How to Build Marketing Automation Campaigns That Prompt Desired Behaviors From Your Leads

How to Build Marketing Automation Campaigns That Prompt Desired Behaviors From Your Leads

In business, most people view customer behavior as one-dimensional—something to be observed and responded to. As a result, marketing efforts become only a reactive process.

However, what if you could design your marketing to enable—to actually elicit—specific behaviors?

Marketing automation allows you to efficiently plan and enable the behavior you wish to see from your prospect.

It's about planning what you want from your leads—and designing campaigns to elicit exactly that desired behavior.

This article explores why it's important to build campaigns to elicit the behavior you wish to see, and how to do that effectively.

What behavior do you want people to display?

So, how do you create a campaign that initiates desired behaviors in prospects?

For most businesses, the desired behavior is conversion: leads' turning into paying customers. However, there are likely intermediate steps, such as...

• Reading certain blog posts
• Downloading lead magnets
• Subscribing to a newsletter
• Clicking on email links
• Visiting sales pages
• Requesting specific information

It's possible to engineer behavior, proactively, rather than only observing and reacting.

However, you must first decide what actions you want your lead to take, so you can build a process—or journey that customers can go on—to get to that point.

You must be aware of the behavioral displays indicating customers are moving through the buyer's journey. That will allow you to identify any gaps causing leads to drop off; from there, you can intervene and optimize the process.

And we do all that by employing marketing automation.

What role does marketing automation play in planning desired behavior?

Marketing automation is the vehicle that allows businesses to seamlessly deliver the right content at the right time to drive prospects through the awareness stages. It's an effective way to move your leads from Marketing-qualified to Sales-qualified and convert them into paying customers.

Lead magnets are effective in driving demand generation in exchange for obtaining valuable information from leads. However, one of the biggest mistakes B2B businesses make is that they stop nurturing at the end of the initial lead magnet sequence.

The key is to educate your leads to move them along the awareness journey. Then, at each stage, give them the next thing they need to move them closer to purchase.

The role of awareness stages in planning desired behavior?

There are five stages of awareness in the customer journey, determining the content and contact your lead is ready for.

These are the five stages:

1. Completely Unaware: Prospects are feeling symptoms of problems they don't yet understand. They don't yet know who you are or how you can help.
2. Problem-Aware: Your prospect knows they have a problem; they are learning about it and looking for solutions. However, they don't yet know about any specific products or companies.
3. Solution-Aware: Prospects are now aware of the potential solutions to their problem, but they haven't narrowed their research down yet to specific products/services/companies.
4. Product-Aware: Your prospects are looking for specific products to fit their needs. They are exploring the marketplace to match products/services against their created criteria.
5. Most Aware: Your prospects are aware of and interested in your product/service. But they need to justify and validate the reasons for purchase, comparing against the alternative.

You must get very specific about understanding your prospects' awareness stage and use that information to engineer the behavior you would like to see. At each stage, your leads will need different types of content, so you have to design your campaigns accordingly.

You can use marketing automation to deliver that content and enable your prospects to move along the stages of awareness from MQL to SQL.

Here's an example:

Imagine you have leads who have downloaded an entry-level lead magnet called "What is marketing automation software." Chances are high they are in the problem-aware stage of awareness and so they aren't ready to commit to buying software yet.

At this point, it's your job to nurture those prospects through the awareness stages. And you can do that by designing a campaign that offers them the natural next step, and push them further along the awareness journey. The content you use could be another lead magnet, a product demo, or something else that caters to the next stage in awareness.

But, ultimately, you must tell your prospects what you want them to do next; that's the key to engineering the behavior you want prospects to display.

So, for example, if reading a buyer's guide will help make your lead Sales-qualified, you need to offer this guide at the appropriate time. Think about how you can get them ready and willing to download your buyer's guide, and plan your marketing automation around that goal.

What happens if a campaign doesn't result in desired behavior?

Here's your ideal scenario: A lead comes into your funnel through a specific campaign, consuming the content you follow up with (including blog posts, lead magnets, etc.). They move smoothly through the awareness journey and convert into a paying customer.

Sadly, that scenario isn't always how things work, especially for B2B, where the typical buying journey is long and more than one decision-maker is involved. So, in reality, each lead will require a hefty amount of nurture in order to eventually display Sales-qualified behavior.

In fact, in those situations, it's essential to design processes and additional campaigns that follow up with leads if they don't exhibit the desired behavior.

It's known as planning the "if this, then that..."

It's all based on the premise of certain behaviors' triggering conditional statements. In the case of marketing automation, it means putting in place sequences that plan for desired behavior, including contingencies.

Examples of how to use marketing automation to Sales-qualify your leads when things don't go to plan

There are numerous ways to salvage prospects who have not converted from MQL to SQL. Some examples:

• Retargeting
• Nurturing long-term
• Nurturing short-term
• Bringing Sales into the loop

Again, all these approaches aim to "catch" people—so, rather than losing them, you are just nurturing them differently.

Hopefully, the end result will be the same; you're just ensuring they get there differently.

Here's more on each of those four approaches.

1. Retargeting

Effectively done, retargeting can massively increase your conversion rates. In fact, according to Google, you can sell 50% more with a good retargeting strategy.

What does retargeting look like with marketing automation?

Again, it all comes down to understanding the awareness stages.

Retargeting those still in the early stages of awareness—those who don't know what solution they want—will likely be unsuccessful. However, retargeting those in the later stages of awareness (particularly the most-aware stage) allows you to build on the existing relationship and increase the chances of conversion.

2. Long-Term Nurture Sequence

Fully 96% of visitors who arrive on a website aren't yet ready to buy, and 80% of leads never translate into sales.

Even after an initial lead magnet and email series, prospects might not be ready to purchase.

However, we know that companies that prioritize and excel in lead nurturing generate 50% more sales-qualified leads at 33% lower cost.

If that's the case, you should be moving leads into a long-term nurture sequence rather than letting them fall through the cracks. So, again, that's an automated email sequence that offers potential buyers a value-add.

Long-term nurture sequences are essential for B2B companies with a long sales process because they allow you to nurture and maintain a relationship continually.

Long-term lead nurture can be successful because it...

• Is a regular touchpoint with your customer
• Allows you to convey who your business is
• Engages your list
• Drives traffic to your website
• Increases conversions
• Increases customer lifetime value and customer retention

And, most important, it allows you to keep in touch in a meaningful way with prospects who are not ready to buy yet.

3. Short-Term Nurture Sequence

Is your prospect further along the awareness journey?

Instead of a long-term nurture sequence, you can first move them into another short-term nurture campaign.

This approach will target leads with specific content and campaigns based on what you've learned about them. So if you know they have a particular problem or need, you can address it.

If they don't convert, you can move them into a longer-term nurture sequence.

4. Bringing Sales Into the Loop

Imagine you downloaded a lead magnet about marketing automation software. The next thing you know, you're getting a call from a sales team.

It's probably the last thing you want. You want time to research yourself and move along the awareness journey before speaking to someone.

However, sometimes it's appropriate for your sales team to reach out to prospects to build relationships and overcome objections directly. Again, it's not likely to work in the early stages of awareness, but if you have leads engaging with your email marketing but not converting, involving Sales is a good final step.

It allows Sales to provide the insight for Marketing to address objections and answer questions that may be holding the lead back from moving forward.

Are you ready to plan the behaviors you want to elicit from prospects?

Many businesses view behavior as one-way: observing and reacting. But that isn't as powerful or effective as being proactive and planning your campaigns to elicit desired behaviors.

Marketing automation is crucial to delivering a campaign that results in the desired outcome. For example, understanding the awareness stages allows you to design campaigns that move leads from Marketing-qualified to Sales-qualified.

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If you need help with your email, web site, video, or other presentation to promote your company, product, or service, please give me a call at 330-815-1803 or email me at john@x2media.us

Until next month. . . .remember. "you don't get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression." Always make it a good one!!

AI Skills: The Competitive Edge Marketers Can't Afford to Ignore

AI Skills: The Competitive Edge Marketers Can't Afford to Ignore

These days every company is a technology company. Tech is at the core of every industry and every function. And marketing is no exception.

We are at the intersection of marketing and high tech, working in industries that focus on using technology to improve people's lives and work—telecommunications, networking, weather technology, artificial intelligence, and digital learning. So, it hasn't been too big a leap for us to embrace all the ways that marketing has evolved in the digital age.

Of course, tried-and-true marketing methods are still valuable—but we must augment and enhance those efforts to drive effective programs that deliver results for our companies. For instance, many marketers have long used technology to improve precision targeting, drive personalized recommendations, and predict optimal timing of seasonal promotions.

It is thrilling to watch AI redefine the customer experience and go-to-market strategies—among many other applications—for so many organizations around the globe.

And now, the most significant innovation—likely since the onset of the Internet and the advent of the iPhone—is generative AI (genAI).

Hyperbole? Not at all

GenAI is something entirely new and totally game-changing because it's made artificial intelligence far more accessible. You need only look at the latest industry headlines to see how genAI is transforming the way we do business, how we learn, and how we work.

Quite simply, genAI will affect virtually every member of the workforce. In fact, a study this year by University of Pennsylvania and OpenAI predicts at least 80% of all jobs will be influenced, changed, or augmented by genAI.

All knowledge workers, including marketers, will use this technology very soon—if they aren't already.

GenAI has the human-like capacity to create content, such as blog posts, social media updates, scripts, artwork, video, music, and more. Conversation-based tools, such as ChatGPT, the fastest growing app in Internet history according to a UBS study, demonstrate impressive capabilities in understanding context and delivering relevant responses.

As a result, marketers now have a world of opportunities to create compelling content at scale, engage with customers in real-time, and deliver personalized experiences—faster than ever before.

But incorporating AI into marketing goes beyond mere efficiency gains; it's mission-critical to succeeding in today's hypercompetitive landscape.

At least for now, genAI lacks the most critical and valuable characteristic of all: humanity.

There is no technology that can empathize or demonstrate true compassion, or even read between the lines to understand intent without quite specific human prompts.

And what about the harder to describe—but equally palpable—qualities that make a piece of marketing truly powerful? Nuance, irony, personal experience, or fresh perspective, for instance. The human touches.

Good marketers possess classic skills that will remain critical, even in the age of genAI. For instance, you still need to understand your target buyer, identify your personas, and know what business challenges you can help them solve. You can then input that information into genAI tools to inform your targeting strategy and help you craft the best possible messages.

Ensuring your team is empowered with technical AI skills and "power skills"—such as communication, problem-solving, critical thinking, collaboration, leadership, creativity, and emotional intelligence—will ensure a more successful and well-rounded team.

Nicole Leffer, a senior marketing leader who has a passion for AI. Nicole encourages marketers to open themselves to AI's full potential, but to remember that although AI is an innovative and valuable tool, it needs a human operator to conceive an idea, give direction, set parameters, provide the intel and resources the technology needs, and then to edit, adjust, and improve.

For example, if you're enlisting genAI to help you produce marketing content, you need to "teach" it your brand's voice by providing samples, describe the thesis you want it to explore, and explain who the target audience is. Ask for an outline first, just as you might from a human writer. Then, work "together," section by section, until there's output that's ready to review.

The human half of the equation is never far from the process

To look at it another way, think of genAI as the car and yourself as its driver. As Dom Toretto in The Fast and the Furious movies reminds us, "It doesn't matter what's under the hood. The only thing that matters is who's behind the wheel."

The AI revolution is undeniably having an impact on every facet of business (and our lives), and that certainly includes marketing. Consequently, adapting to and embracing new technologies like genAI is not an option; it's a necessity.

By harnessing AI, we can efficiently and effectively create highly personalized, data-driven campaigns that resonate with our audience and deliver exceptional results.

Education plays a crucial role in empowering all of us to embrace AI with confidence. Upskilling and reskilling initiatives can bridge skills gaps, ensuring we stay relevant and valuable assets to our organizations.

AI is not here to replace marketers. Instead, it is here to empower us to work smarter, make data-driven decisions, and continually improve our work.

By understanding, embracing, and guiding AI, we unlock richer possibilities and steer our organizations toward a more prosperous—and fascinating—future.

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If you need help with your email, web site, video, or other presentation to promote your company, product, or service, please give me a call at 330-815-1803 or email me at john@x2media.us

Until next month. . . .remember. "you don't get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression." Always make it a good one!!

The 4Es of Video: How to Align Your Marketing Content Strategy With Buyer Expectations

The 4Es of Video: How to Align Your Marketing Content Strategy With Buyer Expectations

Although every business has its unique set of marketing challenges, all those challenges seem to stem from one root cause: the changing behaviors and expectations of today's buyers.

Customers want a sense of connection with brands, and most of that now happens digitally. They want to learn and engage on their own time, and they expect friction-free experiences when researching new topics or learning about vendors. They rarely want to block off time to speak with real people, yet they expect and crave a sense of personal connection to what your company does, and how.

In response to those shifting trends, video has emerged as a powerful content format for marketers. It offers new ways to show, rather than tell, how your product or service can help, and it can create more meaningful connections and earn the trust of buyers before they ever engage your sales team.

And, it can do all that in an on-demand format that respects the time and preferences of today's online audiences.

Effective video content marketing focuses on the unique attributes of video that can make it more useful than traditional static content—what I refer to as the 4Es of video.

The 4Es of Video

1. Education

Video is the best way to educate audiences who are searching for answers throughout their buying journey.

Video can explain complex topics, and it's more consumable and memorable than static content. In fact, the human brain processes visual information much faster than it does text.

You can use video content to clearly answer questions your audience may have, visually demonstrate how to solve a problem, or walk people through your product or service in a way that is clear, concise, and memorable.

Put your own preference to the test: If you wanted to learn about how a product works, would you prefer to read a guide, talk to a sales rep, or watch a demonstration online?

2. Engagement

Video is a great way to engage audiences, pull them into your story, and maximize their content consumption time.

Video uses visuals, audio, music, and creative storytelling to give audiences something relatable that piques their interest. Using video, you can create suspense, stimulate curiosity, and offer a tremendous amount of value in a short time.

And that doesn't apply just to video advertisements and promotions; you can make any topic more engaging with a thoughtful approach to visual storytelling.

3. Emotion

Video content can stimulate an emotional response from someone who is experiencing your brand for the first time—or coming back for more.

Whether it's a fun and creative social video, an inspiring interview, or a highly relatable customer story, invoking an emotional response will increase the chances that online audiences and consumers will come back for more content.

4. Empathy

Video can showcase empathy and create a human connection that goes deeper than messaging alone.

Empathy is important at every stage of the buying journey, as well as when potential buyers are looking for trustworthy answers to the questions they have. A short video featuring one of your employees, or one of your customers, clearly explaining a complex topic beats any text-based article for showing you truly understand your market and can relate to your buyers.

Using Video Content to Align Your Strategy With Buyer Expectations

Inbound marketing and content marketing have become a staple of modern marketing programs.

The premise of inbound marketing is to publish helpful online content as a means of attracting new visitors to your website, as opposed to using paid advertisements and other forms of "outbound" media to vie for their attention. The content you publish is typically aligned with the most common questions your prospects may be searching for, or the topics they need to learn about while researching possible solutions.

But the role of content has now expanded well beyond inbound marketing. To meet new expectations of the "on-demand" buyer, marketing teams are becoming responsible for an increasingly large portion of the customer lifecycle.

Those trends have spurred another important shift: the diversification of content mediums used to reach audiences, and the expanding role of content throughout the customer lifecycle.

When learning about new topics, particularly in the world of B2B, most people will choose to interact with a variety of content formats for both passive and active learning. Blog posts, guides, social media content, videos, explainers, podcasts, and even Clubhouse chat rooms may all play a role in how today's buyer self-educates and gets exposed to ideas and potential vendors.

As they dig deeper into potential solution providers, buyers increasingly prefer to consume on-demand, self-service content to better understand what vendors offer. Though that call with the sales rep may still be required at some point, most people prefer to learn on their own time for the majority of the consideration and decision phases of a buying journey.

That is exactly why savvy tech brand Marketo swapped its "Talk to Sales" calls to action on its website with ones that say "View a Product Tour." After doing so, the conversion rate on its website increased more than 1,000%. Engagement time on the website skyrocketed, and the time to qualify a new lead was shortened six-fold.

Of course, once prospects do become customers, their preferences don't suddenly change; and the way you treat them shouldn't, either. Well-planned onboarding videos and FAQ content can play a significant role in helping your customers realize value quickly and get off to a quick start.

Equally important, video content marketing demonstrates that you're willing to put in the time and resources to deliver the best possible experience for your customers.

It's an on-demand world, and business is becoming more and more virtual. The role of content is more important than ever: It is used to market, sell, and support your customers, and to do it all at scale.

And if your content strategy embraces rich media formats such as video, you'll find new opportunities to educate your prospects more quickly than ever, engage them with on-demand content that connects on an emotional level, showcase your empathy, and transform satisfied customers into raving fans.

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If you need help with your email, web site, video, or other presentation to promote your company, product, or service, please give me a call at 330-815-1803 or email me at john@x2media.us

Until next month. . . .remember. "you don't get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression." Always make it a good one!!