Still the most powerful marketing strategy
Only three percent of any market is ready to buy right now. The other ninety-seven percent is where the growth is, and most companies ignore them entirely.
Want to quadruple your sales quickly? Unfortunately there is no magic formula. Success in marketing takes time, energy and consistency. But there is good news too: if you are willing to invest in the right approach, you can address far more potential customers and raise your sales figures considerably.
An example from practice: a networking event
Picture this. You run a company specializing in IT security and you arrive at a networking event.
If you start handing out quotes at random you get strange looks and very little result. Why? Because people first want to understand what you actually do and how you can help them before they even consider buying something.
And yet plenty of business owners make exactly that mistake online. They expect customers to buy automatically after seeing a single ad. The reality is different.
Only three percent are ready to buy
Research suggests that only about three percent of any market is in buying mode at a given moment. The other ninety-seven percent is spread across different stages of awareness.
Which brings us to a pyramid you can use to categorize all your potential customers. Used well, it lets you address up to thirty-three times more people.
- only 3% of the people who come into contact with you are actually in buying mode
- 17% are in the information-gathering phase, actively looking for a solution and comparing options
- 20% are aware of a problem they have, but are not yet moving to act on it
- and finally the largest group: 60% are not aware of the problem they have at all, and they are still potential customers
Back to the IT security example
There are a great many business leaders who are good at what they do but have no idea their company is highly vulnerable to cyberattack. They make up that sixty percent of potential buyers.
If you can bring that group into your story, you double your potential market at a stroke.
Content as the engine
To address all those different groups and take them along, you have to put out valuable content that genuinely helps people. Which means being well informed:
- what are their real problems?
- what do they run into?
- what keeps them awake?
- what do they not know yet?
- what are they blind to?
- what should they know?
- what would help them most?
How owners miss ninety-seven percent of their potential customers
Most owners are too focused on the three percent who are already ready to buy. They overlook the other ninety-seven entirely. And that is exactly where the biggest opportunity for growth sits.
It is vital to address all your visitors, and you do that by offering them something of value before you ask them to do business with you.
Information is what pulls customers over the line
One approach that works extremely well is simply providing information. A freely available ebook that speaks to their needs, their desires and their pain points genuinely moves people forward. And it can take many forms: an article, a video, a video course, a webinar, strong copy, well-aimed emails.
When people feel you are teaching them something, they experience you differently. That is the experience you want to keep giving them until they decide to take the next step.
Do they watch your videos? Excellent, then you want to show them the matching ebook. Do they open that email? Good, then you send them a case study. Do they open that too? Then you might offer them a free demonstration. Do they like that as well? Then the chance they buy from you is far higher.
You pour all of that into a deliberate process. In every ad, every email, every piece of copy you take account of where people are in their journey.
Have they opened all your information but still doubt whether you can deliver? Then show them video testimonials or let them read a strong case.
Instead of a two or three percent conversion rate you reach eight to ten percent. Which stands to reason: you are addressing a far bigger share of your market.
Approach and treat your customers this way and you will sell not only to the three percent in buying mode, but to your full potential audience. Conversion rates go up and you make more revenue and more profit.
We can help
You may have noticed that this article is itself an example of providing information. Ready to take the next step with a smart, durable strategy? Get in touch.
In short
What percentage of a market is ready to buy?
Only about three percent of any market is in buying mode at a given moment, according to research. Of the rest, 17% are gathering information and comparing options, 20% are aware of a problem but not yet acting on it, and 60% are not aware of their problem at all, yet they are still potential customers.
How do I market to people who are not ready to buy yet?
Marketing to people who are not ready to buy works by offering something of value before asking them to do business. Valuable content such as an ebook, article, video, webinar or well-aimed email teaches them something and moves them forward step by step, for example from video to ebook to case study to free demonstration, until they take the next step.
Why does a single ad rarely lead to a sale?
A single ad rarely leads to a sale because people first want to understand what a company does and how it can help them before they consider buying. Most owners focus only on the three percent ready to buy. Addressing every stage of the buyer's journey instead can raise the conversion rate from two or three percent to eight to ten percent.
Team Stigo, Stigo Digital Agency
Writes about what actually happens inside the campaigns we run from our own location in Antwerp. Questions about your own numbers? Book a call.
