time, you may have been more successful.
Think seriously about how your blog can assist your sales department with providing useful information to buyers throughout their journey.
In any given market, there are only 3% of people who are willing to buy straight away.
They know they have a problem, they know the solution to that problem, and now they’re finding a provider that can service that problem.
The other 97% of people either don’t know they have a problem, or they do know, but need more information to act upon it.
This is where your blog (or place where people read your content) comes in, acting as a highly valuable platform to educate these 97% at each stage of their journey.
Some people may need a little push. Others will need weeks or months of nurturing before they’re ready.
On average, it takes between 6-8 interactions with your brand before a prospect becomes a customer.
So, in saying that, to have a successful blog that coincides with your sales and marketing efforts, you must:
- Identify your buyer’s journey (per persona)
- Figure out what objections a buyer might have at each stage of their journey
- Understand the exact problems a buyer would face at each stage of the journey
- Create highly valuable content around each stage (that’s focused on solving these problems!), while knocking down their objections with facts
One crucial mistake that I see businesses make is they create content in the guise of being helpful, but for the most part, they’re only tooting their own horn in the article.
They’re essentially only providing a few generalised, empty tips and then explain how awesome their products are at fixing problem X, Y, and Z.
The problem here is obvious.
These businesses are trying so hard to sell, that it turns prospects off. It’s not actually valuable content. It’s just a gloating soapbox with a few stupid pointers.
You should be giving something away of value. Something for free with no obligations, such as an industry cheat sheet, eBook that answers burning questions, and tangible materials that are convenient for the prospect.
This in turn will bolster your business as a thought leader. This is the #1 secret weapon that makes the difference between being a doctor that is helpful, and a salesman who is reaching for your pockets.
Do this, and you’ll inspire, gain trust, and organically secure more business.
