DirectionGroup Content Marketing - Edge presentation

© DirectionGroup 2016 | directiongroup.com
What’s gone wrong with
content marketing?
Share the love:
#DGedge @Direction_grp

Our content marketing efforts aren’t working
What’s happening out there?
30%
86%
79%
of B2B marketers rate their organisations as “effective” at
content marketing
of buyers say content is neither useful, relevant, nor aligned
with needs of people in the buying decision”
of IT pros don’t complete forms for fear of the
inevitable sales call follow up

All about Me! Me! Me!
Just repurposed brochure-ware
Full of overt selling messages
Same old story ...
in a different format
Unique every time
What isn’t
content?
What is
content?
“Any information
provided by a brand
in a format which is relevant,
compelling and timely to the
audience’s needs at the point at
which they engage with it and
that does not overtly seek to sell
the brand or
its products”
• All about Me! Me! Me!
• Just repurposed brochure-ware
• Full of overt selling messages
• Same old story ...
in a different format
• Unique every time

1. Creating a gap - and failing to fill it
Customers want to be engaged with topical, market centric
perspectives, not product and solution messages
When we respond to this, we’re shifting to the left
– further away from a conversation about what we’re selling.
Thought /
market
leadership
Market opinion
/ topical insight
Solution in
context of
market
Product /
solution
collateral

Mind the gap
Education Solution Vendor selection
Loosening the status
quo
Committing to
change
Defining the problem
exploring possible
solutions
Committing to a
solution
Justifying the
decision
On-boarding
Education Solution Vendor selection
Loosening the status
quo
Committing to
change
Defining the problem
exploring possible
solutions
Committing to a
solution
Justifying the
decision
On-boarding
Traditional B2B marketing approach Content marketing approach

B2B purchases entail personal risks
— far more than most B2C purchases.
2. Selling to businesses, not people
B2B purchase stakeholders fear:
▪ Losing time and effort if a purchase decision goes
poorly,
▪ Losing credibility if they make a recommendation for an
unsuccessful purchase, and
▪ Losing their job if they are responsible for a failed
purchase
“Not only do emotions
matter in B2B buying,
but they actually matter
even more than logic
and reason.”
[The Corporate Executive Board
Company]

A greater proportion of B2B customers
are emotionally attached to the brand
they purchased than B2C consumers are
2. Selling to businesses, not people
What’s more, the more personal risks a
purchase entails, the more emotional buyers
feel—and the more they attach to brands that
can provide value and eliminate risk

All to often, our content fails to say anything new.
Or different. Or interesting.
In order to affect change in the organisation, we need to break down the status quo (e.g.
satisfaction with a work-around or a competitors offering) and offer something that directly
supports the purchase
3. Teaching grandma to suck eggs

Change invites risk. When we fail to make change
seem worthwhile, buyers will default to a ‘do nothing’
state
4. Failing to make change compelling
The old adage says, “if it ain’t broken...”
We need to be mindful of the journey B2B buyers are going
through. There are a number of reasons a project might
never get out of the starting blocks:
▪ Competing demands on budget or resources
▪ Lack of vision as to the tangible benefits
▪ Unclear road ahead in deployment / engagement
“58% of stalled
deals are lost to
the status quo, i.e.
it’s easier to do
nothing”
[Sales Benchmark Index]

What happened last time you
shopped from Amazon?
5. Playing hide and seek with valuable information
Without knowing it, you probably:
1. Found the right product
2. Understood the benefits
3. Evaluated features
4. Checked the technical specifications
5. Read relevant, customers reviews
6. Bought conveniently
B2B?
Why
do we make it
so hard in

Our case studies act too much like press releases: chest-
beating and self-aggrandising
6. Getting case studies wrong
Instead we should consider case studies as an opportunity to publicise
the value-add we created during the buying process:
▪ Industry knowledge and expertise
▪ Specific solutions to customer challenges
▪ Valuable pre-sales and consultative engagement
▪ Re-iterate key value proposition messages
People are looking for
insights and learnings
– and above all, help in
avoiding ‘landmines’.

We’ve all heard the popularly-quoted statistic: 70% of the buyer’s journey is complete
before a buyer even reaches out to sales
7. Not getting to the finish line
But marketing only seem interested in that 70%
What can we do to bridge the gap and get to 100%?
We also need to consider content that addresses:
▪ How easy is it to compare us to our competitors?
▪ Is it possible to see real ROI figures?
▪ What help is available to build a business case?
▪ How clear is the implementation process
▪ What are the best ways of approaching deployment or driving user adoption?

For more information and the rest of this presentation please email
rossh@directiongroup.com
About DirectionGroup

DirectionGroup quick overview
Dedicated to the IT & Technology
marketing space for over 35 years
We’re 55 people strong
Working at Global, Regional and Local levels
Top 50 UK B2B Marketing Agency
#6 in The Drum’s Independent Agencies
ELITE agency listing in the UK
#8 in the Top 100 Digital Agencies
League Table (2017, Wirehive)
Client Satisfaction score of 81% in 2017

Inspired thinking: leads to revenue
DirectionGroup
The best marketing lives at the intersection of art
and science – and it falls short without input
from both.
At DirectionGroup, we blend the art and science
of modern marketing to drive connection, action
and revenue for organisations.
We bring together the distributed elements
of B2B & B2C marketing into a single,
integrated offering

Integrated lead-to-revenue approach
MAP CRM
Web
site
Lead scoring
Data + insight
Audience +
market
insight
GTM
planning +
value
proposition
Creative
and content
development
optimisation
Inside sales
Nurture
Sales
enablement
Plan and concept Activate and amplify Pipeline management Sales engagement

What we do
Digital
AccountBased
Marketing
Sales
Enablement
5 business capability areas:
1. Planning & strategy
2. Creative & design
3. Marketing Technology
4. Digital production
5. Print & Production
Our Planning, MarTech and digital
capability is underpinned by data services
6 services…

DirectionGroup Services
Content
marketing
Content that
helps,
not hypes.
Inbound &
Outbound
Right message,
right audience,
right place, right
time.
Sales
enablement
Aligning
marketing and
sales to optimise
experience.
Channel
marketing
Engage, equip
and incentivise
channel
partners
ABM
Meaningful
communications
to an audience
of one (or few)
Shopper
marketing
“Sofa-to-sale”
programmes
to reach, engage
and convert.

Thank You
www.directiongroup.com
info@directiongroup.com
Share the love:
#DGedge @Direction_grp

DirectionGroup Content Marketing - Edge presentation

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