Chemimedia creates design and content for blogs, media, publishers
We provide delicately selected design and content solutions for digital communications
We provide delicately selected design and content solutions for digital communications
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Georgia
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You are about to explore how a sales funnel might work and at which stages there are some faults and gaps. You will also define content types to achieve your own goals
Content Marketing Goals
Aleх Koltashova
A strategist for Chemimedia
September 7, 2022
Strategy
The Sales And Content Marketing Funnel
The sales funnel is the customer’s journey from awareness of the product / service to action (purchase)
Implementing a sales funnel is crucial, so it is better if you figure out its steps in advance. It might be complicated, especially if you don’t realize which customer needs should be fulfilled concerning different funnel stages. We are about to start from the very moment when they don't know about you and end with devoted love and repeated purchases.
What stages does your customer go through?
For example: a client visits the website, fills out an application / makes the call, a manager processes it, promotes them to purchase, and then to sign an agreement.
Highlight the problems you face at each of the stages.
For instance, you have discovered such sales stages and some problems:
For instance, you have discovered such sales stages and some problems:
- 1Left a request (on the website or on social networks)A few requests
- 2The lead found out the details of the task, wrote the costThe customer is not informed about the product before contacting, it is often necessary to answer the same type of questions
- 3Agreed and invoicedTo make them purchase (not every client buys after invoicing)
- 4SaleNo feedback, you have to beg
- 5After the purchaseThe customer returns once a year. Best-case scenario, a year. It would be great if they return more often + motivate them to make recommendations, so make them monitor collections’ updates, etc.
The good news is that the main task of content marketing is not quite philosophical — to help sales. Otherwise, what is the point?
An example of a content marketing funnel
Imagine that you have assistants at each stage of sales. The content marketing funnel allows you to "warm" the client before and after the purchase, forming an endlessly circulating back-and-forth system.
The Aims Of Content Marketing
1) Brand expertise, image tasks
- Brand awareness
- Expert status, leading authority in your industry
- Transformation of brand opinion
2) Communication and / or training, improving its quality
- Getting to know you / the product
- Customer training
- Customer problem solving
- Communicating with the audience
- Engagement
- Getting feedback
- Collecting emails / increasing the number of leads
3) Sales
- Website traffic
- Attracting new customers
- Increasing the retargeting base
- Conversion of leads to customers
4) Repeat sales, make loyalty
- Customer movement in the funnel, customer management
- Customer cost optimization
- Customer retention
- Increasing the frequency of purchases
- Purchases of other services
- Customer loyalty
You may also have your own goals. For example, your company is entering a new market or wants to offer its services to large customers. In this case, your goals may be as follows: to represent a new service, or to declare yourself as a company with an average check of $10,000.
It is important to realize that the purpose of the content project should be consistent with the overall marketing strategy. Try to figure out which gap you can fill with content, how it can help within the entire strategy
Types Of Content In The Funnel
Test various types of content in typical situations or tasks and at different stages of the funnel (the type is conditional, but you need to get the logic).
The main thing is that an article for a person who knows nothing about your company and an article for someone who is already your client is different content, even at the level of terminology.
The main thing is that an article for a person who knows nothing about your company and an article for someone who is already your client is different content, even at the level of terminology.
Circumstances
Funnel stage
Tasks of the stage
Content type
1) The visitor does not know you.
2) The visitor does not trust you yet.
3) The visitor wants to get information, studies the market slowly
2) The visitor does not trust you yet.
3) The visitor wants to get information, studies the market slowly
ATTRACT
(first you need to attract a potential client)
Getting to know you / the product.
The growth of recognition. Increasing the retargeting base.
Increasing engagement. Increasing site traffic
Company blog
Social network
Infographics
Photo
Electronic magazine / Book
Podcasts
Video / Video Podcasts
Website content
Journal / Newsletter
Researches
1) The visitor knows you and wants to know more.
2) The visitor almost trusts you :).
3) The visitor wants to get information quickly and understand who to choose in the market
2) The visitor almost trusts you :).
3) The visitor wants to get information quickly and understand who to choose in the market
INVOLVE
(now we need to do something to make a potential client interested in us)
(now we need to do something to make a potential client interested in us)
Collecting e-mail.
Increasing the number of leads.
Expanding the list for retargeting.
Initial purchase
Increasing the number of leads.
Expanding the list for retargeting.
Initial purchase
Educational resources
Useful resources
Software for download
Access to coupons / discounts
Tests / Polls.
Webinars / Events
The visitor turned into a customer — they bought a product from you
CONVERT
(hooray, lead bought something from us)
(hooray, lead bought something from us)
Customer movement in the funnel, customer management.
Increasing the number of leads and clients.
Expanding the list for retargeting
Increasing the number of leads and clients.
Expanding the list for retargeting
Free demo access
Cases / customer stories
Comparison / Specification
Webinars / Events
Lessons
Cases / customer stories
Comparison / Specification
Webinars / Events
Lessons
1) The client appreciated your product and service (will they leave me after the purchase?).
2) The client can recommend or not your product.
3) The customer can make a repeat purchase
2) The client can recommend or not your product.
3) The customer can make a repeat purchase
NURTURE (after purchase)
(okay, but how do I get a customer to buy something else and recommend us?)
(okay, but how do I get a customer to buy something else and recommend us?)
Customer cost optimization. Customer retention.
Increasing the frequency of purchases.Purchases of other products.
Customer loyalty
Increasing the frequency of purchases.Purchases of other products.
Customer loyalty
Reference materials / training
Secret letters
Loyalty Program
Secret letters
Loyalty Program
Each piece of content (blog post, video, article on a thematic resource) helps the client to move from stage to stage. Look at your funnel, which tasks are already being solved with the help of content, and where there are gaps.
Practice
- 1Describe what the sales funnel looks like now and what problems are there at each stage? Select a few items, think about it, talk with the team, brainstorm and detail it.
- 2Fix goals (what do you expect from the content?) that relate to business goals.
- 3Analyze the current situation: which tasks has the existing content already solved, and where are the gaps? Highlight the types of content that will help to close these gaps — describe what we are doing. Define at which stage we will focus on and set priorities.
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