Why Fishing with a Net (Not Just a Pole) is the Key to Marketing Technical Products and Services
As a fractional CMO specializing in B2B companies, I often encounter a common misconception among businesses that sell technical products and services: the belief that their marketing content needs to be exclusively technical in nature. The rationale behind this approach is understandable. When your target audience is composed of highly skilled professionals, it's easy to assume that they only want to engage with content that dives deep into the technical details. However, this narrow focus can limit your reach and engagement, ultimately hindering your ability to drive growth.
The analogy I often use is that these businesses are fishing with a pole instead of a net. While fishing with a pole can be effective for catching specific types of fish, it severely limits your catch potential. By contrast, casting a wider net allows you to attract a broader range of prospects, nurturing them through the buyer’s journey and expanding your market presence.
The Problem with Exclusively Technical Content
The decision to focus solely on technical content usually stems from a desire to establish credibility and trust with a highly knowledgeable audience. While it's true that technical content can showcase your expertise, it's essential to recognize that not every prospect is at the same stage of the buyer’s journey. Moreover, technical content can be daunting for those just beginning to explore their options.
By limiting your content to deep-dive technical topics, you inadvertently alienate a significant portion of your potential audience—people who might be interested in your product or service but aren't ready for that level of detail just yet. This approach can also hurt your SEO efforts, as non-technical content often has a broader appeal, attracting more traffic to your site.
The Case for Casting a Wider Net
The buyer's journey typically consists of three main stages: awareness, consideration, and decision. While technical content is undoubtedly valuable in the consideration and decision stages, the awareness stage requires a different approach. Here, the goal is to attract a broad audience, empathize with the challenges they face, and subtly introduce them to your solution.
By offering a mix of content that addresses various stages of the buyer's journey, you can better support your prospects as they move from awareness to decision. This might include:
- Top-of-Funnel Content (Awareness Stage): At this stage, your prospects are just beginning to recognize a problem or opportunity. They might not even be aware that your product or service exists, let alone how it works. Content that is educational, engaging, and broadly relevant can help you capture their attention. Think blog posts that address common pain points, eBooks that outline industry trends, or infographics that simplify complex ideas.
- Middle-of-Funnel Content (Consideration Stage): Once your prospects are aware of their challenges, they start exploring solutions. This is where your more technical content can come into play. Webinars, case studies, and white papers that dive into the specifics of your product or service can help educate prospects and establish your authority in the space.
- Bottom-of-Funnel Content (Decision Stage): By the time prospects reach this stage, they are evaluating their options and are closer to making a decision. Product demos, detailed comparison guides, and testimonials from existing clients can help push them over the finish line.
Balancing the Mix: Technical and Non-Technical Content
A successful content strategy doesn't require abandoning technical content; it simply requires balancing it with more broadly appealing content. Here are a few ways to strike that balance:
- Repurpose Technical Content: Turn a dense white paper into a series of blog posts, each focusing on a different aspect of the topic. You can also create infographics, videos, or podcasts that simplify complex concepts for a wider audience.
- Tell Stories: Storytelling is a powerful way to engage your audience, regardless of their technical expertise. Share customer success stories that highlight the impact of your product or service, or create content around industry challenges and how your solutions address them.
- Engage on Social Media: Use platforms like LinkedIn to share bite-sized, digestible content that sparks conversations. This can be a mix of technical insights and more general industry trends.
The Long-Term Benefits of Casting a Wider Net
By expanding your content strategy to include both technical and non-technical content, you’ll be able to attract a broader audience and guide them through the buyer’s journey more effectively. This approach not only increases your reach but also builds trust with prospects at every stage, ultimately leading to higher conversion rates.
Remember, while it’s important to speak to your technical audience, don’t forget about the rest of your potential market. By casting a wider net, you can catch more fish—and help your business grow.Enter your text here...