For a demand generation effort to be successful, you need to first convince your prospects that they need your company’s products or services and second that your firm is best fit to provide them. It’s a two-step process.
Start this process by successfully identifying and targeting the actual pain your audience feels. You marketing communications should suggest what will happen if the pain is not addressed — and what can happen when it’s addressed by your company.
When you’re trying to convince your audience that they have an unfulfilled need, consider the following: Is your product or service solving an obvious problem? Why do people need your product? If your company manufactures hardware supplies, for example, it’s easy to identify a need—it’s impossible to build anything without your products. But if you’re selling mascara, it will be more difficult to identify why people need your product. In either of these examples, you’ll also probably have competitors who may already be crafting messaging that identifies a need and positions themselves as the solution.
Here’s the thing: need is as emotional as it is practical. Those people buying your hardware are doing it because they believe your product is necessary for their success. Those people buying your mascara need to be convinced that your product will make them prettier. In order to identify a need, dig into the emotional core of your target audience. What do they want? Why do they want it? Once you have that information, you’ll be better equipped to craft messaging that addresses how your unique company solves this need.
Once your prospects know they need the services performed in your industry, you need to convince them that your company offers the only solution that will truly work for them. To do so, first research how each element of your brand resonates with your customers. What initially attracted them to your organization, and what prompted them to convert? What is unique about your product or service that no other competitor offers?
Take your findings and use what you learn to amplify the most effective points for your leads. Use case studies and testimonials to show how your solution has benefited other organizations like theirs. Pinpoint your current customers’ pain points, and see if you can extrapolate this data onto your current leads.
Once you have this information, you can begin crafting your marketing to address this pain. Use inbound marketing to woo your leads over time and map the inbound marketing stages to your process. In the initial “awareness” stage of your marketing, build leads’ awareness of your product and identify their pain in each piece of content. Moving down the funnel, begin to address how you solve that need to compel them to request a demo or reach out to sales. Build a relationship between each lead and your brand, so that when it’s time for a sales call they have an emotional connection to your brand, not just a need that could be filled by anyone in your industry.
Looking for more ways to strengthen your marketing? Read our white paper, The five new laws of content.
(Click here to expand)
