PROVOCATIVE, VALUEFocused Content Marketing Strategies a Requirement

CONTENT MARKETING INVESTMENTS ARE SIGNIFICANT

CRISIS IN CONFIDENCE

TODAY’S BUYERS ARE

TODAY’S BUYERS REQUIRE NEW STRATEGIES & TACTICS

NEW CONTENT TACTICS REQUIRED

Content marketing budgets are significant and growing, yet most B2B solution providers indicate that current content marketing investments are ineffective.

Buyers have fundamentally changed, now more empowered, skeptical and frugal than ever before, a condition called Frugalnomics.

Achieving a return on content marketing investment requires more relevant, provocative, and value focused strategies and tools in order to successfully Fight Frugalnomics™ - connecting, engaging and selling to this new breed of buyer.

Companies are spending more on content marketing to address this new challenge:

26% AVERAGE COMPANY21% 1000+ EMPLOYEES22% 100 - 999 EMPLOYEES

25% 10 - 99 EMPLOYEES34% < 10 EMPLOYEES

MARKETING BUDGET ALLOCATED TO

CONTENT MARKETING Content

Marketing

51% SAID

YESWE WILLINCREASE CONTENT MARKETING INVESTMENTS OVER THE NEXT 12 MONTHS

However, current content marketing is perceived ineffective by over 41% of marketers

31% BELIEVE SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING IS EFFECTIVE 40% BELIEVE BLOGS ARE EFFECTIVE

45% BELIEVE VIDEOS ARE EFFECTIVE 46% BELIEVE ARTICLE POSTING IS EFFECTIVE

50% BELIEVE WHITE PAPERS ARE EFFECTIVE 51% BELIEVE PRINT MAGAZINES ARE EFFECTIVE

53% BELIEVE CASE STUDIES ARE EFFECTIVE 55% BELIEVE E-NEWSLETTERS ARE EFFECTIVE 56% BELIEVE WEBCASTS ARE EFFECTIVE

72% BELIEVE IN-PERSON EVENTS ARE EFFECTIVE

MORE EMPOWERED

FRUGALNOMICS IS IN FULL EFFECT!

MORE SKEPTICAL MORE FRUGALInternet and social media fuels buying cycles

Inviting sales later and later into decisions

Third party sources remain most trusted content:

Over 90% require proof of bottom-line impacts

Demand lowest price / best value from every purchase

81% expect vendors to provide value proof-points

Content

Marketing31% Industry Analysts

Content

Marketing29% Peers

Content

Marketing 8% Vendors

New marketing and sales enablement strategies are needed to Fight Frugalnomics – and effectively connect, engage and sell to this new breed of buyer.

Content marketing, to be more effective, needs to facilitate the buyer’s journey, helping them navigate and progress through each step.

B����-F�ug��n��i�u�FACILITATING THE

BUYER’S JOURNEY

CONTENT MARKETING & SALES ENABLEMENT STRATEGY

Loosening ofthe status quo

Commitingto change

Commitingto a solution

Justifyingthe decision

Making theselection

Exploringpossiblesolutions

DISCOVERY CONSIDERATION DECISION

Create awarenessaround anew problem

Align problemwith businessissues; driveurgency

Help buyeridentify needsin solving theproblem

Align solutionwith specificset of businessneeds

Make thebusiness casefor change

Validate /reinforcechoiceProve bestvalue

PROVOCATIVE APPROACH VALUE APPROACH

Interactive WhitePapers & Webcast

/ Events

Diagnostic AssessmentTools &

Case Studies

Solution White Papers& ROI Analysis Tools

Feature Comparisons& TCO Comparison

Tools

Engage Diagnose Justify Differentiate

Content needs to be more relevant, provocative and value-focused to Fight Frugalnomics™

New breed of more relevant, provocative and value-focused sales and marketing tools:

Provocative approach needed early in sales cycle to better engage and diagnose.

Personalization can dramatically improve effectiveness:

By Industry: 82%By Role: 67%By Company Size: 49%By Geography: 29%

Value approach needed later in sales cycle to justify and differentiate solutions.

InteractiveWhite Papers

DiagnosticAssessmentTools

ROI AnalysisTools

TCOComparisonTools

powering B2B sales to economic buyers

sources: Junta42 and MarketingProfs, SiriusDecisions 2011, MarketingSherpa and KnowledgeStorm http://www.knowledgestorm.com/search/viewabstract/90153

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