The concept of content marketing has already become the new paradigm of inbound marketing. Sales reps are now just as responsible for deploying well-distributed lead nurturing initiatives as marketers. For a prospect to become a fully fledged customer, however, requires careful consideration of the distribution of content. Sales enablement is tightly related to the right content assets being delivered to the right people at the right time. So let’s go back to basics and remind ourselves about the particulars of the 5 stages of the buying cycle:

The 5 Stages of the Buying Cycle

To implement an effective content marketing strategy, it’s essential to understand the different stages of the buying cycle and how specific content supports each phase:

• Stage 1: Awareness
  a prospect has a need, which your business can fulfill. At this stage it’s all about visibility and generating awareness.
  
  
• Stage 2: Consideration
  the lead has discovered you and is generally evaluating if your solution is better than your competitors’.
  
  
• Stage 3: Preference
  the prospect shows interest in a particular product. This is often a decisive point for a potential purchase.
  
  
• Stage 4: Evaluation
  the lead is carefully considering your solution. At that stage, providing details is essential.
  
  
• Stage 5: Purchase
  the prospect has taken a decision and has purchased your product.

Leveraging Content Marketing for Lead Nurturing

To optimize lead nurturing efforts, sales reps must identify the current stage of the lead within the buying cycle. Marketing automation tools such as detailed contact profiles provide valuable insights into content marketing effectiveness. Once a lead's stage is determined, the next step is selecting the most suitable content marketing asset.

Here are the top five content marketing assets that sales reps should use, aligned with the appropriate stage of the buying cycle:

1. Blog Posts – Awareness Stage

Blogging is one of the most powerful tools in content marketing. Studies show that companies that blog receive 97% more inbound links, and 70% of customers prefer learning about a company through articles rather than ads. Blog posts are essential for the awareness stage, offering educational content that attracts and engages prospects. Use blog posts to highlight industry challenges, provide expert insights, and position your company as a thought leader in your space.

2. White Papers – Consideration Stage

White papers serve as authoritative, data-driven reports designed to educate prospects. In the content marketing funnel, they are particularly effective at the consideration stage, offering in-depth analysis on key topics. By providing prospects with well-researched insights, businesses gain credibility and an edge over competitors.

Here's an idea of how you much you can expect to pay for quality white papers.

3. Case Studies – Preference Stage

Once a lead enters the preference stage, they need concrete proof of your solution's effectiveness. Case studies showcase real-life success stories of how your products or services solved challenges for other customers. This content marketing asset builds trust and persuades prospects by demonstrating measurable results and positive outcomes.

4. Demos – Evaluation Stage

During the evaluation stage, leads require hands-on experience with your product. Interactive demos offer them a deeper understanding of how your solution works. Whether through product walkthroughs or live demonstrations, this content marketing approach allows prospects to visualize the benefits and gain confidence in their decision.

5. Webinars – Purchase & Beyond

Reaching the bottom of the funnel is what all your efforts have been directed towards. But this stage also demands providing content assets in order to achieve an even higher goal: turning your customers into promoters. In the language of inbound marketing, your collateral has to “delight” the prospect. What better way to achieve that than organising a “Customer Success” Webinar with up to 10 customers, answering all their questions about the usage of your product?

Choosing the right asset from a company’s tremendous amount of collateral can be harder than it seems. Sales reps should not only have a broad perspective on where their leads are in the buying cycle; they also need easy access to a diverse range of pre-identified and evaluated material. This harks back to the importance of marketing automation solutions, but also brings in the role of mobile sales technologies as a means towards a successful outcome of lead nurturing initiatives.