Of all the content that companies create for marketing, “user stories” confuse the most. The confusion comes from its extremely uneven performance at different marketing functions.
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Topics: content, content marketing, problem solving, marketing, seo, sales, user stories, case studies, content usage
We get it, stories sell. They help customers remember key points even as they are overwhelmed with facts. When winning new business in the time before first sales contact this is critical as there are no salespeople to reinforce points made. But if the stories are only about your company and products they can sound like a sales pitch and be quickly forgotten. Stories that sell best describe B2B problem solving situations similar to those being experienced by customers. In short, the stories are about your customers, not you or your company. Our friend Jill Konrath explains:
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Topics: problem solving, B2B marketing, Jill Konrath, marketing stories, stories that sell, educational content, BtoB, winning new business
In the sales trade, a salesperson who “shows up and throws up” pushes his agenda at customers with no concern for their needs or pain points. His canned presentation is only about his products and bores customers to tears.
Better salespeople realize that selling is about motivating customers, which rarely happens by just dumping product information on them. These salespeople work to understand the customer’s point of view and to put their product into the context of their customers world. Before talking product they might ask questions to find out...
• What are the problems or pain points unique to the customer?
• How does this customer fit into his or her competitive market?
• Are there technical, regulatory, or financial trends that will affect their needs?
• Which applications or best practices might affect this company's purchasing decisions?
Better salespeople focus on solving customer problems first, product information follows. They collect information and advice helpful to the customer not just with a purchase, but in using the product successfully.
Now, let’s get back to your website. Which of these two approaches describe the content on it? Is your content just about your company and products, or do you also have information helpful to solving customer problems?
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Topics: content, content marketing, problem solving, salespeople, Josh Gordon, Website, Joe Pulizzi, website development TrackBack