Hungry, Hungry Humans: Creating Great Content to Feed Your Pipeline

© David Goehring, 01.24.09, CC by 2.0

Don’t you just love it when a business you love provides you with the content you want, when you want it, at a frequency that fits your schedule? Isn’t that why you continue to buy from and interact with that company? When content resonates with our pain points and meets or exceeds our needs and expectations, we become brand loyalists. But how did we come so far? What made us take that initial bite and begin to really engage with that company?

While the first stage in Growth Cycle Marketing is Awareness, the second stage is the turning point in this cyclical buying process: Consideration. You’ve already flagged down your customer amidst the hubbub, and now they’re ready to engage. Are you prepared to really stand out and shine? Pin down the Consideration stage and you’re one step closer to nailing the sale.

Chomp Chomp Chomp!

Your humans are hungry. They want content—but NOT just any content. In the Consideration stage, this potential customer has demonstrated active interest in your products and services. They signed up for your mailing list. They commented on your blog. Maybe they called in to ask for a brochure or for more information. Your response here is crucial. Do not mess this up!

Some common mistakes:

• Sending out untargeted emails every freakin’ day. (Your prospect will be ticked. They’re sure to unsubscribe.)
• Releasing the sales hounds too soon. (Your prospects are looking for information. They’re weighing their options; they don’t want to feel pressured to buy. Slow and steady truly wins the race.)
• Cluttering up your website. (Be sure your message is clear and your products and services are easy to find and research. Confusion ≠ Customer.)
• Offering only the impersonal. (While your website should be clear of chaos, offer easy-to-follow pathways and search options so your potential customer feels at home.)

Setting Up Satiating Substance

In today’s world, marketing has to be useful. When a prospect is interested, you need to offer different types of bait before you attempt to set the hook.

A comprehensive content strategy is essential to successfully reaching your prospect in this delicate Consideration stage. Your success here is the difference between Customer Acquisition (stage 3 in Growth Cycle Marketing) and the fish that got away.

Remember the two Ps: Pathways & Processes. Your pathways are your vision for how your prospect will connect with your company over time. (In other words, your customer is walking a path you pave that leads from Awareness to Consideration to Acquisition.) Your processes are your internal guidelines (your content creation to do list) for creating the right content required to get your prospects’ attention at the right time. For example, in the Awareness stage, your prospective customer reacts to a viral video your company created. They land on your website, hungry for more helpful content. They sign up for your email list in exchange for a targeted eBook. Voila! You have a qualified lead.

BUT, have you established this pathway, and do you have the marketing strategy and processes in place to create the content required to address this customer’s needs? (Put simply, your team needs to create that video, plus the email newsletter, and the informative eBook. Do you have the resources to keep that prospect engaged over time?)

Remember: there are multiple pathways your customer may take to reach the point of sale. Create a buyer persona for each target market demographic to analyze each potential customer’s content pathway. That way you can create awesome, tailored content for each type of interested website visitor. Discerning your customers’ potential pathway(s) allows you to formulate an internal marketing strategy for creating great content that will leave your customer both satiated and hungry for more!

If the thought of establishing a content marketing strategy and process is totally overwhelming, please contact Cultivate Communications for more information about launching an awesome and workable content marketing strategy.