Content and Organizational Alignment: Content Must Have Context

I have noticed that an essential part of content marketing is rarely discussed.

It’s not only …
✔ Crafting the perfect story with impactful data
✔ Targeted storytelling that connects with audiences
✔ Lead generation and filling your funnel with a continuous data stream
✔ Positioning your brand as THE untouchable category thought leader

Instead, the impact, the conversions, the tide turns when a sales organization is aligned, and 1) believes in the value of the leads they receive and 2) are engaged with the story you’re telling and why it matters to the audience.

Without this organizational alignment, you will meet a dead end – the perfect story no one reads.

“Lead gen” becomes a marketing buzzword sales and c-suites glaze over because they only hear, “Budget was spent without a real ROI.” (They’re still upset about "circulation number.")

So, how do we remove the silos and engage our sales friends? How do we ensure marketing/product management teams are also involved and what is their role? Who drives the story? Ultimately, the customer.

Through voice of customer research, marketing should understand what the product/service is and why it solves customers' needs. Don't assume you know others' stories or motivations without talking to them first.

Communications and content developers should understand how to deliver the product/service to the customer. These delivery mechanisms include the right messages, mediums, and moments. Voice of customer research should inform these as well.

Then, as a content marketer, you can deliver the story to a list of people with titles that meet your targeted demographic, and the work is complete, right?

Oh, contraire.

You should also engage and align with your sales team. They need to believe in the story you're telling and understand the value of the leads you share. This doesn't happen the week of a launch. It's an iterative process that requires ongoing, cross-functional communication.

For example, my colleagues, developed a lead training module that establishes expectations, provides opportunities to ask questions in 1:1 environments, and encourages engagement with our team. Still not resonating? Assign a real-world sales opportunity or dollar amount to each lead that corresponds with your campaign. Make this matter. Don't flood inboxes with strangers' names and walk away.

As for the story? It should also be collaborative.
✔ Develop a feedback loop process so you can continue to refine strategy and execution cross-functionally.
✔ Organize a sales team committee that provides regular insights and feedback on strategy, messaging, and execution.
✔ Get input from the field sales team during the development process.
✔ Send pre-launch reading materials.
✔ Join regional calls with "sneak peaks" before launch to build suspense.
✔ Finally, offer straightforward and directional tools that give people confidence at launch.

Is it easy? NO! Unifying a group of diverse people with various opinions, backgrounds, and perspectives is a time-consuming activity.

However, Professor Scott Page, author of "The Diversity Bonus: How Great Teams Pay Off in the Knowledge Economy," a team that possesses cognitive diversity (differences in problem-solving, categorizations, knowledge bases, experiences, and skills) is more likely to find novel and creative solutions to problems.

So, take a breath. Make the time. Take content cues from the customer. Tell the story as a team.

Execution will vary by organization. Be consistent with the concept.