Are Data Center Developers Attracting the Right Eyes?

Data centers may have an excellent, competitively-priced service with a gifted team of content creators but if they are unable to connect with the right audience, marketing efforts will fall flat. In many instances, the HIPPO is to blame.

The HIPPO Syndrome

HIPPO is an acronym for the ‘Highest Paid Person’s Opinion.' It refers to the tendency for the opinions of higher-paid employees to prevail when important decisions are made. It also describes the way some companies rely on executive instinct and hunches instead of data during the decision-making process.

While HIPPOs are important when it comes to managing projects and keeping team members on track, it is a mistake to make content creation and dissemination decisions based on the loudest and/or highest-paid voice in the room. Although HIPPOS can contribute excellent ideas, content strategies ultimately must be based on quantifiable data.

Define the Right Audience

To ensure content is valuable and relevant to the target audience, data center developers have to know exactly who these consumers are. Buyer personas are invaluable in this respect.

They make it easier to determine who the center’s clients are, what their goals, challenges, and pain points consist of, and how to create content that would appeal to them.

Create the Content They Need

Once the buyer’s needs and interests are known, it is time to create content they will want to read and share. The creation strategy needs to lay out the content production process from start to finish as well as how it relates back to the center’s wider business goals.

The latter is extremely important because every blog post, webinar, and other content items need to support the company’s growth objectives.

To attract the right market, content creators must keep two things in mind:

• The interests, values, and challenges of the target audience
• The different stages in the consumer cycle; not all content is relevant to every lead

Potential buyers will always pay attention to content items that speak in a familiar tone, share timely and valuable advice, and answer their questions about the product or service. Acquiring the insights needed to produce these broadcasts is going to take more than a single HIPPO’s direction. It also requires:

• The careful collection and study of buyer habit throughout the consumer cycle
• Paying close attention to the comments and questions they submit via email or web forms
• Learning what their problems are and how the data center services solve them

Be Ready

Remember: buyers do not submit their contact information, register for a webinar, or make a purchase when developers want them to; they take action when they are ready.

They also won’t read the newest white paper, tip sheet, or blog post just because it is newly published or it created under a HIPPO’s direction. The right person and right content need to meet each other at the right time. Data-driven knowledge can make this possible.

While the HIPPO’s input may play an important part in the content creation process, data center developers should not rely on it exclusively. Platforms and processes must be in place to collect content ideas from potential customers and turn them into valuable assets. In the end, the best ideas have to prevail, not the biggest paycheck or loudest voice.

What is does your Data Center do to attract the right audience? Let us know in the Comments below.

To learn more about how to attract the right eyes and using HIPPO input constructively,  be sure to watch the free, on-demand “How Colocation Data Centers Can Differentiate to Grow Leads, Revenue, and ROI.”