The vast majority of businesses, whether online or brick-and-mortar, need to chase after their customers. Having a clear target and approach the right content marketing strategy can deliver your message to the right customers.
Bringing in prospects is not an easy task for most companies. A lot of entrepreneurs create a business starting with what they know to do best, like a hobby or previous expertise in a certain area. Most of them are not marketing savvy or lack networking and contacting experience that can help get the customers they need to stay in business.
Fortunately there are a few tips that can help your marketing efforts get on the right track:
1. Improve you company’s website
- If you sell B2B, your website must be more than a welcome card to visitors. It has to clearly communicate what you do and what markets/industries you serve. People see your home page more than any other marketing materials, so make sure it grabs their attention with useful information that pulls them in.
- Diversify your content – have content that speaks to each targeted market. If your product/service addresses more than one market you might want to consider organizing your website by customer type, so visitors can find relevant information with ease.
- Update your website information regularly. People are looking for the latest news about your company, so having press releases or white papers from 2005 might not prove useful. Keep them up to date with the most relevant information.
- Keep SEO in mind. You must know what keywords you need to use on your web pages. Research and optimize your content so search engines can find you when a user makes a query.
- Use short contact forms. Having long, detailed contact forms are boring and hard to fill in for users. All you need is their name, company, phone number and email address. You’ll get all other details as the relationship develops.
2. Write an E-Book
- In order to get good leads and create a working lead generation process sometimes you have to have a good bait. Writing and sharing a free e-book is one of the ways to do it. Create an easily downloadable PDF version and promote it online. Ask for an email address or other contact information you may need in exchange for it. This way you can build up a list of prospects to whom you can later address potential sales offers.
- Promote it through social media channels, on your blog or relevant online groups and associations.
3. Host a webinar
- Hosting a webinar has its advantages in comparison with writing a free e-book for your potential customers. Constructing your image as an expert in your industry is most beneficial to bringing in new business opportunities.
- A webinar is not only about transferring valuable information to your potential customers, but also gives you the chance of interacting with them. It’s a good tool for educating the market, answering your prospects’ questions and showing why your product/service is the best solution.
4. Use analytics
- For an online business this is a vital tool and can prove to be a money saver. See what brings in traffic and what doesn’t. You can analyze the results of your online marketing efforts and optimize your future actions accordingly.
Using these tips will definitely help you get the most out of your marketing efforts. But, having great content is only one of the key factors of getting more customers. You should always look for new ways to improve you products, customer support services and company visibility.