The best content is written with a clear purpose in mind. Often, though, businesses follow general objectives of ‘improving online presence’ or ‘growing the business’. These don’t actually consider the outcome for the individual reader.
The sales funnel, however, does. When planning a sales call, the stage the prospective customer is at is carefully thought about, and a plan to target said stage is implemented – content can do exactly the same thing.
Here, we go through each stage of the sales funnel, and how content can be written to move a reader towards making a purchase.
Awareness
If you’re targeting those who don’t really know anything about your industry, the content should be written in a way that builds awareness. This is a great place to identify a problem or need that your market has and provide a solution. Let’s take an example: a new vegan food restaurant whose local area do not understand the benefits of a vegan diet
A piece of content called ‘Six Vegan Recipes You’ll Love’ suggests that their reader already enjoys eating this type of food, and so are perfectly aware of the advantages. It’ll result in attracting only those further down the funnel. To target those in the ‘awareness’ stage, a title such as ‘Six Reasons You Should Go Vegan’ would imply there are benefits they should be aware of.
Interest
At this stage of the customer journey, readers have an existing interest in your industry. This is your chance to provide value to this audience as they’ll be researching around your area of expertise. You need to continue to pique their interest, building trust and developing a relationship with them.
For instance, a good piece of content for a web design agency whose readers are looking to outsource this function would be: ‘Features Of Web Design You Weren’t Aware Of’. This would give their potential customers additional information about their industry and help with their research.
Decision
Closely related to the ‘interest’ stage, this part of the funnel includes those who are still researching but looking to reduce their choices and make a decision. Let’s say a bespoke furniture shop is falling at the last hurdle with their sales – publishing content about furniture accessories wouldn’t be appropriate, as the customer hasn’t even bought the main item yet.
Instead, an article such as ‘What Type Of Furniture Company Should You Work With?’ would be much better suited. It would aid the customer’s decision-making and give the company a chance to prove their expertise, as well as demonstrate their USPs. This stage should aim to make the customer’s mind up for them, and move them on to the final stage.
Action
At the bottom of the funnel is when the customer is ready to take action and purchase from you, also known as the ‘conversion’ stage. They may need further information around your offering – for example, an accountancy software company could publish content that specifically outlines how to use their features.
This stage can also go beyond the funnel, into ‘post purchase’, where you can offer extras and achieve brand advocacy. In the case of the accountancy software company, perhaps they also provide tax advice. As the customer has already purchased, the chances of them buying other services is much more likely.
The key to determining which stage your content falls into is to think about what area your business most needs help with. Once this is set, the copy can be planned and written.
When it comes to strategizing and writing content, Making You Content can offer a helping hand. Get in touch to discuss how our copywriting services can target customers at the right stage of your sales funnel.