Brand Publishing And 4 Ways It Differs From Product And Display Marketing
As another fiscal year comes to a close for many companies, attention has begun to turn towards next year’s plans, goals and strategies.
In assessing the alignment of marketing tactics with the growth goals of water and wastewater manufacturers, one thing is abundantly clear. The effectiveness of content marketing and brand publishing over traditional product marketing has yet to be widely adopted. There are some marketers who are focusing more of their spend on developing a growing portfolio of reader-focused content but most companies in the water market are still languishing with the marketing plans of yester-year. And as the next wave of operators and engineers enters the workforce, these companies risk being left behind. Information-age millennials are now five to ten years into careers and involved in purchasing decisions. These young professionals grew up researching solutions over the Internet. In order to capture their attention, you must be reaching them with solution-oriented content accessible on demand.
In a recent article, Michelle Lin outlined the four main ways content marketing differs from product marketing. Below are those four ways and my thoughts on how they relate to your business.
- Content marketing creates a more knowledgeable customer. Product pitches often focus on sales.
Engineers and operators want to learn, be educated, relate to, and be entertained by marketing messages. One thing they DON’T want is to be sold. When given the choice, your buying audience will lean into content versus a product marketing pitch….always!
- Content marketing builds relationships. Product pitches answer questions at one moment in time.
The offline water and wastewater market is very much a relationship-dependent industry. Product marketing and display advertising are limited by nature to only be able to answer 1 or 2 possible questions that a potential buyer may have about your solution. Good engaging content mimics their offline experience and turns them into a fan, follower, friend and trusted partner. It’s relationships that drive sales and nothing builds rapport like trust and the exchange of information.
- Content marketing helps people feel smart. Product pitches check a box on their to-do lists.
The final stage of the purchasing process is all about “checking off boxes” but HOW do you get a prospect or customer to that point? Content plays the role of match maker and brings them closer to you throughout the ENTIRE purchasing process, not just the end.
- Content marketing is an investment that reaps long-term rewards. Product pitches are short-lived.
Growth plans for business are the ultimate long game. Product pitches are appropriate only after most of the purchasing decisions have been made. The customer has already identified that they have a problem; identified what technology they will use to correct that problem; identified the budget and timing of purchase; and all that is left is what vendor they will use. Why concentrate all or even a majority of your marketing budget and attention on just the last stage? Why wouldn’t you want to utilize a strategy that allows you to be side-by-side with your prospects and customers while they go through ALL the other stages?
If you are patient and cerebral in your approach to growth, content marketing and brand publishing become the most logical option for advancing your business.
Image credit: "Geeks in hard hats," Jeremy Keith © 2013, used under an Attribution 2.0 Generic license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/