It’s no secret that business development and content marketing go hand in hand. No matter the industry or the size of the business, content marketing is a surefire method to promote brand awareness and improve conversions.
But aligning the marketing and business development teams is a problem that many agencies face and because of this, both departments suffer. While both teams seek to bring in new leads and grow business, these departments have very different day-to-day operations. 87% of marketers surveyed agree that the alignment between sales and marketing is key to business growth. However, many departments struggle to agree on tactics to achieve business goals.
Here’s how to ensure that your content marketing and business development teams stay in sync.
What's the Difference Between Business Development and Content Marketing?
In a nutshell, business development focuses on building professional relationships, bringing in new clients and driving sales within a company’s target audience. Business development employees are on the front lines with potential consumers, and they have strategies in place to convert customers no matter where they are in the marketing funnel.
Content marketing, on the other hand, aims to attract its target audience and new customers through educational content and brand awareness initiatives. While business development teams work to drive home sales, content marketing teams are responsible for crafting a brand’s message and making sure it is presented in front of as many customers as possible.
There are also some similarities between the two teams. Both are looking to engage their target audience and bring in new prospects. The main difference is that content marketers typically focus on lead capture and nurture, while business developers focus on finding and securing the next deal.
What Does Content Marketing Do For a Business?
There are over 3.7 billion global mobile internet users. Of that number, 77% of adults go online every day, and 26% of adults are almost always online. In short, a huge percentage of the global adult population uses the internet on a regular basis, making it crucial for businesses of all sizes to invest in digital content marketing initiatives.
Here’s how consistent and informational content marketing can help your brand flourish.
Content Marketing Builds Brand Loyalty and Increases Trust
Great content is one of the most important assets a brand can have. With the world so full of digital noise, you want to create a content strategy that impresses, informs and inspires consumers. This kind of content can be hard to come by, and since consumers’ attention spans are becoming increasingly shorter, they are always on the hunt for content that resonates.
Typically, it takes about 50 milliseconds for users to form an opinion on your website and whether they will stay or leave. When a consumer has a positive experience with a business’ content, they’ll slowly start to trust you and keep coming back for more.
Content is all about building relationships and creating positive experiences for your consumers, both potential customers and returning ones. When you create value with your content without asking for anything in return, your target audience will begin to trust your recommendations while also seeing you as an important source of industry information.
Content Marketing Grows Your Customer Base
Word-of-mouth advertising is no longer the only powerful method for growing your customer base. In fact, nowadays, it’s much more common for a consumer to do a quick Google search before choosing a business to purchase from.
Since the sales journey often starts with a quick search, content marketing is vital to helping grow your business. The more eyes you can get on your product, the easier it will be to reach business goals, and what could be better than that?
Content Marketing Increases Sales
Content marketing will also lead to an increase in sales not only because you will be in front of more consumers, but also because you’ll be creating appeal for your product.
How Content Marketing Benefits Business Development
Customers no longer want to answer cold calls and listen to business pitches. They would rather get to know and trust a brand before they convert. Because information about businesses and brands is so easily accessible nowadays, businesses really need a comprehensive strategy behind their marketing efforts.
Here’s how content marketing can work to bolster a company’s business development sector.
Creates Content That Speaks Directly to Potential Customers
Content can be exceptionally versatile, making it quite easy to tailor your content to whoever you want to. Time and time again, content has proved to be an incredibly effective way of attracting your target audience. Whether your content comes in the form of long-form blogs or short and simple social media posts, it's important to see content as a means of communicating directly with your consumers.
Nurtures Long-Term Relationships
Customers tend to look for businesses they can patronize time and time again. Content is a fantastic way to communicate not only your brand’s message but also information about your products and services. And when you give customers exactly what they are looking for, they will return. Customers that have already found you will appreciate more content in their area of interest, building brand loyalty and customer retention.
Increases Sales
Most of today’s sales journeys begin online before a prospect even gets the chance to speak to a salesperson. Consumers are researching their options, speaking to colleagues and reading customer case studies before getting on the phone with a sales team member. Content can be the key in helping nurture these leads prior to that first call. In fact, 94% of those surveyed note that a salesperson may only get one call with a prospect to make their pitch.
While content engagement doesn’t bring in immediate conversions, it does help in bringing in the right audience and can further educate prospects on what you have to offer. 55% of decision makers are already using this content to vet future partners and vendors. Additionally, 47% of those surveyed have shared contact details in exchange for thought leadership. These assets not only provide value to consumers, but can help generate leads, while setting you apart from the competition.
Getting Content Marketing and Business Development to Work Together
According to content marketing best practices, it’s a good idea to get sales and marketing aligned on goals, messaging and tactics. Do you need some ideas of how a business can get these two departments to work together? Here are some simple ideas that will foster a sense of collaboration between the two teams.
Creating a System for Two-Way Feedback
When you promote sales and content marketing materials, you’ll want to have a few sets of eyes reading the content to get fresh perspectives. Collaboration on marketing strategies and on content development initiatives is a fantastic way to get the teams to work together to ensure they meet their goals.
This collaboration should extend to data and insights on target accounts and strategies. In fact, 43% of marketers and salespeople agree that not sharing data and not having accurate information on key target accounts are some of the biggest obstacles to aligning these teams. To combat these challenges, both teams should focus on the following:
- Content Team: The content team should get feedback from the business development individuals to see if the leads that are driven by content are bringing in the right people in the correct target audience. Additionally, they should ask the business team what kind of content is resonating with the target audience, and what formats they enjoy consuming the most.
- Business Development Team: The business development team must thoroughly explain their sales enablement process from start to finish to the content team. They should share testimonials and success stories so the content team can create engaging, relevant content.
Developing a Cohesive Strategy
In a perfect world, a content strategy involves not just the marketing department, but any team that knows its audience inside and out. After all, different mindsets bring different perspectives, and these teams can work together to figure out the right messaging and the right platforms to speak to their audience. This could be through blog posts, thought leadership articles, social media, infographics and videos, speaking engagements and more.
When creating this plan, first conduct a content audit to determine which assets have been popular with consumers in the past. Then develop an editorial calendar with input from both teams. This calendar will outline expectations, topics and asset types. By creating a documented strategy, content teams will benefit from knowing what’s on their agenda. Business development teams will be able to deliver input based on conversations with the target audience. A cohesive strategy also enables your teams to determine which tactics were the most and least effective.
When both teams bring their unique expertise to the table, they will ensure the success of the other stakeholders.
Measure Results
To further improve your content marketing return on investment, your team will need to consider the impact that content is making on broader business goals. Consider what goals to track and measure your results against the following:
- Engagement Rate
- Leads Generated
- Website Visits
- Client Surveys
When creating content marketing KPIs, consult with business development teams to identify what their goals are. Your content marketing goals can align with these by focusing on leads or finding ways to nurture prospects. Measuring results also allows teams to adjust the plan throughout the year to develop more compelling content.
Content Marketing Strategies That Boost Sales and Leads
Not all content is created equal. Content marketing works best when it speaks directly to the target market while also catering to their challenges and the content formats they prefer. While each target audience might have different wants and needs, there’s a few content formats that have proved to boost sales, leads and conversions.
Educational Content
At the end of the day, consumers are looking for your business to inform and educate them. They have a problem they are looking to solve, and when you have easily accessible content that answers their questions, they are more likely to convert. Depending on the different needs of your consumers, educational content marketing can be anything from long-form blog posts to eBooks, webinars or infographics.
Curated News
News curation is the process of finding, analyzing and sharing information on one specific topic for a particular audience. When a marketer goes the content curation route, they aim to share a 360-degree view of an entire story.
Journalistic pieces used in marketing also have the added benefit of saving your team resources and money. Creating timely articles focused on industry topics such as financial news or business news can be time-consuming and expensive. By relying on world-class journalists and experts, you can educate audiences while allocating valuable resources elsewhere.
Storytelling Content
The ability to craft a story in marketing is imperative to driving engagement. Consumers remember a brand by the emotions they elicit and storytelling in business can make your organization memorable. Consider showcasing news articles crafted by journalists who have mastered the art of narrative writing. In addition including video content marketing can advance your storytelling tactics. Alternatively, showcase customer success stories, focusing on how your solution addressed specific pain points.
Licensed Content from Thought Leaders
Licensed content can help your content marketing strategy in many ways. When you license content from world-renowned publications, you will entice your readers while not having to worry about in-house content productions. Plus, thought leadership content marketing will help you stand out as a reputable voice in your industry, which is exceptionally appealing to potential customers.
Final Thoughts
With a comprehensive strategy in place, content marketing and business development teams can work together to bring in leads and increase conversions.
