Today's buyers will reveal themselves to sellers when they're ready and on their terms. They begin their Buying Cycle with online self-service where they learn about products and services that offer the potential to satisfy their wants and needs.

Self-service also assists print and online media editors who are searching keywords to find newsworthy articles well before you can reach them directly with a plea to publish your news.

Online PR is a simple and cost effective venue for communicating your brand, products and services. Of those who find your presser to be valuable, 80% will springboard into self-service mode. 20% will contact you right away.  Your challenge will be to figure a way to nurture the 80%. 

You may not be aware of early stage leads because self-service research is occurring behind the scenes. These marketing ready leads must be nurtured to sales ready status. With the right marketing automation tools you can be cued in to launch trigger campaigns, but this won't always be the case. So, if you believe that self-service is taking place, you'll be part of the process so that you won't lose out on sales opportunities from new prospects and from existing customers. Hopefully you'll have been discovered during their buying cycle and included in their short list of potential suppliers. This sets the stage for an accelerated Selling Cycle because the buyer will have already progressed through over 50% of their decision process.

Online PR is a trackable lead source that informs your self-service audience about all things newsworthy related to your business. Embedding keywords within your online content makes it easy for potential customers, partners and editors to find your news if it catches their attention. They will read it, act upon it and share it, if it benefits them. Planned frequency builds momentum for being noticed. Strengthen relationships with those that you mention in your presser because they will appreciate the publicity they receive.