Content That Converts: Content Marketing Tactics to Move Prospects Down the Sales Funnel

12th April 2023 - Last modified 22nd May 2023

By Victoria Hepworth, Account Director, Head of Science Communications.

In this blog we take a look content marketing tactics designed to move prospects down the sales funnel towards those all-important purchasing decisions.

As a business, converting prospects to sales is likely to be one of your biggest challenges. But did you know that your content marketing strategy can be part of the solution? Of course, while something is better than nothing, certain types of content are more effective than others when it comes to moving prospects towards a purchase decision.

Broadly speaking, content that helps to move people down the sales funnel can be categorised as content that:

● Answers customer problems

● Provides evidence

● Builds trust

● Fosters positive company perception

Let’s take a closer look at types of content that can achieve these goals – and also provide tips and recommendations for how best to implement various content marketing tactics – to maximise conversions.

Addressing Customer Problems/Providing Evidence

I’ve combined these two here because they are so interrelated. Demonstrating understanding of customer pain points and providing answers to these, helps prospects to see the real value of your products and services, relative to their particular needs. Providing evidence that supports your claims builds all-important credibility with your scientific target audience.

To address problems then, if a particular pain point is, say, operational costs, you could create a case study that demonstrates a cost saving that your solutions provide. Even better would be to have a customer case study to show this with associated data that provides the evidence. Such customer case studies can be considered your holy grail in demonstrating that you can help to solve important pain points – nothing builds credibility like a great third-party endorsement, especially if this comes from a well-respected peer.

Other types of content that address customer problems include how-to guides that demonstrate the use of your products, FAQs that provide answers to common questions, product guides and problem/solution format articles that give detailed guidance on specific topics. For evidence-based pieces, think data-driven collateral that showcases the benefits of your products, such as comparison documents or those precious customer testimonials that provide proof of your brand’s value.

Building Trust

To build trust with your prospects, we recommend collateral that positions you as a helpful leader in your field. Whitepapers are excellent opportunities to demonstrate expertise and buyers are known to use whitepapers when researching purchasing decisions. Prospects are also generally willing to leave their contact details in order to gain access to this information.

Non-promotional thought leadership articles placed in the trade media are another great way to build your reputation with wide exposure. A whitepaper can easily be repurposed into smaller articles to achieve this. Case studies can also be re-used for trade media placements with customer consent in order to demonstrate reliability.

It’s also important to recognise that familiarity and trust go hand-in-hand when it comes to making purchasing decisions. Buyers will usually opt for a brand they’ve heard of or seen often on reputable sources (such as trusted trade media portals) over one that is little- or un-known. With this in mind, alongside some trade media articles we also recommend putting out regular press releases. These will increase the presence of your offering on reputable trade media sites and can also be used to communicate news such as successful customer stories, further enhancing reputation and trust.

Perception Building

Don’t underestimate emotion in purchasing decisions – it plays a major part! People want to buy from brands they respect and that align with their values. While it’s impossible to suit every personality, content can be used to convey company ethos, customer relationships, social responsibility etc. Collateral that demonstrates how you help and support your customer base before, during and after sales can be particularly impactful and this can also be a topic for press releases.

Other ideas for content that builds positive perception are:

● Customer support stories

● Staff interviews from a customer-centric perspective

● Infographics showing support touchpoints in the sales journey

By conveying your company ethos and highlighting your customer relationships, you can help prospects feel good about doing business with you.

Get the Most out of Your Content

Once you have a sufficient number of these types of pieces together, don’t forget to repurpose them to increase your reach! For example, many of these types of content can easily be made into graphics, infographics and animation/videos that you can promote across social media channels.

As we have seen, by creating a variety of content that addresses customer problems, provides evidence, builds trust, and fosters a positive perception of your brand, you can increase the chances of converting leads into customers. To find out more about what content marketing can do for you, check out our recent blog by Peter Cussell.

Need help getting your content sorted? How about more tailored advice? Drop us a line!

The Alto team are experts in science content marketing tactics, with over 20 years’ industry experience. Our PhD-level technical writing team is well-versed in creating effective content that exceeds expectations. For help, advice, or even just a chat – get in touch!