There’s a story told in Zen circles about a man on a horse.
The horse and rider are galloping down the road, and it appears that they are going somewhere important.
As they ride through a village, someone calls out to the rider, “Where are you going?”
To which the rider replies, “I don’t know! Ask the horse!”
"The Unexamined Content Is Not Worth Posting" – Socrates Paraphrased
We’ve all heard it repeatedly “content is king.”
While it is true that content marketing is critical to building awareness and brand success, we need to begin by understanding why we are creating that content and who we are creating it for.
Most of us have probably sat through a brainstorming session where someone demands that we “need to write a blog on X” or “that would make a great video….”
While these are fine suggestions, they are too frequently based in purposelessness, or worse; they are based on what we see our competitors doing. We are emulating the man being driven by his horse – it’s insane.
We make this error when we forget to begin with our customer’s journey in mind. We must craft our messaging to guide our customers’ thinking from where it is today to where we want to take them.
We must begin thinking like Robert Collier by “entering the conversation already happening in the customers’ mind” while also establishing the definition of the problem, the solution, and the value of the outcome you provide once you have their attention.
We open with empathy to their circumstances, but we don’t leave them there.
The Struggle for AgTech
Today in agtech, I see some of our brands overcorrecting for a well-established problem. The first waves of technology into this space eroded some trust between the industry and tech providers.
To correct for this, many of us are downsizing the scope of what we can promise – and in some cases, that is appropriate and even critical. However, if you do not have a value framework that, when followed or implemented, leads to a better outcome for your customers, you need to find a new gig. Your product is insufficient; you need a path to use and implementation. Many of us seem scared to do so.
Our prospects are intelligent people, but we cannot assume they will see technology and immediately understand its value. They may not see the same value in it that you do. They are not likely to build out their own journey to becoming your customer. Leaving them without a clear-cut path to value inside your solution ecosystem is an occupational hazard for you and your entire organization.
When building content, we should have one clear thought: “what does my target customer need to hear right now to move them along to the next stage in my funnel?”
Building a Funnel That Works
Borrowing from Russell Brunson, I have broken a sales funnel into seven main parts. The first is the pre-frame which I covered extensively in a previous blog. Today, I want to focus on the remaining six sections of a funnel and strategize what types of content we can use to engage prospects in each stage. You can use the attached graphic in this section to brainstorm potential ideas for mapping out your customer journey.
Stage 2 – Build Your Bridge: Once we have successfully executed our pre-frame, we must build a bridge from where the customer is in their journey today to the path we want them to be on. For example, if you were Apple in 2007, you needed people to desire something more than a Blackberry. Steve Jobs told us that our cell phones should be mobile phones, widescreen iPods with touch controls, and breakthrough Internet communications devices all in one, and the smartphone market was forever changed. This should take different forms for different customer starting points – it might be a PPC ad for some audiences, a video for others, etc.
Stage 3 – Build Your List: The whole concept of this funnel begins with your ability to contact your target customers. You need them to permit you to contact them by providing their email, phone number, address, etc. If we fail to do this, we will always be dependent on platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, or other people’s lists. The number one problem with relying on these list sources: they cost money, and someone else dictates your relationship with the customer. This generally looks like a squeeze page, an event sign-up form, or a free trial.
Stage 4 – Qualify Immediate Buyers: We’ve all been there. It’s 10pm, and all you want is that one specific item you’re shopping for. I need this now; why can’t I make the purchase? Some of our buyers are in a tremendous hurry to buy, and we should allow them to do so. To identify the people who are ready to buy today, provide them with an action that will enable them to qualify themselves within your funnel. This can take the form of a tripwire page (future blog topic in and of itself), a smaller item for purchase (like the information on how to implement the data you provide for free + shipping), or a direct offer of the product.
Stage 5 – Identify Future Buyers: Some people are not yet sold on your product at this stage; others are still shopping around. That’s ok, but we want to keep them progressing along your funnel. There are many different options here, including creating urgency through presenting scarcity or another good reason for answering the “why now” question. Alternatively, we can layer our offer with other products, down-sell, or pass them to an affiliated product or organization.
Stage 6 – Land and Expand: This stage aims to increase the value inside of a customer. You need to continue to add value and present them with a reason to stay engaged with your brand. This can look like a new product launch, a product demonstration, a field day, etc.
Stage 7 – Offline Engagement: There is a lot you can sell virtually, and that list continues to grow every day. However, at times it is essential to change up the environment in which you’re selling. Some high-ticket items are best sold offline. Once you have identified a list of potential buyers for your product, you can present them with opportunities like special access to your company or services through an application process, the ability to set up an in-person sales meeting, or access to a seminar.
Our brands are starving for content, but with 500 million tweets being posted daily, it is not a pure problem of quantity. Unfortunately, many brands create content “because they should” and act just like the horse-led rider.
We have to create our content with a purpose, guiding prospects through the challenges of answering questions like “why should I do anything?” “Why you?” and “Why now?”
If you believe that your product can improve your customers’ lives, you owe it to them and your organization to build content that continues to move them towards implementing your prescribed solution.
Make something different. Make people care. Make fans, not followers.
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