Have you read our prior blogs and are convinced that your job with a prospect does not end when you successfully make the sale? Great! Now that you know what the stages are of the customer value journey and have implemented the first step—generating awareness—with your website, social media profiles, or ad campaigns, it’s time to take it to the next level. Driving engagement is all about capturing the attention of your prospects and starting to give them valuable information. In most cases, you won’t be asking your prospects for anything at this point except for a little bit of their time and attention.
Why Drive Engagement?
It all comes down to the concept of Engagement Equity. You plan to ask your prospects for something at some point, right? Whether that ask is for as little as an email address so you can send them more information about your company or as large as buying a brand new car, you first have to earn the right to ask them. How do you do that? By doing things for them that they will find helpful. The last thing you want is for your prospects to think they are just a number. Just like any other human being, your prospects want to feel special, valued, and cared about. Only then will they take the next steps to get more involved in your company or consider making a purchase.
How to Start Driving Engagement
The first step is to grab the attention of those you want to do business with. The worst thing you can do is get their attention by immediately asking for a sale. Not only will this usually result in a ‘no’, but it’s also likely to turn potential customers away from what you have to offer and toward your competitor who is not pre-emptively asking for a sale. Instead, consider the following:
Informative blog posts
Consumers are constantly reading blogs to learn something. If your business is not blogging, you’re missing out on a valuable opportunity to engage your prospects as well as your current customers or clients. Remember that your blogs should be informative and educational, not salesy. If you’re an interior designer, blog about the trendiest interior paint colors. If you’re a landscaper, blog about the planting schedule for perennials and annuals. The point is, readers should take away some valuable tips from your blogs and not feel like you are asking them for their money.
Podcasts
Podcasts have become one of the most popular ways people consume content in the past few years. If you have the resources, consider producing a weekly or bi-weekly podcast that talks about trends in your industry, hosts engaging local guests, or gives tips and tricks you’ve learned as a business owner.
Online videos
Consumers are turning more and more to video to get their latest fix of information. With just an iPhone, you can record online videos that will give value to your prospects, clients, or customers. The trifecta is writing blog posts, creating podcasts, and producing online videos so your target market will have their choice when it comes to where they get engaging information about your company.
Social media content
Along with sharing your blogs, podcasts, and online videos on your social media accounts, you can also drive engagement with social media posts. Your posts should be informative, entertaining, or educational and focus on getting followers to comment on and share them. Consider asking questions, doing fun facts related to your industry, or creating fun memes. Remember, step two is not the time to sell or talk about your company—it’s all about giving value!
Getting help from the pros
Though it may sound simple, driving engagement through informative content can seem like an overwhelming prospect for the busy professional who is trying to build his or her business. If you find you don’t have the time or expertise to complete the second step of the Customer Value Journey, please reach out to the pros at Pixel Fire Marketing. We’d love to help you engage your prospects so you can eventually ask for the sale!
