Happy Monday Crusaders

Hello from the desk of Irene G, Kevin and the Southern Crusaders.

Our business is primarily about products and moving those products.  Whether it is about the various Youngevity product lines or introducing the business, it is about selling something.

Some people are natural sales people while others are not.  But the good news is that by following some simple rules and getting an understanding of some simple marketing strategies, we can all become moderately successful with Youngevity.  And being moderately successful can mean for most of us, a totally different life style that people only dream of.  We have a great product and we have a great company with a world class compensation plan.  The only thing that can possibly get in the way is our lack of knowledge on how to make it all work.  For this reason it has been decided, over the next few Monday installments of the e-Pulse, to bone up on those skills and get some, exciting, awesome strategies working for us that will work for dummies and experts alike.

Let’s start from ground zero –

Net work marketing has become an ever evolving industry, requiring us to understand and use evolving marketing methods. It wasn’t that long ago that adverts in the local paper, perhaps a radio spot, maybe handing out brochures or even ads on notice boards were what you did to let people know you were out there.  It was a relatively known quantity, probably a sure thing at raising the profile of your business.  Pay for a spot, whether in a magazine, TV, radio or brochure… and wait for the phone calls.

Build it, buy ad space… and they will come, right?

Not so any more, this brave new world of Internet marketing and social media has changed everything.  (And thank the good Lord for that).  Marketing Youngevity has never been easier.  All we have to do is step outside our comfort zones, learn a few new skills and a whole new exciting world will open up for us!

Let’s just look at a really great strategy, available to us and is finding such tremendous success with others, known as the Content Marketing Funnel.

A Marketing Funnel is basically your consumer’s journey through the whole experience from the first time he/she is aware of your product to the moment he/she becomes a loyal customer. It can be used as a plan to generate leads/sales offline or online but for the purposes of our present training we have chosen to use this tool as an online method (Some refer to it as a Content Funnel, Sales Funnel, Conversion Funnel, Purchase Funnel or Customer Funnel)

The Content Marketing Funnel is an incredible tool and makes it easier to help visualize the phases a prospect must experience to go from cold to customer. The four main parts of this funnel are awareness, evaluation, conversion and retention which looks like this –

For the prospect that has no clue who you are, or what you do to become your customer they’ll need to travel this funnel.  Let’s take a look at what lies ahead of them in more detail:

1. Awareness – your prospect must, of course, first become aware that you and your opportunity have the solution to their problem.  What facilitates the awareness, is the content you provide them at the top of the funnel.  This is where you dazzle prospects with your informative and entertaining blog posts, photographs, social media updates, graphics, emails & newsletters and anything else you might present in digital, audio or print form.  This is your opportunity to educate, inform, inspire and, wherever possible, entertain.  This is often where most Content Marketing ends. You will want to target your market by avoiding pulling in completely unqualified leads as you’ll end up wasting time and money attempting to convert them.  Make sure you are providing the appropriate content that moves prospects to the next step…

2. Evaluation/Consideration – This is where potential customers evaluate what you’re offering.  Bear in mind, one of the choices is also to take no action at all.  At this stage what are you providing that keeps them moving through the funnel?  Solutions, discounts, free education, free resources, maybe simply a quiz or survey to guide their interest. Host a contest or an event, maybe a webinar offering a free introduction to the solution you’re providing.  Don’t forget about testimonial or client stories! These are fantastic opportunities to provide the confirmation prospects need to move on to the next phase of the funnel.

3. Conversion/Decision/Purchase – Calls to action!  The moment of potential action… a decision has been made and your lead is buying what you’re selling, so give them ample opportunities to make it so!  What was once a prospect needs as many clear opportunities as you can provide to be converted into a customer.

4. Retention – the customer becomes a loyal user by re-purchasing, or referring you new users

Developing leads and increasing sales through the use of blog and/or social media, creating useful, engaging and perhaps even inspiring content can be the difference between converting a new customer and making a sale or not.

By following some very basic and simple rules, which we will teach, even the most unskilled of us will be able to write a blog.  Unfortunately, most people using Content Marketing stop at blogging. Without a doubt, blogs play a major role in Content Marketing, but they’re only a part of the bigger picture.

As you consider what takes a cold prospect to paying customer, the Content Marketing Funnel will provide you with a foundation that can ensure you are growing the awareness, leads and conversions that will grow your Youngevity business.

Remember, the Marketing Funnel does not end at step four. Once you have customers who have made a commitment, by using strategies to keep them interested in your business and to build loyalty to your brand, you will be able to transform those customers into Brand Ambassadors. Gaining customer testimonials, triggering customers to leave reviews, and incentivising them to refer others to your brand grants you access to even more potential leads.  It is all very simple to do once you know how.

If you are of a generation that the thought of using the internet is a step too far then there are many solutions to this problem – you may have a pet young person living under your roof that can be put to some use, but if not your neighbor or a friend or relative may have one they are not using at the moment and is going spare.  Failing that, they can be found wondering the halls of the local university or local high school and for a small fee, hired and successfully added to you plan.

In the next few issues of our Monday Pulse we will be discussing the various methods used within each step of the Content Funnel, some simple steps to develop them, the best social media channels to use them in and how to develop their content.

You will be amazed at how simple it is to do and the fantastic results will make you wonder why you have not been doing this before!!

“The only way to make sense of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance” –Alan Watts

Have a super awesome day,
Cheers,
Irene G

Youngevity Beverages Ltd