In today’s tough economy, it can be difficult for businesses to grow their sales. On June 23rd, Brian Sallee, CEO of Avorit, was joined by special guest Zoya Khatuntseva, Principal Growth Specialist at Hubspot, to discuss important steps companies can take in order to increase sales during this time.
It is important for companies to re-think how to gain their customer’s attention. Buyers do not want to be sold to, but they would like to be educated, supported, and guided through the buying process. Inbound marketing is critically important, which can force businesses to re-think how they are getting buyer’s attention by focusing on the customer’s journey and the challenges they are currently facing. Inbound marketing is more specific and effective than the classic funnel approach to marketing, since it allows businesses to directly consider who their customers are, what they care about, and why they want to work with that business. When these questions are answered, they can create a buyer persona which helps to create targeted content, and attract the right people to their website. How buyers behave online is a key component of a buyer’s persona, and it is important to take note of what questions they are asking, and what problems they are bringing up, so businesses can address those problems and reach that specific customer.
If companies have already developed a buyer persona in the past, it is time to re-evaluate them. COVID-19 has changed customer personalities and priorities. The pandemic has certainly impacted certain people more than others, causing some to permanently change their habits, and no longer fulfilling the buyer persona. Some tips for businesses throughout COVID-19, are to continue communicating, and be clear about measures they are taking to ensure ongoing support for customers. Companies should talk about how they are supporting their community, and mention how their products can help support other businesses through these uncertain and challenging times.
Alongside inbound marketing, Zoya brought up inbound selling, which is also important to increase sales growth. Inbound selling is personalized, helpful, and focuses on helping the prospect through their journey. To do this, it is important to gather as much information as companies can, by identifying if the customer meets the level of need to their business, assess whether they can help the buyer, and advise the services that their business has that can help their prospect, and “prescribe” a solution.
The importance of engaging and connecting with customers is vital for sales growth, which can very easily be done online! Business should aim to connect with buyers before the decision stage, so that they can build their relationship over time and work to address the customer’s main concerns. Blogging is a great way to do this- in fact, companies with a blog receive 55% more web traffic and 67% more leads than companies who do not. The ARC Method (Align, Reveal, and Convince) can be used when writing blogs for your business, to ensure that it relates to their experience, shows a portion of the solution but not all of it, and compels the reader to learn more.
Moving forward, if businesses are able to adopt both inbound marketing an inbound selling, it will improve their relationship with customers, and will help lead to increasing sales. Even during difficult times in the world, it is possible to grow sales, businesses just have to reach the right customers.
In response to COVID-19 times, Avorit is offering free assessments for both Hubspot inbound as well as holistic digital presence: SEO, ads, blogging, and online digital reputation. Contact www.avorit.com for details.
