Today, I'm more likely to meet someone through a blog post, an email, or as a result of my online behavior than I am by talking to them on the phone, or meeting them at a networking event.
As I continuously work to help my clients connect with their prospects and engage with them through written communications, content and messaging, I do this by extending stories that create meaning through relevance. Often as a result of behavior in response to a communication.
It bothers me when companies really blow it with their messaging, although it makes it easier to eliminate them from consideration. Today, I received and email that thanks me for my interest, then spends three sentences about their products and then goes to a second paragraph that begins:
"I'm not sure what sparked your interest in us, but please let me know a good time for us to briefly chat ..."
This immediately tells me I'm not very important to him. And, here's the saddest part, I know this company has marketing automation. Why? Because they sell it. So my expectations were reasonably high.
See, here's the interesting thing. You can buy all the technology you want, but if you don't use the intelligence you gather to direct your content and messaging, you're not going to get your leads to want to know you. If you don't show that you care about them, why should they want to?
This is also what happens when your salespeople write their own messaging. And, I'm guessing here, but I'll bet marketing would faint if they saw this type of thing going out. Is it consistent with their brand? No. Does it ruin all the work they've done so far? (for me, the recipient of this communication) Pretty much. Let's just say, I'm not impressed.
This is how the disconnect between the buying process and the sales process happens.
In regards to the company above, I downloaded a white paper, ...I think, so I'm not ready for a sales call. What would've made a difference to me is something along these lines:
"Hi Ardath,
I see you've recently downloaded our white paper on XYZ and how it impacts the status quo.[remind me of how I should know you] Since you may be considering how to impact the status quo in your own organization, I thought you might find this paper interesting too. It explores how to get buy-in for change at the executive level, which is always a challenge.[Give me more of what you think I'm interested in and tell me why] (with a link to the paper)
If you have any further questions about how to initiate change and what the proof points for XYZ are, I'd be happy to help you understand the difference changing the status quo can make by sharing some relevant case studies. Please let me know..." [Tell me how you can provide value beyond this message]
***
This is what I mean by utilizing insights to behavior and turning them into communications that build a story. What was communicated to me was something I might be interested in learning more about, given my viewing history with the company. That kind of message tells me the company is paying attention, trying to be helpful and not stingy with their expertise. It goes a long way toward showing me they care. And, it gives me access to information I might not otherwise have.
Yes, it's still focused on their product, but it's a helpful focus, not a sales pitch. And, if the information is useful, then they've built some trust with me because they've shown they understand what I might be going through and that they want to help.
Generating this type of marketing communications requires that you have a content strategy, a plan for what follows. Just throwing one-off marketing communications out there and following up with lame messaging can not only hurt your chances of getting any further with that lead, but it may make them not want to know you at all, damaging the work marketing has done up to now.
What you can learn by watching interactions form and evolve into engagement will help you discern patterns that can then help drive your content strategy for consistency and best practices. But the tools won't do you any good if your messaging and content doesn't build trust and empathy. It doesn't happen overnight, but in this age of deleting more than we can read each day, taking on the challenge will pay off.
