Post on 22-Oct-2014
description
Content Marketing & Sales Effectiveness Survey
Executive Summary
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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.
Copyright © 2013 Richardson. All rights reserved.
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)
Executive Summary (continued)
Copyright © 2013 Richardson. All rights reserved.
© Richardson 2012 • www.richardson.com
Sales Reps Managers0%
50%
100%
54%65%
46%35%
DisagreeAgree
Key Takeaways:• Nearly 50% of your sales reps and more than 1/3 of
your managers do not understand your content marketing strategy
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 understand my company’s content marketing strategy.
Copyright © 2013 Richardson. All rights reserved.
© Richardson 2012 • www.richardson.com
Sales Reps Managers0%
50%
100%
77%83%
23%17%
DisagreeAgree
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.
I read the content my company publishes or sponsors.
Copyright © 2013 Richardson. All rights reserved.
© Richardson 2012 • www.richardson.com
Sales Reps Managers0%
50%
100%
65%74%
35%26%
DisagreeAgree
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.
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.
The content my company publishes is valuable to our customers.
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Your content is not supporting lead
generation for sales reps or managers.
The content my company publishes helps to:
© Richardson 2012 • www.richardson.com
Differentiate our brand
Create market awareness
Generate qualified leads
Improve my sales effectiveness
Retain key accounts
Grow key accounts
0% 50% 100%
0.75
0.78
0.37
0.52
0.5
0.51
0.25
0.22
0.63
0.48
0.5
0.49
69%
69%
33%
43%
41%
42%
31%
31%
67%
57%
59%
58%
Sales Reps Disagree
Managers Agree
Managers Disagree
Axis
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I am confident in using thought provoking content to:
© Richardson 2012 • www.richardson.com
Support my prospecting efforts
Create new opportunities
Influence existing opportunities to my favor
Upsell existing customers
Motivate customers to buy
Disrupt a customer's mindset
0% 50% 100%
0.61
0.64
0.64
0.59
0.53
0.36
0.39
0.36
0.36
0.41
0.47
0.64
54%
50%
49%
40%
44%
29%
46%
50%
51%
60%
56%
71%
Managers Agree
Managers Disagree
Is your content assisting your sales reps and
managers beyond the first
stage of the sales cycle?
Copyright © 2013 Richardson. All rights reserved.
How can your company better help you use thought provoking content to support your selling efforts?
© Richardson 2012 • www.richardson.com
Self publish content more frequently
License thought provoking content and research more frequently
Improve content relevance to our customers
Create a stronger link between the content and the solutions we sell
Better inform me when we release new content
Help me understand how this content relates to our customers
Help me better understand how to use thought provoking content to prospect
Help me better understand how to use thought provoking content to win deals
Help me better understand how to use thought provoking content to grow key accounts
0% 50% 100%
0.36
0.2
0.59
0.51
0.46
0.37
0.39
0.39
0.35
0.64
0.8
0.41
0.49
0.54
0.63
0.61
0.61
0.65
52%
23%
57%
65%
46%
47%
51%
40%
48%
48%
77%
43%
35%
54%
53%
49%
60%
52%
Sales Reps Disagree
Managers Agree
Managers Disagree
Axis
“I don’t need more, I need
better.”
Copyright © 2013 Richardson. All rights reserved.
Content Marketing & Sales Effectiveness Survey