In this article, we’ll take a look at how data modulation in synchronization with your marketing mix can build traction and drive impact through sales and account led programs.
Organisations that deploy a data-centric approach and build the strategic insight frameworks ingrained within their M³ (Marketing Measured Metrics) model are the ones who will attain a competitive positioning.
With the evolution of the technology buying landscape, buyers can easily wield the power of informed decisions in advance of the sales lifecycle – even with minimal interaction through sales. This has resulted in the necessity for marketers to spruce up their content analytics efforts in a bid to:
Propel demand
Identify potential opportunities.
However, with content delusion, the strategic insights maturing into the strategic intelligences – what can make a content prominent and noticeable against run of the mill propositions or a commoditized differentiating behaviour.
I propose the following 4 pronged strategic framework to develop an Intelligence-Driven Marketing strategy to compliment content driven sales efforts and assess ROI measures.
Build a Content Map for Day 0 Client Workshop
Today’s buyers want knowledge driven data/content saliences for solutions that will freeze decisions and adoptions to the technology transformations as they plan to scale rapidly. Yet beforehand, buying teams are proactively becoming reliant on industry research that third-party sources bring for them.
Many new potential clients have stated engaging heavily in knowing about the vendor partner (so, it’s a reverse osmosis) through their empaneled research partners that the process of vendor selection goes on for months before final selection. Therefore, it goes without saying that you have to engage with clients on day 0 to know their precise industry landscape, understand their buying criteria and build your personalised content armory for which buyers are evaluating you for technology solutions.
This mode of intelligent personalisation cuts down on a lot of rider time for the teams intending to run first and fast in the race. Nowadays, sales cold-calling is a passé, but once the service providers have insights into 5W’s (What, Why, Where, When & With Whom), their engagement gives them the room to flex and make clients more receptive to converse with them.
Decisions driven through data insights that you can manoeuvre into your sales effectiveness will enable you to map their wants with zero variance.
Build a Strong Information Architectural Dashboard by Donning a Hat like a Journalist
Content formulation that is not side-lined needs a thought process like of a publisher. To implement data metrics into your funnel nurturing, ensure that your content is mapped in-line with the client journey map, so as to eliminate the possibility of data toxicity.
Buying decisions are taken based on not who you are-but what you create. When a buyer benchmarks your content for their needs analysis and decisiveness, they must immediately know, how your service offering maps to their ‘hot spot’, business challenges or needs vivification.
Become a ‘digital tour guide’ by helping your potential buyers traverse from ‘reel to real’ discoveries:
By popping out relevant content for them
By walking with them in their personalised chartered journey path.
When you construct the information architecture, you don’t need to promote volumetric sightseeing, but need to include quality readings and evangelize it with data threads that fuels a top-down experience.
Think shelf-life, identify decision makers, wed buyer’s objectives with business objectives, and expand the content charter that you share for sustained mindshare.
Build such an unparalleled content factory that locates the true prospective client, and educating them on 1-2-1 service proposition, via your marketing channels for further traction.
Build Usage Around a Technology Matrix for Client Journey Optimisation
We all realize that potential clients are X% advanced in their buying journey before they take advances in relationship management. So the trick for marketers is to help buyers by making content search-ability easy and smooth, and with trusted resources, where buyers navigate.
Enable your content consumption easy to flow– to fasten the decision taking ability and with ZERO complexity. The emphasis here is to understand the importance of customer mapping and wait for the apt time to forward for the follow up dialogue, and to do it on a real-time basis.
Companies that market to point of contacts and their users’ journey are in all probability increasing their pipeline by Nx – and sales in return will give you your due credit!
Integrate Intelligence into CRM Workflow
The message to sales/marketing leadership is that, on an average, you only spend 10-15 % of your available time with the client. So it becomes more essential to remain aware where the prospective client is.
Marketing generally operates with limited amount of client information. But assume, having the information filling the void when prospects are not even seeing at your social content, or doing a trial download. It’s highly likely that this type of data is non-existential within your own organisational chart. Yet, having a sharp eyes on that could help you nurture your pipeline become stronger or quantify Matured Qualified Leads (MQL) quicker than anyone else in the fray.
The capability to assimilate this information across accounts and with the knowledge – what kinds of marketing tracks you should be deploying every day, could transform sales orientations more integrated.
Implementing this data intelligence should not result into tectonic shifts in your marketing budgets. Instead, there are priorities you can focus on. Consider for example, a consumer analytics tool that monitors buyer consumption pattern and purchase intent in key segments. Additionally, it will also help you maximize the utility of your enterprise data product and streamline your contacts with the potential purchasing opportunities.
With significant years in IT industry, Rahul is an author and poet. He works in the areas of Sales and Solution Support Consulting. A certified consultant in Sales and Marketing Advisory services, Rahul is also a member of "Academy of American Poets” and loves to explore his poetic writings to drive creative transformations in his works. With his viewpoints covered in several media publications, Rahul likes to write in the areas of Sales Effectiveness, Technology and Business Marketing.
