How to Sell Online Engagement to a Skeptic

Skeptics are the people who don’t believe something is true unless they see the evidence.

“You can never go wrong by investing in communities and the human beings within them.”– Pam Moore

As a digital marketing service provider company, while marketing our services we often find people who say:

  • "We tried content marketing and it doesn't work"
  • "We're doing content marketing already"
  • "Why should I share my company's expertise, it's proprietary"

This might be due to low-level marketing agency who just for the sake of online presence creates a bunch of marketing stuff about their products or company and after 6 or 12 months, they realize that this scheme isn’t working. Some marketers also think that taking a picture and posting it on media is fine for them. Though they desperately want to grow their manufacturing businesses but don't know how to grow more than 3% to 7% in this modern age defined by global competition and commoditized products. The third type depicts a closed mind or fear-based marketing strategy.

By the time you realize that you are selling your business to skeptics, don't lose hope or back out rather it's time to speak to them in their language. Whether you opt for marketing or no marketing, all businesses share the common pain point; they desperately want to grow their businesses. These skeptics might be overworked and not able to dedicate energy to keeping up with industry trends so one of the best ways to break through their skepticism is by helping them realize how beneficial content marketing can be because you're engaging your audience's curiosity! By focusing on this pain point, and sharing your knowledge of how content marketing is a powerful way to take market share from the competition, you can achieve your goal of selling content marketing to a skeptic.

1. A skeptic is usually in a leadership position and under pressure to produce more revenue than they currently have. To grow, they use the old-school methods of marketing and in doing so might overlook the customers’ needs and demands. As the digital landscape is evolving so are the customers' needs. Make the skeptic leader realize that their pain can be eased by content marketing as there are many ways that it can boost organic growth. In simple words, answer their innate question, "what's in it for me?"  Answer: growth and more market share.

2. One of the best ways to convince a skeptic about anything is to paint a picture that they can relate to. Talk with your skeptic leader and find out more about them personally, you might be surprised at what you find out. For example, if your skeptic is someone who is passionate about cycling, ask them about their personal experience buying new bicycles in comparison to whatever it is you're working on. Chances are they will tell you how their process involves first educating themselves by web search or online reviews and then making the decision of which brand or vendor looks like the most reliable option.

3. The 3rd step to selling content marketing to a skeptic is to prove the concept with a test or pilot program. The type of content and the platform you choose for a pilot is extremely important as they should reflect your understanding of how knowledge-based content marketing actually works. Newsletters or webinars because you can show results-based metrics like clickthroughs and online registrations.

The three key elements of marketing are top-of-mind awareness (TOMA), credibility, and reciprocity. you have to show the skeptic how his firm will achieve these 3 attributes by helping them to be better at increasing market share and improving the growth trend. Smart manufacturing marketers know that times have changed.  Social Media, which initially came with a motive to connect with friends and family has gone far in serving the needs of the community. Now it has emerged as a powerful platform for buying and selling goods. so investing in online engagement is not at all a bad deal rather keep in mind the fact that by the time someone contacts their firm for a price or proposal, the research is mostly done and the business is mostly won by the firm that was able to be helpful and offer useful information during their investigation phase.

How can we help you?

If you’re looking out for Digital Advertising professionals, get in contact with unilakes.com or call us at +61 (4) 8264 7200.

Reach your ideal customers on the internet locally or globally. Let us help you engage with your customers through digital channels such as social media, mobile applications, email, web applications, search engines, websites, or any new digital channel.

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