To attract and convert their leads, data centers must educate prospects on how to solve their challenges. It is essential for businesses to build trust with clients and prospects to ensure they believe in your team to fix their problems. Content is the key to developing a trusting client relationship.

In a recent Q&A webinar, we addressed concerns of Data Center CEO’s, Sales Directors, and CMOs relating to sales acceleration, discussing this topic in depth. Interested in watching the webinar recording? If so, access it here: “Data Center Sales Funnel Acceleration Q&A Webinar."

Data center sales teams can identify their target market in a variety of ways. However, there are three core aspects proven to produce real market success:

• Product/market fit
• Setting SMART goals
• Building buyer personas

In a recent Q&A webinar, we addressed concerns of Data Center CEO’s, Sales Directors, and CMOs relating to sales acceleration, discussing this topic in depth.

Interested in watching the webinar recording? If so, access it here: “Data Center Sales Funnel Acceleration Q&A Webinar.”

Wayne Gretzky (a famous NHL player) has been noted for saying, “Skate to where the puck is going, not where the puck has been.”

Mark Twain once advised, “It's not what we don't know that gets us into trouble, it’s what we know for sure, that just ain't so.”

Along the same lines, to remain competitive and gain a clearer perspective on their industry, data center CEOs must

• Discontinue over-investing in dying marketing channels
• Discontinue underinvesting in the future

Data centers need to generate leads, but there may be one missing core component of their business strategy: marketing.

In a recent Q&A webinar, we addressed concerns of Data Center CEO’s, Sales Directors, and CMOs relating to sales acceleration, discussing this topic in depth. Interested in watching the webinar recording? If so, access it here: “Data Center Sales Funnel Acceleration Q&A Webinar.”

The Internet of Things or IoT for short has been a hot topic for the last few years. Since its emergence, it has started to transform how we live and how things operate. This technological phenomenon will impact not only how we work, but how we live.

A key enabler is broadband Internet because it’s now a lot cheaper and widely available. As a result, more devices are now built with Wi-Fi capabilities. Further, sensors have also been built into these devices, and this goes way beyond your common smartphones and tablets.

So, what exactly is IoT?

When it comes to having a steady flow of clients, most companies are only putting their pinky toe in the pool, too timid to jump in.

Most data centers typically invest 1%-2% in annual revenue and growth. The data center providers knocking this out of the park typically invest 10% or more of their projected annual revenue. Additionally, they are investing across the board in marketing, content, product, and sales, supporting a much more rapid growth funnel.

There are a number of reasons why inbound marketing is now the communication medium of choice for so many mid-market and enterprise IT vendors.

They include:

• More effective communications with modern buyers and decision makers
• Potential gains that are greater than those offered by traditional outbound marketing methods
• ROI that is comparatively higher

Inbound marketing is all about attracting prospects to your company instead of going out to hunt them down. While traditional marketing methods relied on cold calls, direct mail, and email campaigns, the inbound approach uses content marketing, organic search traffic, and opt-in offers to attract potential clients.

If you are a mid-market or enterprise IT vendor, here are some strategies that could work for you.

Inbound marketing is widely recognized as a powerful and effective tool for promoting brands and increasing a brand’s visibility to consumers. However, too many companies (mid-market and enterprise IT businesses included) regard inbound tactics as an optional marketing strategy—great to have if the company resources can support it, but not essential.

The truth is, in 2017, IT companies must adopt the inbound method if they want to stay relevant and competitive. Consumers today are more informed and prepared to do research before they buy—a model inbound marketing is structured to appease.

When you’re creating marketing messages, it’s easy to lose sight of exactly who the target audience is.  You know they’re out there, but without being able to see them directly, you feel as if you’re writing for the benefit of the wall across the room.

The problem is, the message reflects that vague, impersonal feeling, and thus, it fails to resonate. To ensure that it hits home, your IT company’s marketing team must create buyer personas.

Remarkable content is content that adds so much value to your readers that they literally have to remark on it in social media forums, Facebook walls, blog comment sections, and other online outlets. They also have to share it with their friends. 

In content marketing, creating remarkable copy requires you to know your target market. In other words, have a clear idea of whom you are writing to. Otherwise, the content will come across as author-centric, and the audience will not be inclined to share it.

If there are other copywriters on your IT company’s marketing team, lack of a clear buyer persona for the company services will require them to write to their internal readers instead, causing a lack of consistency in the overall company message.