In business, it’s easy to get distracted by anything new or techy. It’s also easy to get lost in the details of your daily tasks.
That’s especially true if you’re too focused on any one aspect of the business.
It’s easy, for example, if you’re a content marketer, to try to solve every problem with content. If you build funnels, a funnel becomes your go-to solution.
But business is complex. There’s not a single tool that will fix everything. Especially in a slow economy, you need to focus on the basics — return to a minimum viable business.
The Minimum Viable Business
As an entrepreneur, I have to stop myself every now and then to refocus. I need to make sure I know the priorities and give myself a kick in the pants to do them.
So what are the priorities for businesses today? This infographic lays it out for you.
The Priorities for Growth in a Minimum Viable Situation
When the economy is going strong, you don’t need to worry about every penny spent. You can allow your business to put on a few pounds — too many messages, markets, and products.
But when the economy contracts, you need focus. Here’s what really matters if you’re going to grow your business.
Product
Every business is built around the product. And by the way, we’re not here to debate a product-first or customer-first approach. The fact is, if you’re in business, you sell a product — and that’s your number-one priority because it’s how you drive revenue.
Make sure your product is user friendly and actually meets a need. Do that with class and style, and your product will likely weather any recession.
Marketing
To promote your product, you need to get the word out about it.
You need to put the right message in front of the right people at the right time. And that message needs to get their attention and create interest. In our digital ecosystem, that means you need to focus on driving traffic and demand generation.
Traffic – Not all traffic is good traffic. Focus on getting your best prospects to your website, so you can clearly communicate who you are, what you do, and how you do it.
Once you do that, get them on your list so you can stay in touch with them. The best way to do that is with a lead magnet.
Demand Generation – You also need to turn interest into demand. While any strategy is fair game, but for a minimum viable approach, I recommend high-value content, funnels, and webinars.
Avoid content for content’s sake. The goal here is to separate your qualified prospects from your fans, friends, and tire kickers. Do what it takes to get prospects to raise their hand so you can follow up with them to make the sale.
Sales
Sales can be done through digital marketing or one-on-one meetings. Either way, the biggest challenge isn’t your presentation or your sales pitch. It’s your hand-off between marketing and sales.
If you sell through funnels, you need a unifying message or theme that connects every piece of the funnel. The transition from delivering value to selling should never be obvious.
If you use a demand gen team or SDRs to generate leads for your closers, you need a way to smoothly hand off the prospect so their expectations are met. It should feel like one continuous conversation, even if it began digitally and then transitioned from one human to another.
Customer Success
Your highest value customers will buy from you again and again. They’re loyal and happily recommend you to their community — so it pays to take care of them, even in a minimum viable situation.
Customer success is about making sure your customers are happy with the results they get from your product. And sometimes, that means upselling them to a premium version of your product or buying more seats or resources.
Don’t be tempted to view customer success as a cost. It’s actually a revenue driver, which makes it a high priority.
Driving Revenue
This is the bottom line. You can’t stay in business if you aren’t making money. Aside from the priorities listed above, your top revenue drivers include:
> A list of people who know, like, and trust you. Take care of your list. It’s one of your most valuable assets.
> Content that clearly tells your story. The format doesn’t matter, and neither does the channel. Share your best ideas, tips, and strategies and get them in front of your best audience as often as you can.
> Your brand. The foundation of your business is your name recognition and credibility. Build a recognizable brand. You won’t regret it.
The Future of Content Marketing
When the economy tanks, content is often seen as a luxury. If spending needs to be cut, it’s content creation that gets the ax.
It makes sense. There seems to be a consensus that the priorities are the four elements listed above:
- Product
- Marketing
- Sales
- Customer success
But don’t make the mistake of viewing content as merely an add-on. It’s far more than blogging. It’s not just top-of-the-funnel, and it’s not just a sliver of your marketing efforts.
Content touches and supports every area of business growth.
- It helps you explain your product and teach users how to get the most from it.
- It drives demand generation: traffic, lead generation, advertising, funnels, events.
- It supports sales — nothing beats a case study or well-researched article for overcoming objections and persuading a buyer who’s on the fence.
- It supports customer success by providing user guides and training.
There was a day when content was promoted as an end game. That’s unfortunate, because it set wrong expectations.
It’s true that content is key to growth, but it’s more of a vehicle than a destination.
Your content is the message, strategically packaged in different formats and delivered through a variety of channels.
Its primary job is to point people towards the product and your brand, then help generate demand and revenue.
Looking for Growth? Upgrade your Content
When the economy is tight, it’s not time to cut your marketing budget. It’s time to scale — especially your content.
Rather than opting out of content marketing. Get more strategic. Look at the infographic above, and find areas where you can leverage content for your primary business drivers.
