You may be familiar with the saying…"ready, aim, shoot”. Well, there’s also the phrase “ready, shoot, aim”, which I've heard applied in a bunch of ways over the years. Search it in Google and you'll find articles applying the phrase to things ranging from The Trump Administration to career growth.
It naturally applies to Digital Marketing as well. How often do marketers start a campaign without asking thought-provoking questions like:
- Are we trying to boost brand awareness or are we trying to sell something?
- Does the display text in the search result align with the point in the sales funnel that the prospect is likely to be at, based on the keyword that they searched?
- How much am I willing to pay for a prospect at various points in the sales funnel…I'm likely to spend more at the bottom, than at the top. Yet, I may be inclined to invest in Organic and Social efforts that have longer lasting impacts for higher funnel and branding benefits.
Every industry and business have its nuances but understanding what is of interest to customers at different points in the buyer's journey (sales funnel) is vital. In the olden days of marketing, customer touch points were costlier (print / direct mail) with less ability to accurately pinpoint someone's relative positioning. The costs were not only hard (printing, paper and postage), but more-so the opportunity cost of not being able to (as accurately as today) match sales information with intent.
The pinpointing that exists today is unprecedented. By figuring out the most appropriate messaging to convey at each point along the sales funnel, you will increase your chances for fostering effective dialogue while simultaneously differentiating your approach from other competitors that they may be speaking with.
