Engaging with buyers has become increasingly difficult as demand for their time and attention is at an all-time high. On top of that, marketing channels are falling in and out of favor at unprecedented pace. All this makes creating single-purpose marketing and sales content a big and costly gamble.
Building content that can be used seamlessly in multiple channels and at various stages of the buyer’s journey can improve its ROI. Multi-channel content reduces the risk that content misses the “channel du jour” and/or is presented to the buyer at the wrong time in their decision process.
Value calculators are a preeminent example of the flexible content organizations can use to leverage their marketing and sales dollars and grow revenue. These tools, built to show buyers the economic value of a solution, can be placed in multiple channels and connect with buyers at multiple points of their journey.
Channel Flexibility Matters
Since value calculators are online assets, they can be easily and simultaneously leveraged across numerous digital marketing channels such as email campaigns, social media, paid search, display ads, web site content, etc. And with digital marketing’s inherent trackability, marketers can effortlessly measure engagement metrics such as views, clicks, and leads. These KPIs inform a marketing campaign’s Who, Where and When to improve ROI.
Another advantage of the digital nature of value calculators is that they can be used in conjunction with channel partners. Cobranded or not, value calculators can be used by partners in the same digital channels just mentioned. This additional exposure creates greater buyer awareness, deepens engagement, and generates leads.
Although not a digital channel, trade shows provide another opportunity to leverage a value calculator. A self-service kiosk pre-loaded with the value calculator and supported by appropriate signage can increase booth traffic and convert attendees to leads. Also, booth representatives can use the value calculator on their mobile devices to provide an overview of a solution’s value to walk ups.
The Right Time and Place Also Matter
Value calculators are handy for helping buyers assess needs, identify the magnitude of their problems, and even build a business case. Since the buyer journey is not a tidy and linear path, it can be difficult to match each buyer’s step with the right content in the right place at the right time. Omnipresent value calculators, though, can serve up personalized, timely content that answers buyers’ questions regardless of the stage of their journey.
Sales teams can also uniquely benefit from a value calculator. For simpler offerings, such as point solution software, a value calculator’s summary report may be all that is needed to provide buyers with the necessary financial justification.
Conclusion
Building multi-channel and flexible content, including value calculators, can improve the ROI of marketing and sales efforts. These online assets can be leveraged across multiple digital channels including email campaigns, social media, and paid search. The inherent trackability of digital marketing enables marketers to measure engagement metrics and improve the marketing campaign’s targeting.
Resources
Connect with David Svigel on LinkedIn.
Join the Value Selling for B2B Marketing and Sales Leaders LinkedIn Group.
Visit the ROI Selling Resource Center.
