Sales

We’re living with more distractions than at any point in human history, and we’re being inundated with more messages competing for our attention than ever before (tens of thousands, by some estimates).  To break through the digital pollution, more companies are relying on content marketing versus outbound marketing to draw prospects into their brand. Because of its non-invasive nature, content marketing generates over three times as many leads as traditional marketing.  An effective content marketing strategy is a critical component of your overall customer experience. Content marketing allows you to provide valuable information to your customers and remain top-of-mind, while building trusting relationships. Moreover, your content can position your brand as an expert source, increase your exposure, and subtly generate more sales.  While every business can benefit from a content marketing strategy, there’s a right way and a wrong way to go about it. In this guide, I’ll help you apply my SUPER framework to guide your content marketing strategy. What is Content Marketing? Before we dive into the SUPER framework, let’s first get a clear understanding of what content marketing is. Content marketing is the creation and distribution of information that doesn’t center around the promotion of a product or service. According to Content Marketing Institute, content marketing provides truly relevant and useful content to your prospects and customers to help them solve their issues. The purpose of content marketing is to reach your audience in an organic way. According to Demand Gen Report, 71% of B2B buyers stated they consumed blog content before making their buying decisions. When you serve the right content to the right audience, you can pull prospects into your brand and build strong relationships.  On the other hand, outbound marketing, like a paid ad on social media or a billboard, pushes messaging onto consumers even when they aren’t asking or searching for it.  Content Marketing Versus Traditional Marketing Content marketing comes in many forms, such as blogs (like this one!), social media, webinars, podcasts, videos, quizzes, and more. To better understand the difference between content marketing and outbound marketing, let’s look at these two posts on Bed Bath & Beyond’s Instagram feed: In the first image, Bed, Bath, and Beyond shares Dr. Shelby Harris’s three tips for improving the quality of your sleep. While these tips don’t promote any of Bed, Bath, and Beyond’s products, it provides helpful information that they believe their shoppers would benefit from. BBB establishes itself as a go-to source for sleep wellness while building more trust with prospects.  Furthermore, since one of the tips is to use an air purifier and hypoallergenic bedding, Bed, Bath, and Beyond aims to capture more leads of customers that are looking to put these ideas into practice.  The second image is an example of outbound marketing. Bed, Bath, and Beyond is clearly promoting its Nestwell Pure Earth Bedding.  Now that you have a better understanding of content marketing, let’s review a simple framework that can guide your content creation strategy. S: Start With Your Story The most common mistake that I see professionals and entrepreneurs make with their social media—by far—is not having a strategy that guides the creation and distribution of the content they share. Instead, they just sort of follow trends, chase hashtags, or try to replicate what they see working for others. Instead of standing out from their competitors, they just become part of the noise. Use your Story as a North Star to guide the creation of your content and the curation of what you share.  Both your original content and the curated content you share serve the same purpose: overpowering apathy. As my friend Rory Vaden says, “your lens is the filter by which you see everything in the world.” Embrace your voice in your content marketing by filtering your topics through your lens. Your lens is the combination of the problem you solve and your uniqueness. This article is a perfect example. Instead of duplicating all of the other content marketing blogs on the internet, I’m addressing content marketing as it relates to my SUPER Model and customer experience. 😉 When you create content that embodies your unique brand voice, you’ll be more memorable. You’ll start to earn a reputation of being the expert on your niche subject. Your customers will come to you because they want to hear your take. Whatever it is that you’re creating or curating on your platforms, make sure your voice is at the center of it.  U: Understand Your Customer’s Story The purpose of content marketing is to provide valuable information to your customers, so it’s imperative that you understand what they’re looking for! If you’re a realtor that works with mostly first-time buyers, you may consider sharing DIY videos. Conversely, if you work with mature buyers, you might share the new five-star restaurants that are coming to their neighborhood. Getting clear on the specific type of content is key, otherwise you risk sounding tone-deaf or untrustworthy. UberSuggest is a free tool that will tell you what keywords people are searching for on Google. Having this knowledge of your customer base will help you identify the type of blog posts and newsletters you create, which will help you stay relevant and top-of-mind to your audience.  In addition, you should continue to learn about your customers’ preferences through your data. With a quick look at Google Analytics or the dashboards on your social platforms, you can easily identify the topics that are resonating with your audience.  According to SEM Rush, 65% of companies that succeed in content marketing run content audits more than twice a year. What are people downloading or ‘liking’ the most? What about their consumption patterns? Are the newsletters that are sent in the morning opened at a higher rate than the ones sent in the evening? Do people like Instagram reels or carousels better? Paying attention to these details will help you improve your content marketing strategy and form stronger connections with your customers. P: Personalize Someone asked

The connections you make with customers or clients matter. A brand touchpoint is an individual contact point between the customer and the brand. This isn’t usually a single moment. In fact, most companies have upwards of 100 different brand touchpoints. These are broadly defined interactions, ranging from in-person selling to email marketing messages. With that in mind, it’s never been more important to understand brand touchpoints and why they matter. When creating your customer journey map, you need to understand the key areas your customers are focused on. By anticipating brand touchpoints in advance, you’re prepared to overcome challenges, concerns, and anything else that gets in the way of a sale.  In marketing, there’s something known as the rule of 7. This refers to the average of 7 interactions it takes with a consumer and a brand before they’re ready to make a purchase. When you focus on creating a superb customer experience with each of those brand touchpoints, you make a real impact. Not only does this have the potential to boost your revenue, but it also leads to customer loyalty.  When it comes to customer loyalty, 73% of consumers say a great experience is key. With that in mind, it’s time to get serious about brand touchpoints. Keep reading to learn what these are and why they’re essential in today’s marketing battleground. How you connect with your customers makes all the difference in how they feel about your brand.   What Is A Brand Touchpoint? First and foremost, what is a brand touchpoint? Simply put, this is defined as the interactions and exposures consumers have with brands. This doesn’t have a single definition beyond this. It can be both deliberate communications and interactions consumers have on their own in their daily lives.  In customer journey mapping, brands take the time to determine their key brand touchpoints. These are moments when they reach out to the consumer to provide value, share a new product, or outsell the competition. They can be strictly sales-focused, or more general, designed to create a positive impression of the brand.  Brand touchpoints are things you’re likely already familiar with in your daily life. Things like TV ads, Google search ads, and social media posts are all forms of brand touchpoints. They can be physical, like a direct mail postcard or business card. They can also be in-person, like a live event or providing great customer service in storefronts.  Most importantly, why do brand touchpoints matter? First, when you focus on providing a targeted, engaging experience, your customers notice. A reported 81% of companies see customer experience as a way to stand out from competitors. When you consider the best ways to communicate and interact with your audience, you create engaged superfans who are loyal to your brand. This empowers you to charge more, land more referrals, and stand out.  Common Brand Touchpoints  With that in mind, what are some of the most common brand touchpoints? Many of these are things you’re likely already familiar with, but it’s still helpful to look into them closely. It’s normal to choose several of these to fit within your customer journey mapping.  Not every brand touchpoint is the right fit for every audience. When in doubt, consider how your audience spends their time both in-person and online. What are their preferred methods of communication? Most importantly, these will continue to evolve as your customers’ expectations change over time.  Social Media One of the most trusted ways to build brand awareness while interacting with customers is through social media. While social media isn’t necessarily a sales channel, it’s still a strong way to build relationships. Social media can have a huge impact on a customer’s journey with a brand.  With 74% of people following brands on social media, this is a great way to interact with your audience. Examples of social media touchpoints include social media advertisements, collaborating with influencers or other brands, sharing relevant posts, and responding to customers. When you’re an active member of the community, your audience sees your brand in a positive light.  Company Content (Blogs, Podcasts, Etc.) Similarly, company content is a type of brand touchpoint. With 47% of customers viewing 3 to 5 pieces of content before engaging with a sales rep, it’s important to invest in strong content. This can include anything from: These are just a few examples of the types of company content that serve as brand touchpoints. These can be sales-focused, educational, or entertaining. The ultimate goal is to build trust and drive engagement to your brand long-term. Check out this list from Visme for more tips on how to create brand awareness through your content. Conversations With Company Reps Next, conversations with company reps also serve as touchpoints within the customer journey. Whether your customer service team reaches out proactively or responds to a problem, your service needs to speak for itself. Customer service as a whole has never been more important. In fact, 59% of consumers have higher expectations for service than they did just a year ago.  Every time a customer interacts with sales staff, service staff, or the support team, they need to have a great experience. This means the brand takes responsibility for problems and acts proactively to solve them. It’s easy to play the blame game, but this is a situation where nobody wins. When these conversations are personal, efficient, and productive, the customer takes notice.   The Point Of Sale Additionally, the point of sale is an opportunity to make a positive impact on the customer. If they’re shopping in-store, a fast queue and simple transaction reduce friction for the buyers. Online, similar rules apply. The faster and easier it is for customers to make a purchase, the less likely they’ll abandon their cart or choose a competitor.  Checkout optimization (both in-person and online) can increase conversions by 35%. When customers are informed about their purchases, fees, and add-ons, they feel confident going through the point of sale process. Conversely, if they face unexpected