CONTENT MARKETING AND SALES EFFECTIVENESS SURVEY RESEARCH CONDUCTED BY ESTABLISH A COHESIVE, TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION STREAM BETWEEN YOUR SALES TEAM AND MARKETING DEPARTMENT Our main objective was to understand what is working and what is not in terms of your content marketing strategy. Furthermore, to identify where the gap lies between the provocative content and thought leadership marketing creates and your sales team s ability to use that content to find new customers, win opportunities, and grow strategic accounts.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OVERVIEW OF FINDINGS Sales reps do not understand your company s content marketing strategy. Your sales reps and managers are reading and reviewing your content, but are struggling to find value that is easily transferrable to your customers. Your content s purpose is not meeting the objectives and initiatives of your sales team. Although thought provoking, your content is not assisting sales reps and managers throughout the selling process. Sales reps and managers are looking for content that is relevant and applicable to the solutions your company sells. We have outlined additional detail in the following pages of this report. As you consider your content marketing strategy, we encourage you to think from the perspective of your sales team and your marketing team, in hopes of more closely aligning the two to generate more opportunities. RECOMMENDATIONS Establish a two-way communication stream between your sales team and marketing department. Supply content that enables your sales team. Connect your sales teams with your marketing efforts establish integration and identify any existing blind spots. Tightly align marketing initiatives to specific sales goals and objectives to generate more high-quality leads. Recognize the need for a collaborative effort between marketing and sales, and ask for feedback. B2B companies inability to align sales and marketing teams around the right processes and technologies can cost them upwards of 10% or more of revenue per year (IDC, 2011).
SURVEY METHODOLOGY WHY: Our main objective was to understand what is working and what is not in terms of your content marketing strategy. Furthermore, to identify where the gap lies between the provocative content and thought leadership marketing creates and your sales team s ability to use that content to find new customers, win opportunities, and grow strategic accounts. WE ALSO AIM TO: Analyze the effectiveness of your content marketing strategy. Detect blind spots between your sales team and marketing efforts. WHEN: Q1 2013 HOW: We conducted an online survey geared towards sales managers and reps WITH WHOM: We collaborated with Selling Power Magazine to bring you this survey SURVEY PARTICIPANTS: Over 400 responses from sales managers and reps were collected
I UNDERSTAND MY COMPANY S CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY. 46% 35% KEY TAKEAWAYS: Nearly 50% of your sales reps and more than 1/3 of your managers do not understand your content marketing strategy. 54% 65% 50 % SALES REPS AGREE MANAGERS DISAGREE IMPLICATIONS: 57% of sales pipelines are generated by marketing*. Without an understanding, your sales reps and managers cannot employ an Always Be Sharing attitude. Your company is missing out on the following benefits: Continuous learning among sales team. Credibility as a trusted resource. Growing your pipeline.
I READ THE CONTENT MY COMPANY PUBLISHES OR SPONSORS. 23% 77% 17% 83% KEY TAKEAWAYS: Much of what you publish and sponsor is being read, but nearly 1/4 of sales reps do not read your content at all. IMPLICATIONS: Lack of integration and communication between sales and marketing leads to missed opportunities. Without reading the content, sales reps are less informed. According to Genius.com, 66% of buyers indicate that consistent and relevant communication provided by both sales and marketing organizations is a key influence in choosing a solution provider. SALES REPS AGREE MANAGERS DISAGREE
THE CONTENT MY COMPANY PUBLISHES IS VALUABLE TO OUR CUSTOMERS. 35% 26% KEY TAKEAWAYS: Only 2/3 of your sales reps believe your content is valuable and relevant to your customers, while more than 1/4 of managers do not agree. 65% 74% IMPLICATIONS: Lack of preparation for sales presentations, buyer interactions, and conversions. It is possible that your sales reps and managers do not know how to use your content effectively in the sales process. Your sales reps may be spending more time trying to find valuable content, decreasing their efficiency and adding on more time to close the deal. SALES REPS AGREE MANAGERS DISAGREE
THE CONTENT MY COMPANY PUBLISHES HELPS TO: DIFFERENTIATE OUR BRAND 69% 75% 25% 31% CREATE MARKET AWARENESS GENERATE QUALIFIED LEADS IMPROVE MY SALES EFFECTIVENESS 37% 33% 52% 43% 69% 78% 22% 31% 63% 67% 48% 57% Your content is NOT supporting lead generation for sales reps or managers. RETAIN KEY ACCOUNTS 41% 50% 50% 59% GROW KEY ACCOUNTS 42% 51% 49% 58% SALES REPS AGREE SALES REPS DISAGREE MANAGERS AGREE MANAGERS DISAGREE
I AM CONFIDENT IN USING THOUGHT PROVOKING CONTENT TO: SUPPORT MY PROSPECTING EFFORTS 54% 61% 39% 46% CREATE NEW OPPORTUNITIES 50% 64% 36% 50% INFLUENCE EXISTING OPPORTUNITIES TO MY FAVOR 49% 64% 36% 51% UPSELL EXISTING CUSTOMERS MOTIVATE CUSTOMERS TO BUY DISRUPT A CUSTOMER S MINDSET 59% 40% 53% 44% 36% 29% 41% 60% 47% 56% 64% 71% Is your content ASSISTING your sales reps and managers beyond the first stage of the sales cycle? SALES REPS AGREE MANAGERS AGREE SALES REPS DISAGREE MANAGERS DISAGREE
HOW CAN YOUR COMPANY BETTER HELP YOU USE THOUGHT PROVOKING CONTENT TO SUPPPORT YOUR SELLING EFFORTS? SELF PUBLISH CONTENT MORE FREQUENTLY 36% 52% 64% 48% LICENSE THOUGHT PROVOKING CONTENT AND RESEARCH MORE FREQUENTLY 20% 23% 80% 77% IMPROVE CONTENT RELEVANCE TO OUR CUSTOMERS CREATE A STRONGER LINK BETWEEN THE CONTENT AND THE SOLUTIONS WE SELL 59% 57% 51% 65% 41% 43% 49% 35% I don t need more, I need BETTER. BETTER INFORM ME WHEN WE RELEASE NEW CONTENT 46% 46% 54% 54% HELP ME UNDERSTAND HOW THIS CONTENT RELATES TO OUR CUSTOMERS 37% 47% 63% 53% HELP ME BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW TO USE THOUGHT PROVOKING CONTENT TO PROSPECT 39% 51% 61% 49% HELP ME BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW TO USE THOUGHT PROVOKING CONTENT TO WIN DEALS 39% 40% 61% 60% HELP ME BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW TO USE THOUGHT PROVOKING CONTENT TO GROW KEY ACCOUNTS 35% 48% 65% 52% SALES REPS AGREE SALES REPS DISAGREE MANAGERS AGREE MANAGERS DISAGREE
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