I see the same thing out there – on the other end of every press release, advertisement and web site is a crowd of prospective buyers who have plenty to do just to keep the status quo functioning. Getting them to listen is hard enough, and getting them to act can be nearly impossible. Even if you have a great story to tell, it has to be so compelling that folks are willing to invest not only budget dollars, but the precious time it will take them to learn and do something outside the norm. Often times, jumping right into sales mode is like trying to get a car moving in 5th gear. A good stream of content that takes them through the phases is a far better approach. I look at conditioning as a way to start in neutral rather than first when necessary.

Thanks for reading!

Todd

Nice post! And, a great way to phrase it – market conditioning. I like it!

I think this is why it’s so important to create content focused to buyer stages. And, I’d argue that status quo is a buyer stage.

Marketers are so busy right now, charged with doing more with less time and resources that they often jump in too far downstream. Their prospects are just trying to get their To Do lists done and may not even be thinking about what’s causing their frustrations and obstacles to success.

I’d suggest the creation of a stream of content from status quo through purchase focused on a particular need or problem will serve them well. Prospects need help realizing a problem and thinking about the difference solving it can make before they decide to change.

Thanks for making me think!
Ardath