Most marketers give failing grades to quality of sales lead delivery
Only 12 per cent of marketers believe their content marketing engines are effective and are strategically programmed to target the right audiences with relevant and persuasive content. They also believe that they are not using multiple distribution and syndication channels for maximum reach, impact and return.
Most marketers view their content marketing process as ad hoc, decentralised and driven by internal stakeholder interests, a CMO Council study found.
Lack of unanimity on what defines a sales lead
According to the study, marketers lack unanimity on what constitutes an actual sales lead and they are also not teaming effectively with sales and business development groups. In most cases, these internal stakeholders lack synergy and alignment on demand generation strategies, themes and advocacy agendas.
The study finds that most companies are not able to originate compelling thought leadership content that engages with the right customers to produce quality lead flow that can advance sales performance.
The report highlights that only 21 per cent of marketers say they are total partners with their sales and business development counterparts when it comes to developing the strategy and measuring the effectiveness of demand generation programs.
On the other hand, about 22 per cent of marketers see sales teams mostly as a roadblock and detractor and are rarely as a contributor to the content marketing value chain.
“Generating demand and ensuring the consistent flow of high-quality, actionable leads is paramount to the success of today’s business-to-business marketer. Sales enablement and pipeline performance remain key mandates as organisations look to fine-tune their content marketing practices to be high-performance growth engines,” explains Donovan Neale-May, Executive Director of the CMO Council.
Key failings in content marketing value chain
While 75 per cent of marketers view the number of downloads or registrations as the most important measure of content marketing success, they admit to many key failings that impact this metric.
These include not developing customised content for target audiences (48 per cent of respondents); not allocating sufficient budget to create engaging and authoritative content (48 per cent); not producing content that is relevant or meaningful to different audiences (44 per cent); not reaching the right decision makers across the organisation (43 per cent); and not leveraging the right distribution channels and syndication opportunities to maximise reach (39 per cent).
“The quantity and quality of audience-appropriate content directly correlates to the number of leads that will end up in the sales pipeline. Content demand generation programs start with the asset but must ensure proper consumption. Syndication and distribution to target audience groups with measurable results is indispensable for a successful content strategy,” highlights Robert Alvin, CEO and Founder of NetLine Corporation.
