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Stop Pushing and Start Pulling: Why Content is King

Clare Lamb

It’s all about Push and Pull. And that’s not just in Life in general: it’s an absolute tenet in Marketing.


Traditionally, Marketing has been focused on the “Push” – vying for attention amid all the noise. “Over here, over here! Look at all these lovely things we have! Of course you want them!”. Over time, we’ve seen more emphasis on target markets and audience segmentation which helps getting the right message to the right people at the right time. The gold, however, is in creating demand by offering something people will proactively seek out. THEY will come to YOU – and not just once, but time and again.


That’s where trust comes in. We Marketers need to create a brand that’s not just visual but embodies what we as an organisation stand for. We need to demonstrate we not only know what we’re talking about but assure our audience that what we do and how we do it will help their business succeed. We want our organisation to be the partner of choice everyone wants to deal with over and above the competition.


We want a relationship.


Typically, high-value Sales and repeat business involve influencing a number of people in different functions across an organisation. This takes time and a multi-pronged approach in your Marketing. What are you promoting? How does it improve the customer’s Revenue /Productivity /Market penetration? It’s all very well having amazing features but what do they mean? Keeping asking “so what?”. Get to the root of the value you’re offering. And value is different depending on who you’re addressing.


A technical influencer will have a very different perspective to that of a financial one or someone focused on Operations. You need to lead them through the buying cycle step by step with different messages and different “language”. There has to be value in what you put out there: talk to Subject Matter Experts, translate “tech speak” into commercial language: make it accessible to your audience. Get their attention, provide conviction that you’re worth listening to, prove your worth, keep the conversation going.


Each stage requires different Marketing elements, whether that’s an event, a flyer, a web page (don’t forget the importance of SEO!), a spec sheet, a brochure, a video, a case study, a social media campaign…. The list goes on. The key is consistency. We must make sure that we are consistent in our message across all channels to Market at any one time. A core asset like a whitepaper can be used in multiple ways across a number of weeks. Sections of it could be a blog series, an infographic can be a social post, you can interview a key customer or a senior manager in your organisation on the subject in question. This ensures you’re making the most of what you’re producing, the same message is consistently being received in different ways and resonating with different members of your audience.


Build relationships with other respected industry bodies, become a member of associations which share the same values as you, join with them at speaking events to leverage their influence. Celebrate your supplier /reseller /distributers’ success: “cross-pollination” like this exposes your organisation to a wider audience.


The old adage, “people buy from people” remains true to this day. Remember your customers are individuals and your own organisation is made up of individuals too. Showcase key people – maybe profile Jeff from Dispatch who gets your goods safely out of the door and on time, or Helen in Finance who has been with the organisation for 15 years. Why do they like their jobs? Why is your company a great place to do business with? No, you’re not a faceless, anonymous corporation: you’re real people who take pride in what you do. Now, THAT creates Pull.


For more information on how FLUME can create "pull" for your organisation, get in touch today.

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