B2B companies that blog (regularly, as part of a strategy) generate 67 percent more leads than those that don’t. That’s why we say blogging is the cornerstone of your inbound marketing and lead generation strategy. Without content on your website answering prospects’ questions, they can’t find you on Google. If they can’t find you on Google, then you’re not going to show up in the search result for their query. You need to show up on Google so the copier sales prospects have an opportunity to enter your funnel by following the buyer’s journey.
So, how can your copier dealership get started attracting leads? Let’s begin with an exercise. List the top questions your sales reps – whether they’re copier reps, document management specialists, or managed print services sales reps – are asked by clients or prospective buyers. Hold on to that list.
Before going further, let’s define what we mean when we say “blog”:
- When they were first born, blogs were referred to as a Web log, which transitioned to “blog”
They’re a series/collection of articles - A comments section is featured below the blog for readers to strike up a conversation – you should watch these and be sure to answer any questions or comments (positive OR negative).
- One tool in the “inbound marketing” toolbox – one of the most important.
- It is NOT a sales pitch – each blog is an insightful piece designed to help your prospect answer a question or learn more about business challenges or trends. Do you like being “sold to” when you’re searching for information about a product or service? Your blog is not the place to talk about how wonderful you and your products are — DO NOT SALES PITCH IN A BLOG! To be clear: NO SALES PITCHES! Yes, it’s that important. Blog content should be helpful to your audience: “How to” or “Tips From the Experts” or “Did You Know” posts that help the reader find answers to his/her questions.
Now, let’s talk about why you should blog before removing the crutches of the two most common excuses we hear.
Why Blog?
Everyone asks us this question. Blogging well establishes your office technology dealership as THE leading authority in your area. Nearly every purchase begins with an online search; you need to be online so that customers can find you and buy from you. More than 57 percent of the sales process happens online, you need to be answering the prospects questions online instead of your competitors.
Here are some of the top reasons to blog:
- Build online authority
- Optimize SEO | Web traffic
- Achive thought leadership/subject matter expert status
- Build trust
- Provide education relevant to your business and sales goals
- Create awareness of your company as an authority
- Make a connection – relate
- Target buyer persona and keywords don’t matter without content to back them up
- Drive leads
However, the #1 reason to blog is sales. At the end of the day, you have to sell stuff. Blogging is one piece of the puzzle, but it’s an important one. I’ll repeat the statistics I opened with: 67 percent more leads for companies that blog as part of an inbound strategy.
Excuse #1: But I Don’t Have the Time
We all have enough time for the things in our lives that are important. Here are the “reasons” we hear from copier dealerships inability to blog:
- I don’t have time
- I have nothing valuable to say
- There are too many internal politics to overcome
- I’m a terrible writer
- No one reads blogs
OK, got the griping out of your system? Wad those excuses up and toss them out the window. I’ve heard all the objections and with each dealer principal or marketing VP I’ve worked with, we’ve found a solution to that objection. Anything is possible, my friends. And as for the last bullet point that no one reads blogs, let’s nip that in the bud.
- Marketers who have prioritized blogging are 13 times more likely to enjoy positive ROI. (HubSpot State of Inbound, 2014)
- 82 percent of marketers who blog daily acquired a customer using their blog, as opposed to 57 percent of marketers who blog monthly — which, by itself, is still an impressive result. (HubSpot State of Inbound, 2014)
Excuse #2: But I’ve Got Nothing To Say
If you’re feeling stumped about what to write about, think back to our exercise in the beginning of the blog – your list of top questions from customers and prospects. Sit down and run through your sales reps’ inboxes – they answer questions every day in emails. Those questions are the beginning of a blog. You just have to look around – content is everywhere; you just have to think about it from your prospect’s perspective.
Where to find content and blog inspiration:
- Industry publications on emerging trends
- Client stories from the field
- Prospect questions in all stages of the sale
- Curation (listing out similar topic online articles and writing up your thoughts on that subject matter)
- Competitors’ sites
- Videos – short, simple “How To” videos shot from your iPhone about how to properly clean the rollers on your multifunction printer or how to fix a paper jam
- Guest bloggers – you have some great resources in your manufacturers. Ask them to write a blog for you.
- Repackage existing content
- Brainstorm at team meetings
You need to blog.
It’s not a choice.
It’s a necessity.
If you can’t accomplish this level of content, there are agencies out there who can help you. We blog for our clients. But keep in mind, we get a LOT of great information from the specialists and leaders of the organization. We need it in order to capture the dealership’s digital soul and win the attention of their prospects and customers.
So what are you waiting for? Start blogging!
This article originally appeared on the Prospect Builder Blog.
