Marketing Accelerator

The Buyer’s Journey

Meet Tanya

Meet Chris

• Ginger Clay• 20+ years in Marketing• 5 years working inside your

business

• What Qualifies me?

• What does IgniteRM do?• Ignite180: Strategy &

Execution• Integrated Campaigns• Marketing Mavericks• Persona Messaging• Web Audit & Best Practices• Social Media Turn-key

Welcome

Mike Schmidtmann

The Good Old Days

The Shift

April 15, 2023 Winning Million Dollar Accounts14

“This is the same test you gave last week”

“Yes, but this week the answers are different”

The Buyer’s Mindset

TOP

MIDDLE

BOTTOM

Do I have a problem? How can I do it better?

I heard that product “X” can do “y.”

I think I need to make a change.

Price? Solutions? Vendor?

Which vendor can deliver?Can I trust them?

60%

The Gap

TOP

MIDDLE

BOTTOM

Do I have a problem? How can I do it better?

I heard that product “X” can do “y.”

I am going to make a change.Price? Solutions? Vendor?

WHY ARE YOU BEING IGNORED?

• We hate to be sold to

• We see it coming

• We have not decided that we have a problem

• We are indifferent

• We want to look good

• We hate to be sold to

POWER OF INDIFFERENCE

CANNED-SPAM RIGHT HOOK MESSAGES

• Our marketing is full of Right-hooks• Email

• Canned-Spam Social

• Lunch & Learns

• Spray & Pray

• Looking for reasons to delete email

• Looking for reasons to block out the noise

• Not built community and relationship

• We are always going to duck the right the hook

RIGHT HOOKS

TOP

MIDDLE

BOTTOM

The Buyer’s Journey

AWARENESS

CONSIDERATION

DECISION

• Reading• Researching• Downloading

• Learning• Education• Problem Solving

• Comparing• Evaluating

• Guides• eBooks• Blogs

• Collateral• Case Studies• Seminars

• Competitor Comparison

• Prior Jobs

BUYING DECISION

COMMON DISCONNECT

1. Marketing is viewed as and IS a cost center

2. Marketing is a compilation of events

3. Hired a lower level marketing assistant type person who can execute, but lacks strategy/vision

4. Lack a comprehensive plan that includes a way to communicate to existing customers, sell deeper and keep them sticky

5. No processes to track performance

1. Sales-centric Organizations2. Don’t really understand what

marketing is or how it works3. Hire low-skilled, inexpensive

marketing people4. No accountability / No authority5. No metrics in place to measure ROI6. Still figuring out the cloud issue

Pause

How does the Buyer’s Journey line up with

what you are seeing in your business?

Sales & Marketing misAlignment

1. Misaligned strategy

2. Misaligned thinking

3. Misaligned goals

4. Misaligned

compensation

Your New Role in the Buyer’s Journey

LEAD = OPPORTUNITY?

 

 

   

Good LeadBad Opportunity

Lead

Bad LeadBad Opportunity

Bad LeadGood Opportunity

Good LeadGood Opportunity

Opportunity

B.A.N.T.

Good Lead

Bad Opportunity

This is the system I’ve

chosen

You need a Third Bid

Title

Bad Lead

Good Opportunity

Webb Leads

“These Leads Suck”

“These Leads Suckbut there’s some

good information”

Bad Lead

Good Opportunity

 

 

   

MoneyAuthority

NeedImpending Event

Criteria - Relationships

Lead

Opportunity

ProblemDesire to Change

Investigation

Time Frame - Solution

 

 

   

Good LeadBad Opportunity

Lead

Bad LeadBad Opportunity

Bad LeadGood Opportunity

Good LeadGood Opportunity

Opportunity

Align Lead Flow from MQL to SQL

• Profile Lead Source & Industry

Suspect

• Qualify for Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline

Prospect• Pre-sales• Proposal• Attempt to

Close

Sales Qualified

No buying Decision: Place on Nurture

Campaign

Not ready:Place on Nurture

Campaign

Expressed Interest

TOP

MIDDLE

BOTTOM

AWARENESS

CONSIDERATION

DECISION

• Cold Calling• Networking• Prospecting

• Qualifying• B: Budget?• A: Authority?• N: Need?• T: Timeline?

• Comparing• Evaluating

• Downloads• Offers• Search Engine• Blogs• Social Media• Web Forms

• Collateral• Case Studies• Campaigns• Seminars

• Comparison• Referrals• Testimonials

BUYING DECISION

MARKETING

SALES ALIGNMENT

Pause

What can you to align sales & marketing for

success?

1.Be Attractive2.Be Generous3.Be Found4.Be Visible5.Be Social

5 Laws of Attraction

“Marketers need a new playbook. A new

approach to getting the scarce attention that exist

in the market.” --Simon Sinek, Inbound

2015

What is a jab?

• Visually compelling, story driven, compelling

• Simple, memorable, inviting, fun to read

• Plays off of community and relationships

• “Skillful content has little to do with selling and much to do with storytelling.”

• Value-based• Not interruptive• Doesn’t make demands…often

What is a Right Hook?

• Tell the world exactly what you want

• SELL, SELL, SELL• One-way Value Prop• Years in Business• Our engineers make the

difference• Check out our new release of…• ShoreTel: Simply Brilliant• Security breaches cost Target

billions, you are next!• Attend to qualify and win…

5 Laws of Attraction

1.Be Attractive2.Be Generous3.Be Found4.Be Visible5.Be Social

51

• What do you do for me

• Emotional Claims

• Back it up with Facts

• Run it through the “So what” filter.

3 Steps to Being Attractive Online

Have a Story

Key Differentiators

Establish an (Attractive) Online

Presence

Be Relevant

Educate

STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3• Palatable/White

Space

• Clear Value to the Visitors

• 3+ Hooks (above the fold)

• No more than 2 clicks

• Use words they use

• Talk about Pain Points

• Educate

• Look & feel like the your customer

+ +

Have a Story

• What do you do for me

• Emotional Claims

• Back it up with Facts

• Run it through the “So what” filter.

Establish an online presence

• Palatable/White Space

• Clear Value to the Visitors

• 3+ Hooks (above the fold)

• No more than 2 clicks

Be relevant. Educate.

• Use words they use

• Talk about Pain Points

• Educate• Look & feel like

the your customer

Pause

What makes you attractive

online?55© ShoreTel, Inc. 2015. All rights reserved

worldwide.

5 Laws of Attraction

1.Be Attractive2.Be Generous3.Be Found4.Be Social5.Be Measured

“Even though you can't out spend the big guys… you can out teach them and out help

them (the customer).”--Hubspot Owner, Dharmesh Shah

Be Generous

Blog: How to Welcome the 21st Century Connected Parent into Your Classroom

Blog: 3 Cost Effective Reasons to Read this Before You Buy Your Next Phone System

eBook: Evaluating Simpler Infrastructure Alternatives Guides: Parents have choices. 6-Steps to increase ADA. Checklist: Security Checklist / BYOD Checklist/ Campus Safety Report: 4 Critical Elements of an IT Roadmap & 1 Bonus Industry

Finding Guide: Increasing enrollment through Digital(Media Rich)

Classrooms

jab, jab, jab…“swing like a

butterflysting like a bee”

Creating Value Jabs• #GeekTip: In case we forgot to tell you…No more provisioning a separate server

to keep your phone system up and running. #ShoreTel’s #N+1 Redundancy enables you to add a virtual switch w/o the extra cost. N+1 at no additional cost

• #Quick insider: #Shoretel can add a virtual #switch at no cost to your virtual environment. Want to know more?

• Psst. Did you know that you can automate weekend calls or holiday schedules? #ShoreTelTips

• FYI, in the case of an emergency, your phone is on a redundant switch. Read on.• Cloud-enabled business voice is not for everyone. Here why.• If the #network goes down will you lose #dialtone? I seriously hope not. Quick

update.• Smile! Because #ShoreTel is software based. New features rollouts are like

bonus software upgrades. Can I get a whoo-hoo?

PROVIDE GENEROUS OFFERS

• Guide: 4 Things You Have to Know to Never Go To Bid Again

• Guide: 6 Ways to Immediately Improve Your IT Value to Your Organization

• Report: How to Welcome the 21st Century, Connected Parent into Your Classroom

• eBook: 6-Strategies for Positioning Your Team as an Asset

• Guides: Parents have choices. 6-Steps to increase ADA.

• Checklist: Security Checklist / BYOD Checklist/ Campus Safety

• Report: Evaluating Simpler Infrastructure Alternatives

• Report: 5 Critical Elements of an IT Roadmap

• Article: Increasing enrollment through Digital(Media Rich) Classrooms

62

KEEP IT POPCORN

• Short• Consumable• Easy to take action

CTA: Call to Action

63

• Call to Action• 3 Hooks Above

the Fold• Give Visitors a

Reason to Connect/Engage

Pause

Share a value “jab” with your

partner or create one together.

64

5 Laws of Attraction

1.Be Attractive2.Be Generous3.Be Found4.Be Visible5.Be Social

Be Found

• 5.9 billion searches a day

• People searching on Google are actually looking for

something

• 10 results on a each page

• Google’s 1st page captures 89% of traffic

• Most users will not look beyond the 1st page

• Of the 89% of traffic, the 1st 2-listings capture 42% of

the visits

Pause

If you type…• ShoreTel + Your City Name• Business Phones + Your

City Name• ShoreTel Sky + Your City

Name

Are you found?

67© ShoreTel, Inc. 2015. All rights reserved worldwide.

Strategy to Get Found

1. Web Audit & Redesign

2. Determine which web pages must get found

3. Optimize title pages & meta descriptions

4. Target 5 keywords that match pain points

5. Write and post fresh content that match keywords and pain points (social, blog, etc)

5 Laws of Attraction

1.Be Attractive2.Be Generous3.Be Found4.Be Visible5.Be Social

70

Be Visible (not busy)

1. Plan it for results2. Do it right3. Measure it to make sure it

worked

“There has got to be a shift from 2005-style marketing to attraction marketing driven by data, knowledge and ultimately content.”

Measure it? How?

Measure it? What?

•MQL (Marketing Qualified)•Lead Scoring- SRL (Sales Ready)

•SQL (Sales Qualified)•ROI

Pause

What does data-driven marketing look like at your organization?

74

5 Laws of Attraction

1. Be Attractive2. Be Generous3. Be Found4. Be Visible5.Be Social

What is social media designed to do?

• Attract people who are like you & have similar interests• Have a conversation• Sell

How do you achieve this?

• Educate• Entertain• Engage

What does social media NOT do?

•SELL• Be a billboard• Talk about YOU• Be a platform for manufacturer-centric

content• Not have purpose• Be Unprofessional• Be a superficial marketing push

78

LinkedIn: Updates, Company/Employee

Announcements, Product rollouts, Blogs/ Intellectual KnowledgeTwitter: Quick

announcements, teasers, invites

with links, download offers, #Support Q&A

Facebook- User events in real-

time, fun facts/quotes,

games, contests, events

Video: Web, Social,

Slideshare, Youtube

Slideshare: Presentations, Slide Decks

Top 3 Most Common Social Media Questions:

1. Why does my business need to be social?2. How can I generate leads by being social?3. What should my social media strategy be?

79

Q1: Why be social? (to be attractive)

• That’s where people look for answers (Reviews, Feedback, Information)

• People like to talk about products and services they like on social

• Buyers like to share their experiences with other buyers on social

• Platform for finding value• More people go to social than your website• Blogs typically rank higher on Google searches than

your website for keyword content

80

Social Disclaimer

81

Q2: How do I generate leads using social media?

Answer: You don’t.You generate interest.

You foster trust.

You establish credibility.

You connect.

You Inform.

You give the visitor what they want: more value.

82

“Marketers use social media to sell stuff.

Buyers, however, do not.

Buyers are on social to find value.”

Know Your Target

• CEO• CIO• IT Director (or below)• Vertical (i.e. Healthcare, Education)• Vertical decision-makers (Hospital CTO, Superintendent)

[Jabs] ValueContent

[Jabs] Entertaining

Content

[Right Hook]OffersCTA

EventsAbout You

70% 20% 10%

70:20:10 Ratio

Social Jabs

The Right Hook

Your NEW Job Title

VPVALUE PROVIDER

Jabs or Hooks?• 50% of your workforce could be remote in 6

years. What does this mean for your phone systems? [Tinyurl]

• Would you describe your company’s phone systems as scalable, flexible and reliable? Here’s why you should be able to: [Tinyurl]

• Flash quiz: Which kind of phone system provides your business with fewer features and less flexibility, but costs more? The answer: [Tinyurl]

• Challenge #1 of using traditional phone systems to meet modern communication needs? Find out here: [Tinyurl]

89

Pause

How much time do you think you should spend on social media daily?

90

• Top of the Funnel - Awareness• The Story: Value Prop/ Key Differentiators• Dynamic Content: Frequency, Calendar, Diversity• Content Type: Blogs, Videos, Downloads• Jabs & Hooks?• Attractive Online Presence: Social, Web• Online Best Practices• SEO Rankings: 1st page Ranking, Keywords, Optimization

• Middle of the Funnel - Consideration• Webinar/Seminars/Events• Campaigns- Drip• Collateral: Marketing Slicks/ Fact Sheets

• Bottom of the Funnel - Decision• Credibility: Case Studies/Testimonials

• Advocacy • Quarterly Touch

Marketing Grader

Day 2Marketing Grader

The Story

• Clear Value Prop:Who you are; what you do (2)

• Key Differentiators (3)

• Evidence to support key differentiators? (1)

Dynamic Content

• Resource Page (3)• More than one download

offers or click-through from the homepage/above the fold (2)

• Links to social from home page (1)

• 2 or more CTA (home web) (1)• Weekly social postings to more

than one platform (2)• Content Calendar (2)

Content Types

• Blogs (1 new monthly) (2)• Videos (Web) (2)• Checklist (1)• eBook (1)• Report (1)• Data Sheets or Marketing

Slicks (1)

Jabs & Hooks

• 2 or more jabs/week (2)

• 10 Jabs a month (3)• Right Hook (1)

Attractive Online Presence

• Clean Brand Above the Fold (1)• Good use of “white space” (1)• Ease of Navigation (1) • ShoreTel On Prem (1) • ShoreTel Sky (2) • Social Branding (1)• Optimized Web Mobile Site (1)

- No broken links (1)- Compelling CTA (1)- Modern Look/Feel (1)

Online Best Practices• Scroll, not click design

(1)• Responsive web design

(2)• Web Lead Form (2)• Telephone Number

above the fold (1)• Download Offer (2)• Newsletter Sign-up (1)• Blog (1)• Photos of real people

(1)

SEO Rankings

• 1st page ranking on 2 keywords (3)

• 1st page optimization for ShoreTel (1)

• Established Keyword List (2)• Keywords in the URL Title (2)• Meta descriptions for top 5

pages (2)• Alt tags and descriptions

behind images on main page (2)

Webinars, Seminars, Events• Events: Posted, Up-to-

Date (1)• Quarterly Event Schedule

(2)• Web Registration Form

(1)• Customer Event (at least

1x year) (1)• Post Event Lead Tracking

(2)• Event Promotion on

Social Media (1)

Campaigns

• Drip Campaign in place (2)

• Implemented Big Sky No

Limits (4) • Online Campaign

Landing Page with Offer (2)

• Social links to the campaign (1)

• Campaign lead tracking (Open, Click-through, Opt-Out, Bounce) (2)

Social

• 2 or more branded Social Media Sites (2)• Weekly Postings (2)• Twitter Account Opened and in use (last 14 days)

(1)• LinkedIn Business Page (1)• Value Prop & Key Differentiators on LinkedIn

Business Page (1)• 4+ employee pages linked to LinkedIn Business

page (1)

Collateral

Collateral:

• Company Overview (1)

• Fact Sheets (1)/pp slick (Max 3 points)

Customer Advocacy

• Quarterly Touch (2)• Customer Newsletter (2)• Customer Event/1x year

(1)

KPIs & Marketing Metrics

• Monthly Marketing Performance Tracking (2)• Lead Tracking [by source] (2)• Lead Tracking [by event] (2)• Social Media Performance Tracking (1)• Web Performance Tracking

[Hits, SEO, Keywords] (2)

113