Is content marketing right for my company?
In this blog I will look to answer the question "Is content marketing right for my company?"
Being 100% with you, if you were looking for a balanced view on this you will not be finding it here. I am afraid I am a little bullish when it comes to content marketing. So if you are looking for a yes or no answer its a resounding yes from me.
Let me explain why I feel so passionate about this subject matter. I spend some of working years in my early 20s working in sales roles. This started in telesales making tons of calls straight from a dun and brad street directory.
This involved seeking out a decision maker and then after hassling them with more calls and emails convincing them that "we are in your area" and offer them a no obligation demonstration of a particular brand of accounting software.
It was awful, I hated it. It was interruption based selling, make 500-1000 calls and maybe get one appointment. On many occasions the sales rep would turn up and the person they were due to meet was not even there. We had a policy of not firming up appointments as it could be a chance for them so back out. Everything about that sales process I hated and every bone in my body knew there was a better way.
The sad thing is there are still companies out there today who employ similar kinds of tactics.
So when I came across content marketing nearly 6 years ago I fell in love. Content marketing or inbound marketing as it is sometimes known is the complete opposite. The whole process starts and never really ends with customer in mind.
So how does this convince you it is right for your business? Tell me this, when has being helpful and valuable and a great teacher every been a bad thing? When has building trust and relationships being a bad thing? Never of course.
Even if you stick with your traditional methods consider this, your prospects are looking to be educated, inspired and even entertained. They are looking to solve their problems. They don't care about us really they care about their problems and pains. So if you are the company that understands this and clearly demonstrates you know the answers to their questions by providing them with exactly what they need you cannot fail to generate leads and sales.
This is how we buy today and its never going back to the old way where the salespeople had the answers. Content marketing is not new and its not going away any-time soon either.
If you want to be seen as a great thought leader in your industry, if you want to be a great teacher, if you want to be the go to company in your sector then content marketing will provide all of this.
There are loads of excuses for not doing this, no time being the most common one. There are no excuses there really are not. It will take many years yet before all companies understand how the sales process has changed and how content marketing provides the answers that your prospects and customers are asking. My fear for these companies is that by the time they realise it will be too late.
If you want my information on implementing content marketing in your company please reach out to me at david@davidmarkshaw.com
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Author- Speaker - Consultant. Passionate about all things digital.