Regardless of the statistics we all know we don't ring up and get brochures anymore, we go online and research. This usually means we will read blogs, watch youtube videos and contact and or listen to influencers. Anything that is overtly salesy we ignore. In fact we have a great knack today to filter out corporate marketing messages. And on the basis we filter out most marketing messages as they are all the same "we are great". Corporate marketing's constant push on us, has ended or is coming to and end.
Marketers and sales people need to find a new way of working, which people often called pull. Here we understand that people will ready content, it's a given, we therefore don't create content that is salesy that nobody will read, we create content that is educational, insightful, tells the reader something they don't know. If that happens, that person (probably a prospect) will come back for more, you can start building a "relationship" with them. And when it comes to buy *fanfare blows* they will probably come to you to buy as they see you as trusted.
This doesn't take more effort, just requires you to change what you do now.
There appears to be no slack in the effort by organizations to create and distribute content designed to create meaningful interactions with prospects and customers across the customer buying decision process. However, despite the intent to create a dialogue, most of this work still utilizes a “push” approach that still feels like a monologue. Being able to adapt to how customers behave requires Marketing to move from being a Marketing content engine to a customer engagement engine. This is a bold move and a big departure from how most Marketing organizations are structured. This article suggests how to restructure and measure the Marketing organization to adapt to the new era of customer engagement.
