Sell me this raincoat

Umbrella in trash generated by Google Gemini

The title of this blog is a variant on the "Sell me this pen" challenge. 

Confession: I find most marketing presentations a waste of time because they just rehash what I already know. But there is the rare exception that offers helpful insight and perspectives that spark my own #WriteWay creativity. 

That has been my experience in attending the Full-Funnel Summit.  Jen Allen-Knuth proposed shifting the sales intro from pushing your product of a $100 raincoat that may meet resistance from buyers who don't want to shell out that kind of money.

Jen said she'd frame it this was for a target market in the windy city of Chicago where it rains for about 1/3 the year: studies say only a small percentage of people remember to take their umbrellas. Those who forget will decide no to walk in the rain and so have to shell out $45 a pop for an Uber.

The implication that trying to save the $100 could end up costing you more if you forget your umbrella and end up paying for rides to try to stay dry.

As I wrote in the chat there, my approach would be different. I'd say "Ever notice how many umbrellas you see in the trash on a stormy day? That's because the wind rips through and breaks them. But have you ever seen a raincoat in the trash on a rainy day? No, you haven't. Here's why." 

And then I'd calculate the cost of multiple umbrellas purchased over the years vs. the one-time cost of the raincoat.

Why did I come up with this? Jen's framing refers to the forgetfulness of most people that you may think doesn't apply to you. You're smart enough to remember your umbrella, right?

 But even so, you have, no doubt, experienced your umbrella getting blown out from a strong wind and have seen multiple umbrellas thrown out that prove that even if you remember to take it, it can prove useless. Also the fact that you never see a raincoat peeking out of a trash can the way you see umbrellas creates a strong visual impression.

Another thing that made me come up with a different approach to Jen's was my thinking that it didn't make sense that her target market would hesitate over shelling out $100 for a raincoat would solve the problem of forgetting an umbrella by spend $45 on a single Uber ride to avoid walking in the rain. Generally, one would first look for a cheap umbrella, look for public transportation or just accept the inevitability of getting wet when walking home. 

If you're marketing to a price-conscious market, you have to speak to the in their own terms. They're not likely to indulge in expensive rides when they can walk. But they certainly can can calculate the cost of multiple replacements for umbrellas that don't stand up to the wind.

While I'm sure that Jen charged the client four or five figures for this marketing idea, I came up with it on the spot, and I'm sure I can come up with something that is equally sound and creative for your B2C or B2B.  The Write Way is all about putting yourself in the mindset of your target audience.

Visit my site to learn more about my marketing and writing services and book a free consultation call.

What 7-Eleven got wrong

 

Today is 7/11 in the US. That used to be "Free Slurpee" day. But that has turned into "Pay with your privacy forever instead of shelling out a buck for the Slurpee" Day.

That's the disastrous result of 7-Eleven attempting to take a page out of the B2B playbook. It turned what had been a simple way to capitalize on a date that matched the store name with an offer that made people happy.

People could simply come in for a free small Slurpee. While they were there, they may have bought something else. Even if they didn't, the frozen treat was actually a very cheap way to build positive feelings for the brand for the cost of just pennies per person per year.

But that's not good enough for someone with a B2B mindset who wants to track everything and be assured that nothing is given away without getting something of value in return. Enter the demand to put in your cell phone number and granting the convenience store permission to bombard you with messages and offers in perpetuity before you walk out with your "free" treat. #brand

If you think about it rationally, it's really not worth it to give a brand so much for something that sells for just a buck. Most brands that try to get you to opt into emails or messaging offer at least a percentage off discount that can amount to $20.

I pointed this out to my daughter. But lured by the siren call of "free" (see Dan Ariely's analysis of this in his books and articles), she insisted, "It's worth it." So I made the trip over, waiting in line to pay by relinquishing the right to privacy, and then punched in her phone number.

After all, the Slurpee was for her, and it really is way too sweet for my taste.

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What to expect from a content marketing strategy

 

                                   Content marketing strategy  photo by Kindel Media on Pexels.com

What makes content marketing distinct from other forms of marketing is that its primary goal is to engage your target audience’s interest rather than lead immediately to a call-to-action to buy. The content can take many forms, ranging from single pictures with captions on social media posts to extended articles, eBooks, and videos.

Part of planning an effective strategy is selecting the medium that is most likely to capture your audience’s attention. For a B2B that means showing awareness of business pain points and insights into what's happening in the industry now. For B2C, you want to connect with the consumers in your target market repeatedly by offering them helpful tips or engaging stories.

For example, a kitchenware seller may send out recipes or blogs that offer advice on healthy substitutions to make guilt-free desserts. It can also use video content effectively to demonstrate techniques in cooking or offer a downloadable app that converts cooking measurements from ounces to grams or milliliters.

​What all the approaches described above have in common is that they position the brand as a credible source of information within its own defined niche. Over time that leads to a deepened relationship with your audience.

Typically, you can expect 6-9 months of consistent content marketing posting to see an uplift in B2B sales. That's because B2B sales typically involve longer cycles, more approvals, and a lot more money than B2C.

 (One exception was a B2B blog I ghostwrote that brought in sales qualified lead the very next day).

As businesses don't tend to very receptive to cold calls and emails from businesses they have not heard of, the support of content marketing and demand gen leads to greater success in outbound sales efforts.

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Think Marathon Rather Than Sprint When Planning Content Marketing

What makes content marketing effective

 

Hairstylist spraying hair. Photo credit: Rene Asmussen on Pexels.com

 The hairstylist and the photographer

​Once upon a time (in the year 2005 ) I created a print magazine and managed both its content and ads. I brought the two together in what everyone today calls content marketing.  encouraged advertisers to write articles to give readers more context than an ad alone provided.
​
In one issue, I had articles from both a hairstylist-- who got it exactly right -- and a photographer - who got it totally wrong. What she did was offer tips that they could apply to their own hair. He, instead, opted to write about himself and his approach to photography with no takeaways of use to his readers. 

What was the result of the two approaches? The photographer admitted many people told him they saw his article, but they didn't contact him for his services. In contrast, the hairstylist reported that the article brought her more customers than any advertising had ever done. 

The moral of the story

The photographer failed to offer value to the audience  because he was solely focused on self-promotion.  The hairstylist, on the other hand, instinctively understood what content would appeal to her audience and was rewarded for giving it to them.  The key to successful content marketing is not to make it all about you but all about offering useful information for your audience that makes them trust you.  

​
Related: 

Make Your Content as Accessible as Possible 
What Edison Can Teach Us About SEO

Think Marathon Rather Than Sprint When Planning Content Marketing

Think marathon rather than sprint when planning content marketing

Photo by Steven Lelham on Unsplash

Done right, content marketing will deliver an ROI measured in terms of the LTV of a customer. 

But it’s a marathon -- not a sprint.

What makes content marketing  distinct from other forms of marketing is that its primary goal is to engage your target audience’s interest rather than lead immediately to a call-to-action to buy.. The content can take many forms, and part of planning an effective strategy is selecting the medium that is most likely  to capture your audience’s attention. 

For example, a kitchenware seller may send out recipes or blogs that offer advice on healthy substitutions to make guilt-free desserts. But it can also use video content effectively to demonstrate techniques in cooking or offer a downloadable app that converts cooking  measurements from ounces to grams or milliliters.  

Even infographics can be tailored for such a seller. For example, it can show the shift in demand and supply chain issues to explain why you may find shortages of certain key ingredients and suggest possible substitutions for recipes.  

What all the approaches described above have in common is that they position the brand as a credible source of information within its own defined niche. Over time that leads to a deepened relationship with your audience. 

Content marketing goals

Some B2C marketers have trouble defining their content marketing goals, though it generally falls into one  of the top six for identified a  Content Marketing Institute survey: 

            Creating brand awareness (84%)

• Educating audiences (75%)

• Building credibility/trust (65%)

• Nurturing subscribers/audiences (49%)

• Generating sales/revenue (48%)

• Building a subscribed audience (38%)

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Seeing  you consistently address their  interests rather than just promoting yourself  makes them feel more connected to your brand. As a result, they will be more inclined to buy from you than from brands that have not invested in earring their trust. 

Seeing  you consistently address their  interests rather than just promoting yourself  makes them feel more connected to your brand. As a result, they will be more inclined to buy from you than from brands that have not invested in earring their trust. 

 Like SEO strategy, content marketing is a long-term strategy that can take six months or even longer to demonstrate significant lifts for your targets. However, truly solid content marketing that your audience really appreciates can sometimes even deliver more immediate ROI. 

The right way and wrong way to approach content marketing

So how do you know if you’re doing it right? You look at others who are putting out great content and those who can’t break out of the self-promotion mold even when they claim to want to do content marketing.

The point comes across clearly in my own experience in managing the content and advertising for a bridal magazine in which the hairstylist got it right and the photographer got it wrong. She gave readers tips that they could use, while he wrote about himself and his approach to photography. 

The results were clear. The photographer was disappointed that  the article didn’t generate sales instantly even though many people told him they saw it. The hairstylist was thrilled that the article brought her more customers than any advertising had ever done. 

Granted, women get their hair done more frequently than they hire photographers, but that is all the more reason for the photographer to recognize that he cannot expect immediate sales.  His real error was in squandering the opportunity to do content marketing right. 

The photographer failed to  offer the audience anything of value to them because he was so intent on self-promotion that he refused to put himself in the shoes of his audience and consider what they would want to learn. The hairstylist, on the other hand, instinctively understood what content would appeal to her audience and was rewarded for giving it to them. 

In the case of the hairstylists, the business leads came in right away, which is somewhat unusual. Typically, though, such a strong response only develops after a series of articles or videos build up a following.

Related:

7 Habits of Highly Effective Marketers

Make Your Content as Accessible as Possible

What Edison Can Teach Us About SEO

7 Ways to Grab Customer Attention in Subject Lines

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Do you think this level of content is beyond your budget? Think again. Poor quality content not only fails to deliver the ROI you get from high quality content; it can actually harm your brand by demoting the the site ranking you've invested so much in building up.

What you really can't afford is poor quality content. Hire a seasoned pro to craft the right message for your organization and your demographics. Learn more here and book a free consultation call.

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Tailored and Targeted Marketing in the B2B Space

The problem facing B2B marketers is that they have not been given the same tools and capabilities available for B2C marketers to reach people on more than 500 channels available. That's because they don't have integrated data on the people they need to target, which hampers their addressable audience and reach.

The 2016 Forrester Report, “B2B Budget Plans Show That It's Time For A Digital Wake-Up Call," found that even though two-thirds of B2Bs indicated they would be increasing their digital budgets within the year, only about one-fifth considered their teams truly adept at leveraging data and insights for effective digital campaigns. 

Darian Shirazi, CEO and cofounder of Radius, a leader in connecting B2B data and intelligence spoke with me about the big challenge that B2B marketers have had in trying to target a CIO. 

Read more in 

Targeted Advertising for B2B