While 81% of marketers says they use context-based facts specific to a prospect to shape their marketing messages and sales conversations, a new survey from Corporate Visions reveals that they may be focusing on the wrong types of insights. Marketers ranked forward-looking content as the most effective, but reported that their assets focused primarily on common challenges.
“What’s surprising about the survey results is that the insights marketers and salespeople feel are the most effective are exactly the opposite of the insights they believe their companies produce,” said Tim Riesterer, chief strategy and marketing officer for Corporate Visions.
While 81% of marketers says they use context-based facts specific to a prospect to shape their marketing messages and sales conversations, a new survey from Corporate Visions reveals that they may be focusing on the wrong types of insights. Marketers ranked forward-looking content as the most effective, but reported that their assets focused primarily on common challenges.
The survey defined four specific insight types:
- Anecdotal insights — Content that is created in-house and focuses on more tactical day-to-day issues such as best practices, lessons learned, and features and functionality.
- Authoritative insights — Content that leverages the work of respected third-parties, such as analysts and external subject matter experts, and is used to reinforce key company messages around trends, problems, challenges, risks, opportunities and requirements.
- Current insights — Content that centers around original research and surveys that are produced by the company as supporting facts for campaigns and selling messages.
- Visionary insights — Content that leverages in-house expertise but looks to the future of the industry and defines what is next.
When asked to rank the types of insights used in their marketing material, respondents put anecdotal insights first, followed by authoritative insights, current insights and visionary insights.
Respondents were then asked to rank those same insights in order of how effective they believe they are at generating more engaging conversations and driving sales decisions. They ranked visionary insights first, followed by current insights, authoritative insights and anecdotal insights.
“What’s surprising about the survey results is that the insights marketers and salespeople feel are the most effective are exactly the opposite of the insights they believe their companies produce,” said Tim Riesterer, chief strategy and marketing officer for Corporate Visions.
