how to create content that sellsa guide forretail energymarketers

what iscontent?

what iscontent?

Content is the information you create to deliver your messages to your buyer personas.

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who areretail energybuyer personas?

who areretail energybuyer personas?

Buyer personas represent your ideal residential and commercial customers.

They are the prospects who are most likely to become your company’s leads and customers.

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4 fundamental principles of creating content that sells:

4 fundamental principles of creating content that sells:

1. All content should be created for your buyer personas and where they are in the buying cycle.

4 fundamental principles of creating content that sells:

1.

2.

All content should be created for your buyer personas and where they are in the buying cycle.

Content should be educational, relevant and helpful.

4 fundamental principles of creating content that sells:

1.

2.

3.

All content should be created for your buyer personas and where they are in the buying cycle.

Content should be educational, relevant and helpful.

Content promoting your products/services should be tai-lored to prospects who are ready to buy.

4 fundamental principles of creating content that sells:

1.

2.

3.

4.

All content should be created for your buyer personas and where they are in the buying cycle.

Content should be educational, relevant and helpful.

Content promoting your products/services should be tai-lored to prospects who are ready to buy.

Content should be easy to follow and help move prospects towards a purchasing decision.

8tips for creatingcontent that sells

for retail energy marketers

1. create content foryour buyer personas

1. create content foryour buyer personas

By creating content that appeals to your ideal residential and commercial customers, your prospects will find their way to you.

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Example: commercial retail energy buyer persona

name:

position:

Informational sources:

pain points/challenges:

Small Business Sam

Owner of a small manufacturing company

Well networked in the local business community. Reads trade journals and industry blogs. Mostly uses his smartphone for email. Has a LinkedIn account.

Looking for solutions to reduce operating expenses to offset rising cost of employee benefits and inability to raise product prices. Energy costs are a large part of his budget

2. tailor content tothe buying cycle

2. tailor content tothe buying cycle

All buyers go through the same 3-stage process (The Buyer’s Journey) to make a purchasing decision.

Create content for each buyer persona as they go through each stage:

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Awareness, consideration, decision

Example: create content for each persona and where they are inthe buying cycle (aka content maping)

3. create highquality content

3. create highquality content

What are some of the real problems your retail energy customers have that your company can solve for them?

Create content that provides real solutions to the problems they face.

Support with data.

Example: high quality contentCreate an eBook such as “You Have the Power to Choose: How to Shop for Energy.”

Create a short video such as “How Small Businesses Can Reduce Energy Consumption and Costs.”

Host a webinar for commercial customers such as “How to Take Control of Your Energy Costs.”

Create case studies and testimonials showing the challenges some of your retail energy customers faced and the solutions you provided

4.personalizecontent

4.personalizecontent

Start by adding each prospect’s name and company name in your email campaigns.

As you get to know your prospects interests, send them content that you know would be of value to them.

Example: personalized content

Create an automated email lead nurturing campaign for leads who download premium content (e.g., an energy pricing case study) from your website.

The campaign would consist of several emails designed to motivate your leads to request a consultation with sales rep.

Each email would be personalized with each lead’s name and company name, and have link to blog articles about the topic they are interested in (i.e., energy pricing).

Bonus: Personalize webpages so these leads don’t see “ads” for the energy pricing case study.

“ “Companies that excel at lead nurturing generate 50% more sales ready leads at 33% lower cost.

-Forrester Research

5.use a variety ofcontent formats

5.use a variety ofcontent formats

Create content using a variety of formats and test them to determine which ones resonate best with each buyer persona.

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Example: content formats

Blog PostsEbooksCase StudiesWhitepapersTestimonialsVideosPodcastsInfographics

WebinarsChecklistsCalculatorsSlideShare DecksResearch ReportsPress ReleasesFAQsAnd Much More!

6.guide prospects tothe next step inthe buying cycle

6.guide prospects tothe next step inthe buying cycle

When your residential and commercial prospects arrive at your website, provide them with clear paths to their next step in making a buying decision.

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Example: how prospects find you

Through an online search

Clicking on a paid ad

Referral from another website

Clicking on an email link

Clicking on a social media share

Entering your URL in a browser

7. create a senseof urgency

7. create a senseof urgency

As prospects move closer to a buying decision, make NOW seem like the ideal time to act. Inertia is the enemy!

Leverage the energy industry’ seasonality and historic pricing trends to motivate buyers to act now.

Example: convert leads to customers

Set up a lead scoring system so that sales work only the hottest prospects.

Integrate your website’s lead conversion forms with your company’s CRM software so that sales has all the information on a prospect and knows the best time is to contact a lead.

Set up an automated workflow to send an email to a salesperson when oneOf their leads is active on your website or has taken a certain action (e.g., isviewing a product page).

Monitor your leads on social media and look for opportunities to interact with them.

Businesses that use marketing automation to nurture prospects experience a 451% increase in qualified leads.

“ “-The Annuitas Group

8. optimize yourwebsite formobile devices

8. optimize yourwebsite formobile devices

For many companies, more than half of their website traffic comes from smartphones and tablets.

If you’re going to create content that sells, prospects have to be able to access it.

Example: responsive website designA responsive website design can be viewed on all devices.