What do you do if your content marketing isn't driving product sales?

Evaluating your current content is a great first step. Make sure it speaks directly to your audience's needs and highlights the value your product offers. It's all about crafting messages that resonate and educate, guiding potential customers toward seeing your product as the solution they need.

I always remember a quote from my first marketing professor: “Sales is selling what you have, and marketing is having what will sell.” In other words—your product and your marketing/positioning need to align with what customers want to buy. If your product marketing is not driving sales, then remember a key Agile principle—collaborate with customers! Survey both current and prospective customers and talk as your sales team as well. Identify customer objectives and the needs and problems they are trying to address. Then, compare that feedback to your product benefits and marketing statements. Fix requirement gaps in your product, and then align your marketing with the most important needs voiced by your customers.

1. Re-evaluate audience positioning, value prop, messaging & incentives, competitor activity. 2. Crunch through channel & content performance data, including brand sentiment. 3. Assess friction from awareness to conversion. Ease wherever possible. Experiment with path to purchase UX. 4. Assess creative performance. Test new messaging, visuals & formats. Test brand vs UGC creative. 5. CRO. Rinse & repeat.

Evaluate the effectiveness of your current content strategy by analyzing key metrics such as engagement rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates. Identify which types of content are resonating with your audience and which ones are falling short.

If your content marketing efforts fail to translate into tangible product sales, it's imperative to conduct a thorough analysis to pinpoint areas for improvement. Begin by scrutinizing your content strategy, assessing whether it effectively resonates with your target audience & aligns with their needs. Evaluate quality & relevance of your content, ensuring it offers valuable insights/addresses pain points/showcases unique benefits of products. Examine distribution channels & engagement metrics to ascertain whether content reaches right audience & elicits meaningful interactions. By iteratively refining your content strategy based on data-driven insights, you can enhance its efficacy in driving product sales & achieving marketing objectives.

First take an inventory of your existing contents by channel, by customer journey and by format (long form vs short form). Do an in-depth analysis of your target audiences/micro-segments and their content needs vis-a-vis existing content and identify gaps. This will inform your strategy for content update/refresh and new content development. Also flag the contents that are not relevant anymore. Finally, revisit your customer engagement journeys and tactical execution plan to ensure that right contents are aligned to specific segments in customer journey.

The idea that one should develop content for the sake of developing content can often be at the root of the issue. In my opinion, when you assess the content, 1) Start by asking, "what is the question?" Is the question relevant and clear? 2) Assess and gather data to understand what length and mediums have the most interactions and are best shared. One way to do this is to make content available as snackable bites in as many mediums (blended) as possible. Some just pull more than others and we have our preferred way of consuming information - I love a quick YouTube video! 3) Really, really listen. As a PMM, I feel I have a good handle on the market that my products serve. When I get an "aha" moment, I test it as a springboard.

"Is it the content or the craft?". Many a times, asking this question will be very helpful in assessing the content game. Why? The manner and methods by which buyers may consume content could differ a lot. That is why the content play of a toothbrush seller may vary drastically from that of a TV seller. Are the scripts and the stories created for the actual audience who is going to pay for the product or does the content exist only for an internal check in the box?

Identifying gaps in your content strategy is crucial. Ensure you're covering all stages of the buyer's journey, from awareness to purchase decision. Provide comprehensive information and compelling calls to action to guide your audience seamlessly toward making a purchase. Closing these gaps can significantly enhance your conversion rates.

Map out the customer journey for your product. What content do they need at each stage (awareness, consideration, decision)? Are there any gaps in your content strategy that leave potential customers hanging? Find out if there is an audience mismatch, ensure your content speaks directly to your ideal customer's pain points and interests. Do your CTAs (calls to action) clearly guide users towards the next step (demo signup, product purchase)? Make sure your CTAs are compelling and relevant to the content.

First understand your persona and where they will be, especially always create relationships with them on different channels to generate a raise of hands. Map out your entire funnel and identify which metrics fit into each part, use a methodology such as growth hacking to have a basis. After understanding your funnel, see what the determining step is in each part of the process and what makes it happen. See which of them the lead is experiencing the most friction or difficulty, that is, where the problems are. Create tests for this stage by running a learning cycle and find optimizations. Repeat the process on the other parts of the funnel.

Identify any gaps or deficiencies in your content strategy that may be hindering its ability to drive sales. This could include issues such as targeting the wrong audience, producing low-quality content, or failing to address the needs and pain points of your target customers.

You should know why your content marketing isn't boosting product sales. For this purpose you should first analyse your audience engagement and conversion metrics and gather solicit feedback from your audience to pinpoint issues.after that experiment with different content formats and messaging and lastly monitor results and iterate based on findings to bridge the gaps.

To my experience the hardest part is trying to stay away from your product story as long as possible. Successful sales is the result of a relationship and trust. Without that people will not buy. To built up a real relationship and trust you need enough relevant contact moments. Jumping to your product story too soon will create a ‘relationship/trust’ gap and people fall out of the marketing funnel. Replacing yourself in the buyer and his journey and creating good content that helps them to collect a vision on their problem/need and information on a solution is therefor the key succesfactor.

From my experience point of view to remediate the concern, initiate by scrutinizing your current content landscape. Evaluate its resonance with the interests and challenges of your intended clientele. Content lacking alignment with your audience's needs or insufficiently conveying the distinctive value proposition of your product is improbable to yield sales traction. Guarantee that your content not only captivates but also enlightens potential patrons on the compelling rationale behind your product's relevance as their sought-after solution.

One of the most underrated aspects of content analysis is overlooking seasonality and cyclical nature of sales/purchase behaviour E.g. the best content for umbrellas will not bring high sales in the summer So always stop to analyse time of year and market scenario e.g. luxury goods won't sell in a down market

Focus on the most neglected and biggest pain point, if possible. Magnify how bad the pain point is and how easily your solution solves the problem. This is paramount in any content strategy

There couple be gaps in the type of channel used in sharing the content with the target audience. It is critical for market contents to be shared with the target audience via trusted channels. Using channels that the audience have come to trust will help build the credibility of the messaging and stimulate necessary reactions and actions.

The distribution channels are key. Ensure you're leveraging platforms where your target audience is most active. Whether it's social media, email marketing, or other channels, prioritize those that align with your audience's preferences and behaviors. By optimizing your content distribution strategy, you'll maximize your reach and engagement with potential customers.

You can have all the right bait (content and product/service) but if you’re fishing in the wrong place it won’t matter. Engage your ideal customer on their ground, in their vernacular. You’ll find there is much less friction to building relationships.

One of the most important things while crafting your marketing strategy is to be sure of the distribution channel that you narrow down on. It needs a very close understanding of your target audience, their psychographic & behavioural aspects, how & where they spend their time, what channel they use for what need etc.

Review the distribution channels used to promote your content and assess their effectiveness in reaching your target audience. Consider experimenting with different channels, such as social media, email marketing, or content partnerships, to determine which ones yield the best results in terms of driving product sales. Additionally, optimize your content for search engines to improve visibility and attract qualified leads.

Part of optimising your channels also includes targeting the right audience. Establishing the channels where your audience hangs out is a great start. Go beyond this by finding out more about them so you can better target them through advertising. Create a detailed ICP through market research. The more specific your targeting is the higher the engagement will be. Which in turn will lead to sales.

If the channels you chose were not appropriate, what you have to do is meet with your team and redefine your strategy and adapt and make a change and act quickly. Adapt and Act is the only way.

My point of view is that content gap analysis process involves reviewing competitors' content to identify areas where your content can be improved. It helps in finding gaps in your content strategy & enhancing your marketing efforts. By analyzing competitors' content, conducting keyword research, & assessing your existing content, you can identify opportunities to create high-quality content that resonates with your audience. Performing a content gap analysis involves steps like conducting a content audit, keyword research & social listening to identify gaps & opportunities for improvement. By addressing these gaps, businesses can enhance their content marketing strategies, improve SEO & establish stronger connections with their audience.

Not all content thrives on every platform. Analyze which channels resonate best with your target audience (blogs, social media, webinars, etc.). Double down on the high-performing channels and consider scaling back on those with lower engagement. Ensure your content is discoverable through search engines. Regularly update titles, meta descriptions, and keywords to improve organic search ranking.

Are you hanging out where your ideal customer searches? The range of options has increased and maybe it is time to move from Facebook to Reddit. Maybe it is time to back to print. Attention is shifting and span is at a low.

Surprise, surprise - I think messaging is most important. Focus on Pain If you aren't talking about solving problems, you won't present value to readers. Regardless of marketing campaigns, selling is always about value, Differentiate!!!!! It's easy to say "focus on differentiators," but it's often left behind. One culprit is the need for "market" standards. When that is the case, combine parity features with differentiated methods, outcomes, etc. Be Active & Succinct If readers must work to see value, they won't see it. A few simple writing rules can help here: a. Write in active voice b. Avoid prepositions c. Eschew adverbs d. Never ever write the word "very" You'll be turning those assets into sales in no time.

To refine your message, analyze customer feedback and engagement data to understand what resonates with your audience. Ensure that your content clearly communicates the value proposition of your products and addresses customer pain points. Tailor your messaging to different stages of the buyer's journey, focusing on benefits and solutions rather than just features. Continuously test and iterate your messaging to optimize its effectiveness in driving product sales.

My take is that the efficacy of your content hinges significantly on the channels through which it is disseminated. Are you capitalizing on platforms frequented by your target demographic? It is imperative to strategize content distribution across channels that resonate with your audience's predilections and engagement patterns. This necessitates a discerning focus on platforms such as social media, email marketing, or other mediums where your prospective clientele actively participate.

Só não invista muito tempo e esforço na sua mensagem / conteúdo ou estratégia de canal se o seu produto não é bom. As vezes pensamos que o marketing está quebrado mas muitas vezes o próprio produto está quebrado!

When your story resonates personally with potential users, illustrating that you understand their world deeply and genuinely, adoption isn’t just likely, it’s inevitable. Dive into your customers daily conversations, understand the lingo that flies around their office, and use it. That doesn’t mean just tossing around buzzwords, but truly grasping and addressing the everyday challenges they face in terms they recognize and relate to. Make sure it resonates: get real feedback from real people—those who will actually use your product. Step outside the echo chamber of your organization and test your narratives with fresh eyes. Listen not just for what they say, but for the elusive aha look they’ll give you when a storyline strikes a chord.

Humanise your content. By that I mean; - Avoid using jargon. It doesn't showcase your product as the best or your brand as the expert. It won't resonate with your customer. Keep it simple. - Tell a story. They help to simplify complex concepts, unite audiences, are easy to remember AND they inspire action - taking that first step towards purchasing.

It’s critical that the right messaging is used so potential customers can identify their own struggle easily in the message. Only if the value of the product to the customer is clearly articulated will they further pursue the product. If the funnel fails to produce it might be that the messaging is not aligned with the customer pain point.

Revisit your product's value proposition. How are you framing its benefits in your content? Ensure you're addressing user pain points directly and presenting your product as the clear solution. Avoid technical jargon and overly complex language. Use clear, concise language that resonates with your target audience. Speak their language, not yours.

Finding the point of difference is key here. If you have that you can impose your own message and people will want to know more

Something especially useful when thinking about messages is to limit it to a maximum of 3, that are clear, consistent and solve a problem for your audience. Examples of successful brands are Apple, Starbucks, and Mc Donalds.

Leveraging customer feedback is essential to refine your content and ensure it meets your audience’s needs. Actively solicit feedback through surveys, social media, and direct customer interactions to understand audience reactions and pain points. Analyze this data to identify common themes or concerns that may be hindering conversion. Use these insights to adjust your content strategy—be it by clarifying messaging, addressing gaps, or enhancing engagement tactics. Regularly updating your content based on direct audience input can significantly improve its relevance and effectiveness, fostering greater customer satisfaction and loyalty. This iterative process helps keep your content strategy aligned with evolving customer expectations.

My point of view is that crafting a compelling message is paramount in forging a meaningful connection with your audience. Your content must eloquently elucidate how your product adeptly resolves particular challenges or enriches the lives of your clientele. This entails employing language that strikes a chord with your target demographic while positioning your offering as indispensable. A potent, empathetic message serves as the linchpin between content that merely garners attention and content that incites decisive action.

Talk directly to your target audience. What content do they find valuable? What questions do they still have about your product? User feedback is a goldmine for refining your messaging and addressing content gaps. Pay attention to how users interact with your content. Do they share it? Do they leave comments or questions? Analyze this data to understand what resonates and what needs improvement.

Feedbacks will also help you in assessing whether you are able to give the right message to the audience or if your product is being interpreted by the audience in a wrong way. Maybe you made the content for one use case but the audience interpreted it as for some other use case. Direct interview/surveys with customers is the best way to get qualitative data.

One thing i’ve found helpful is seeking constant feedback from your target audience. Often times the content, message or channels of communication are excellent but upon careful evaluation, one would discover there is a less utilized channel that would bring great results. Sample size for festivals is also key. For example, If your most liked client or very skilled employee says platform A converts the most, Listen, aaaaaand ask more clients if they feel the same way. In the dynamic world of marketing, feedback is a gift that keeps on giving

Définir une campagne marketing sans écouter les signaux du marché est le meilleur moyen de se tromper. Je conseille souvent à mes clients de tester un message sur un petit panel et d’évaluer les résultats, de demander des avis éventuellement puis de réitérer. Si on « crame » toute sa base mailing avec un mauvais message il n’y a pas de deuxième chance !

Content marketing should fuel your sales funnel, but sometimes that spigot runs dry. Here's the secret weapon: identify the gaps between your content and your audience's needs. - Become a Listening Machine: Don't underestimate the power of customer feedback. Use surveys, social media engagement, and even customer service interactions to gather their thoughts on your content and products. - Transform Feedback into Action: This intel is gold! Use it to refine your content strategy. Are you addressing their pain points? Does your content guide them towards a solution (your product!) in a clear way?

The main goal of content marketing is to create marketing qualified leads. MQL to SQL conversion rate is usually 13%. If it’s 13% then that’s pretty good conversion. If that’s missing then I would suggest as a marketer one need to focus on creating quality MQL and the key for it is -Understanding the buyer persona to know the pain points -Test different distribution channel and choose the one most used by your prospects -Generate content that solves the pain point in multiple format ( Video/ Gif/Banner Blog) - Fit and distribute these content at the different stages of marketing funnel.For example ( Brochures or homepage is for TOFU and how to blogs could be at BOFU)

Delight is one of the stages of inbound circle so we must give our audience the opportunitie to talk with us and we must listen carefully to them and make the corrections with feedback to convert a client to an embassador of our brand.

To optimize your content strategy, adopt a test-and-learn approach. Regularly trial various content forms, messages, and channels to identify what appeals to your audience. Analyze your experiments to shape future strategies. Being flexible and willing to adjust your approach based on these insights is crucial for leveraging content marketing to boost product sales effectively.

I truly believe that in today's fast-paced markets, it's crucial to integrate a continuous test-and-learn approach as the cornerstone of your content marketing strategy. For us having a continuous focus on on testing diverse content formats, messages, and channels to determine what resonates your audience is the key to success. And subsequently analyzing feedback and performance data from these tests to refine strategies quickly and effectively. So - the takeaway should be for you to emphasize as much flexibility as possible in order to adapt to market feedback to ensure your content marketing efforts deliver maximum impact and drive sales/deliver leads.

Marketing is just another word for ‘test’. Testing is important, but it comes with a cost if not done right. In my experience as a CRO marketer the test and learn approach should vary depending on how much feedback you have received (by the market) about your content. If you haven’t yet received feedback, a good tip is to map out user scenarios for your ICP. This will often give you better content ideas. Start the creative process there, instead of starting with something that worked for others in your category. When you get to the happy place of having content that’s working, double down on that, instead of chasing quick wins. Essentially, go for depth in the content you see is working for your ICP, it will pay off long term.

-> Start by analyzing your content's performance. Is it reaching the right audience? Are they engaging? Tools like Google Analytics can reveal valuable insights. -> Based on your analysis, formulate a hypothesis. For example, "Our audience might respond better to video tutorials than blog posts." ->Develop a small-scale test of your hypothesis. Maybe create a video tutorial on a high-performing blog topic and see how it compares. ->Track the results of your test. The beauty of it is its iterative nature. Keep testing different formats, topics, and distribution channels. Over time, you'll refine your strategy to what resonates most and brings business results.

Firstly, scrutinize your content strategy to identify gaps. Is your content aligned with industry standards and customer expectations? Apply the "10X rule" of content marketing—ensure your content is ten times better than competitors'. Aim for unique insights, exceptional value, and engaging formats. Leverage research insights to optimize distribution channels. Evaluate which channels have historically yielded results and which haven't. Tailor content formats and messaging to resonate effectively with each platform's audience. Use analytics and customer feedback to refine strategies. Adapt content based on what you learn whether it's adjusting tone, topics, or distribution timings. Iteration is key to staying relevant and effective.

I think regularly updating and refining content as per the customer’s progress in their journey not only increases engagement but also enhances the likelihood of conversion, ultimately "hitting the jackpot" in terms of achieving your sales goals.

Agreed and this is true, but I would add the following. The content has to be engaging. You should go with a frame of reference, that if my content doesn't catch attention as soon as someone looks at it, I'm doing something wrong. For video, the majority and effort of the content should be for the first 5 seconds.

Implementing a simple A/B testing approach can significantly enhance your content marketing efforts. You'll be surprised. Marketing is not an exact science. Techniques, frameworks, or wording that work well for some may not yield the same results for others. A/B testing allows you to compare two variations of content, such as different wordings, and determine which performs better. By continuously testing and refining your content based on the results, you can steadily improve its effectiveness and achieve more solid outcomes.

Pour savoir ce qui fonctionne il est important de se fixer des objectifs, mais aussi des points de contrôle pour ne pas s’épuiser en vain. Des bons indicateurs de suivi des performances, évalués de façon régulière et pertinente (pas toutes les semaines mais pas non plus une fois par an, je préconise une fois tous les trimestres) permettent de garder le cap, voire même de l’ajuster. Il est primordial aussi de varier le type d’indicateurs : quantitatifs et qualitatifs. Et bien sûr, faire des hypothèses, les tester et les valider (ou non). C’est le terrain (donc les potentiels clients) qui vous dira si votre idée est la bonne. Pour réussir il faut savoir s’adapter, garder le cap parfois mais aussi changer de direction si nécessaire !

Adopt a test-and-learn approach, rooted in the scientific method, to experiment with new content formats, messages, and distribution strategies. Use controlled experiments and statistical analysis to measure the impact of changes on engagement and sales. This continuous learning loop allows for data-driven decision-making and agile adaptation to market changes and consumer preferences.

Don’t over complicate it! Look at the overall purchase funnel then identify the area of required focus then only deep dive. Could be Lead qualification process, Media Channel, Audience Strategy, CRM/LMS, Sales incentives, Website UX/UI, etc. it’s endless hence the funnel is the best pulse check for performance ✌🏻

Not every PR and marketing plan needs to lead to a sale. Sometimes we need to find ways to show appreciation to loyal customers for longer retention. Getting a new customer is a lot harder than keeping an old one. People invest in people, not just products. Talk about the story behind the brand.

Focus on your current pipeline. Be brutal with your analysis. Are you attracting the right buyers? Is the sales team properly trained and set up for success? Do you have content aligned to all stages of the buyers journey, not just top of the funnel? Before you can scale content or other marketing efforts you need to learn what works.

Product marketing is all about generating promotional content and selling tools that drive sales. To do that, you have to understand the sales process; knowing the features and benefits of the product is not enough. Schedule separate meetings with the head of sales and the top salesman to ask: 1. What are the top 3 to 5 objections you hear from customers? 2. What are the top 3 to 5 reasons you are successful in selling this product? 3. Rate these success factors in selling this particular product (mark each item “high”, “medium”, or “low”): a. Price b. Delivery quoted c. Design innovation d. Brand recognition e. Delivery record f. Quality record g. Seller-buyer relationship Reverse–engineer content and selling tools accordingly.

I see an emphasis of answers here about getting the basics of content marketing right. All well and good, but if the content is not driving the results you expect, consider that it may not be the content at fault. I have had many conversations with innovators with solutions, that have yet to clearly define the problem they solve. This is putting the ‘cart before the horse’. Sales come directly from the intimate understanding of a specific problem space and then filling it with a great solution. If you get that right, sales tend to fall out of the process. It is so easy to fall into a cognitive bias where a product/solution creator is blinded by their own smarts, yet can’t understand why no one perceives the brilliance of their solution.

One thing I've learnt not to underestimate is the impact of celebrity endorsements as part of my product's content strategy They haven't gone out of style because they bring the ROI That said, ensure the content format, channel, messaging accompanying the celeb emdorsement is aligned with your product's target audience

unfortunately it isnt as simple as it sounds - it needs a holistic approach to solve it. Let’s delve into actionable steps to address this issue: 1. Evaluate Your Content Strategy: 2. Understand Your Audience: 3. Content Optimization: 4. Content Distribution: 5. Track Metrics: 6. User-Generated Content (UGC): 7. Product Integration: 8. Sales Funnel Alignment: o Top of Funnel (Awareness): Create content that educates and introduces your brand. Blog posts, how-to guides, and educational videos work well. o Middle of Funnel (Consideration): Provide detailed product information. Compare features, benefits, and pricing. o Bottom of Funnel (Conversion): Use compelling calls-to-action (CTAs) to drive users toward making a purchase.

Understand your product category - Are you operating in a matured product category or emerging product segment? In case of matured product segment, there will be already too much content available in the market and it will be difficult to differentiate yourself. Focus on marketing your service & support and pricing as differentiation. In case of emerging product segment, focus on thought leadership content which can give great insights to the readers. Distribute it across social media community to garner attention. Now there is so much of content available on internet for every topic, it is getting difficult to differentiate. Package your content in Carousal format for better story telling or infographics to catch attention.

1) Dig deep into website analytics and audience engagement to unearth hidden content gaps. Are you addressing all your buyer's decision-making stages? Unearth topics that resonate with their deepest needs and craft content that guides them to your product. 2) Reel your audience in with interactive content experiences like quizzes, product configurators, or choose-your-own-adventure blog posts. Let them experience the value of your product firsthand, and watch those leads grow. 3) Team up with industry influencers or micro-celebrities to co-create content that reaches new audiences. Think podcast interviews, guest blog posts, or even interactive live streams. Leverage their storytelling power to weave your product into a narrative.