Over the course of the last 15 years, the art of selling has been turned on its head.
According to the Content Marketing Institute, 72% of marketers say content marketing increases engagement. In addition, 72% say it has increased the number of leads.
We know that buyers today are information rich. This means that in order to capture attention, companies need to be sharing information before the sales conversation begins. This sharing of information could look like blogs, videos, social media, whitepapers or newsletters. What it’s not is cold calling, flyers, unsolicited brochures and email spam.
But in order to truly make an impact, you don’t just need content, you need a solid content marketing strategy. Without one, you’ll be left behind.
One of the first steps when it comes to content strategies is identifying the marketing method or mix that is going to work best for your audience. How do you achieve this understanding? By getting to know your customers.
There’s a wealth of ways to do this, from using your sales team to extract valuable intel to purchasing the right tools. And don’t forget to test, test, test! The landscape is constantly evolving, and your personas will shift. Monitor what’s working and what’s not. Trial and error is your friend!
Once you’re confident that you understand who you’re talking to, it’s time to think about how you’re talking to them and which channels you’re using. In an ideal world, we’d be talking to people 1:1, but the more personal the message, the more expensive it is. Content, however, allows marketers to talk to individuals in a cost-efficient manner by creating narratives that speak to a host of different microsegments.
As well as testing and identifying the right channels, another imperative in modern day marketing is thinking outside of the box. This could mean bundling your offerings so that they include value-added services. For Fenercell, the first ever sports MVNO in the world, this means acting as a digital bridge between the football club Fenerbahçe and its fans. Subscribers have access to priority tickets to games, as well as season ticket bundles. Another unique offering is additional megabytes every time Fenerbahçe score a goal.
How can we bring together all of this insightful thinking and apply it to MVNO products?
1) Motivate change. How can you incentivise potential new customers? Or encourage existing customers to bring friends and family members with them?
2) Balance online and offline channels. Remember that in this market, customers may want assistance with products before or instead of self-selecting.
3) Test and tweak. In such an innovative and dynamic period of time, remaining agile is key. Adapt, experiment and be prepared to be nimble.
It’s noisy out there. Everyday:
-At least 2.5 quintillion bytes of data is produced (that's 2.5 followed by a staggering 18 zeros!)
-7.5 million blog posts are published
-More than 1 billion hours of video are consumed on YouTube
Grab and go
Here’s a handful of our favourite takeaways from the experts
“The company that shares knowledge before the sales conversation is going to win.” Andrew Thomas, Head of Marketing at Digital 22
“The most important thing is to have an open mindset to try a lot of things. Don’t be afraid to do things that haven’t been done in the past.” Mayur Jauhari, Director of Marketing and Digital at Lebara UK
“Marketers are the external voice of the company, but they also need to be the ears, listening to the feedback and looping it in to maximise future efforts.” Mea Thompson, Head of Marketing, Kajeet UK
“We provide our customers with free, additional megabytes every time Fenerbahçe score a goal. Subscribers can also call their friends and family for free after the club wins a game. This means that fans are actively engaging in the most exciting moments in a number of different ways. It’s about connecting our service directly to the team.” Hakan Demir General Manager and Founder of Fenercell
“Good marketing depends on good communication, and the best way to communicate is to tell a story or have a conversation. In an ideal world, we’d do this on a 1:1 basis, but we need a good RIO and the more personal the message, the more expensive it is. You need that balance.” Lawrence Chan, Managing Director at MyRepublic
“If you think about the saying ‘Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; show him how to catch fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.’ Well, we’ve taken this even further by creating fishermen under fishermen. And these fishermen, or resellers, receive a long-term revenue of shares. This approach has a great deal more direct reach for us than both online and offline.” Daniel Oh, Deputy Head of Sales Channel and Distribution at TuneTalk, Malaysia