Entering the Microsoft Dynamics® CRM Marketing Automation “Middle Ages”

The “middle ages” was one of transitions. The beginning of aggressive agricultural innovations allowed trade to increase throughout countries and many staples to flourish. Villages banded together to start providing commerce and services to the nobles for the first time. Kings stretched their reigns over areas to form more centralized ruling and militaries used new strategies like crossbows and plated armour to expand their reign. Even in the faith realm, intellectualism was the start of driving faith and reason together.

In our series on Microsoft Dynamics® CRM nurture marketing, we’ve now entered the “middle ages” as I like to call it, or better described as the “middle stages” of CRM nurture marketing. Transitions are occurring in the mind of our potential customers.

Specifically, in their minds they have moved from knowing they have a problem to knowing what the solution is to their problems.

Frantic Google search terms have changed in their mind. If they’ve ran over that irritating nail with their bikes – instead of searching for “how to fix a flat tire” they search for “demo of product x to fix flat tire”. These search terms signals the change that has occurred in their mind and our Microsoft Dynamics® CRM nurture marketing has to change with it.

They Know the Solutions, Your CRM Nurture Marketing Now Needs to Provide Credible Information

Our potential customer is now looking for targeted information to help them make their decision. We’ve moved from a stake where we were providing general awareness of the product to more targeted information – relevance is the key here.

According to research firm MarketingSherpa:

• 82% of individuals believe industry specific content is more valuable to them then general content
• 67% of individuals believe content targeted to their specific job function is more valuable
• 49% of individuals believe that content relating to company size is more valuable
• 29% believe that content related to geography is more valuable

These facts highlight what many of us already know.

• Relevance such as industry specific content is the reason why you can sell an industry specific solution across the world, being chosen over another provider that is local.
• Relevance is the reason why I’d rather be a part of a global “job function network” rather than a general network locally.
• Relevance is the reason why I’d rather work with an organization experienced in enterprise product roll-outs rather than with one locally that is not.

So ignore relevance to your own detriment. In your Microsoft Dynamics® CRM nurture marketing campaign, the middle stages are all about providing relevant information.

While not all organizations sell products that are industry specific, most sell products that are used by a specific role or at least championed by a specific role. The emphasis in your Microsoft Dynamics® CRM nurture marketing at this stage should be segmenting to the role.

An Example of a Middle Stage Content Offer in a Microsoft Dynamics® CRM Nurture Marketing Campaign

There are two things that we are trying to achieve at this stage; relevance and credibility. As already concluded; relevance leads to the second, which is credibility.

We want to offer something that is relevant to the job role that we are looking to work with. At this stage, this typically comes in two forms, product information presented in the form of best practices.

Offers that are often offered at this stage are items such as case studies, online videos or webcasts (see TechTarget 2009 Media Consumption Report).

For example, if our products are cleaning supplies for dentists we might offer:

•           Learn the Process Leading Dentist “X” Uses to Keep their Office Clean (Demo)
•           Get a Handle on Keeping Your Dentist Office Clean (Webinar)

The two things that we are doing is being role specific as well as sharing best practices in the industry for that role. This “middle stage” of your nurture marketing campaign is there to educate your customers about your product. They are interested in learning more about your product and solutions but primarily relevance is what will set you apart and keep individuals engaged.

The important thing at this stage to remember is that we are providing targeted information. Targetted information that provides relevance. And not any type of relevance – it’s relevance in this order; industry specific, job function, company size and finally geography. Nurture away.