Moments Later: Podcasting – Sound Lead Generation

Imagine a business owner who is looking for advice on how to market their newly formed company to other businesses.

In this example, Alicia sells very technical measurement tools and analytical equipment in health care segment. Selling through distributors has been unsuccessful since the sale is complicated, the equipment is expensive and distributors kept going after easier sales to close. She needs to develop leads so she can get a foot into several new doors and talk directly to key decision makers. How can she achieve those connections?

The market that Alicia serves is hospitals and medical facilities and she needs a path to reach, influence and connect with potential customers who aren't easily available. Advertising is out of the question since she believes it is a waste of money, expensive and hard to measure results.

I would advise Alicia to create a podcast to achieve several key objectives:

EASY TO MEET CLIENTS: She can interview potential clients on her Podcasting show. It gives her an excuse to engage and interact with a potential customer that may be difficult to reach. Who wouldn’t respond to a call that says, “Hey, you are an expert in your field? Would you like to spend 15 minutes providing me with your opinions? Oh, and you don’t have to leave your office.”

DISCUSS THEIR NEEDS DIRECTLY: She can have a conversation about some of the technical problems that these hospital engineers or administrators are experiencing and gain a clearer picture of their needs. The podcast is like a focus group of one.

BECOME A THOUGHT LEADER: Over time, the podcast could help establish her as a thought-leader and industry expert in the field. After interviewing dozens of industry leaders, some of their equity rubs off on her and her business. Perhaps one episode is a panel discussion of several key thought leaders together on important industry topics that tie-in to her own companies competencies. Remember, she isn't selling but building credibility, relationships and trust.

SHARE YOUR KNOWLEDGE By leveraging email marketing and social media, she could get her podcasts in front of her target and effectively share some of the key insights from the discussions. Others potential customers can easily access the discussion and she can add an ASK THE EXPERT Q&A at the end of each show.

LEVERAGE TRADE EVENTS: By attending conferences, Alicia could interview several key industry executives and create some wonderful content for her show. Trade shows are great environments to conduct interviews and to make the podcast appear to be larger than life. Do the interview on a stage, set up a special booth to make it look high tech.

Small targets are perfect

In this B2B example, since our owner has a limited target audience for her podcast, podcasting can prove to be an effective strategy to generate leads. She wants to reach several thousand hospital engineers or purchasing agents. A highly targeted podcast, well-positioned for her field, can help get the message across to her audience through the conversations she podcasts.

A podcast can give her the chance to engage with important audiences, have deep technical conversations and to help her map the needs of these potential accounts. People like to tell their stories and share their wisdom. Getting people to be interviewed is not too difficult and although they may not understand what a podcast is, they see it as being interviewed on the radio. She becomes a leading industry voice and one that turns listeners into leads.

Beyond the Podcast

In addition to the podcast, she can have transcripts made for each show so that those discussions can also appear on her blog. Imagine the key word searches for that topic driving potential leads to her blog and podcast.

Podcasting is easy to share.

Podcasting is a powerful tactic when it fits with a well-crafted marketing plan. It can help you create meaningful content that will resonate with your potential customers. It is not expensive to produce but can be time consuming but you must produce on a regular and consistent schedule too.

If this is of interest, check out the mastermind classes on how to podcast from John Lee Dumas. He created an extraordinary business by creating a podcast about entrepreneurs. Today he teaches his process and is a true leader in the field. John interviewed me about my book Unraveling The Mysteries of Marketing last year. You can listen to that interview here.

Go to iTunes and search out some key words within your industry or adjacent industries. Listen to several podcasts on topics of interest to you to get a feel for how others are using this low-cost and high impact marketing tactic.