Continuing with this series on good content marketing, this blog post looks at the mid-point between ‘awareness’ and ‘conversion’ for lead generation.
Many writings on the subject of content marketing claim that the second stage (referred to as ‘evaluation’ in the first post in the series) is the most mysterious. How do you go from making someone aware of something, to having them enthusiastically take out their wallet and pay for it?
There are countless methods for this elusive task, each of which is about getting the customer involved, instead of simply attentive. Most of these can be lumped under the umbrella term ‘Lead Magnet’, which refers to an offer made to a prospective customer, in exchange for contact information.
Check out these 3 reliable lead magnets that’ll build a bridge over the chasm between stage one and stage three.
Video Training
If your product requires a learning curve of some sort to get the most out of it, you’ll need to assure customers they’re in safe hands. This is especially true of any software or program company, because almost all new software requires some getting used to.
The excess of training videos on Youtube (from Microsoft Word keyboard shortcuts to fixing a lawnmower) and their high viewing numbers shows that video training is a popular format. Use a few written bullet points to introduce customers to your product, then provide a detailed video introduction that covers the basics and more advanced aspects of your product to further entice your prospects.
Free Trial
Free trials are a perfect component to video training tutorials. It’s a good idea to have the video tutorial free on your website with no commitments required, but make sure you offer the free trial in exchange for an email address.
A logical step following the tutorial, the free trial puts the customer in the driver’s seat, after having observed a professional from the passenger’s side. A free trial should include:
A limited period of use, Most (but not all) of the components available in the full version Regular, helpful hints.
Make sure the free trial is comprehensive in its demonstration of your product, yet tantalizing due to the features withheld.
Discount
So, your prospective customer knows how to use your product, they’ve had a try of it themselves, but they’re particularly tentative – unsure about making the full purchase. What can you do to entice them further?
Probably as old as commerce itself, the discount has forever been a tried and true method. Offering seasonal discounts, loyal customer benefits, half off deals with every purchase and promising customers they’ll ‘SAVE!’ with every purchase isn’t just a trading tradition, it’s psychology.
Discounts work because of something called the ‘principle of urgency’. Seeing a discount available for a ‘limited amount of time’ puts the idea in the customer’s head that if they don’t buy now, they’ll miss out and have to pay more later.
Final Thoughts
When you break it down, the second stage isn’t so mysterious after all. It’s simply about letting your customer take the wheel for a moment. And if it feels like all these Lead Magnet and SEO techniques are a lot of work to sell to one customer, remember that it’s about hundreds or thousands, all going through the same process. Provided you’ve done a good job with the ‘awareness’ stage, remember that each customer is an individual: some will buy straight away and others will take a bit more convincing—might as well be prepared.