Public sector decision-making is like a cross-country road trip with abundant stops along the way. As any seasoned traveler knows, focusing solely on the first leg of the journey is a surefire way to get stuck before you’ve even left the state. Sure, you need to hit the road, but skipping stops—like refueling—will leave you stranded.

The same principle applies to the buyer’s journey.

Many marketers burn all their gas at the awareness stage of the funnel, getting things started at full throttle. It’s an important stage—no argument there. But if you don’t plan for the rest of the trip (the consideration and decision stages), you’ll be kicked to the curb, watching potential customers speed off with someone else.

Addressing all stages of the buyer journey is key to maximizing ROI.

The Full Journey: Three Essential Stops

In our M4PS Content Marketing Review, we break down the buyer’s journey into three essential stops:

1. Awareness/Exploring: At this stage, your prospects recognize they have a problem and begin seeking information to better understand it.
2. Consideration/Determining: Here, the agency/department has defined its problem and is evaluating possible solutions.
3. Decision/Choosing: Now, the agency/department is ready to make a purchasing decision, often after weighing the pros and cons of different providers.

Focusing too much on the awareness stage—the natural inclination when working with small budgets and an audience that needs educating—misses the opportunity to guide your prospects toward their destination, converting that lead into a customer.

Each stage serves a distinct purpose and deserves a tailored content strategy. A comprehensive approach involves crafting messages that resonate at every phase, ensuring decision-makers have the right information at the right time to move toward a purchase.

Side note: GenAI is great for this!

Why Middle and Bottom Funnel Content Keeps the Engine Running

We love, love, love generating leads! And the top of the funnel is perfect for that.

But here's why mid- and bottom-funnel content is also vital for turning those leads into buyers:

• Build trust at the consideration milepost.

When the agency/department reaches the consideration stage, the C-Suite decision maker has handed the keys to the Program, IT, and procurement managers. They’re looking for detailed directions, like in-depth analysis and trusted comparisons. Provide whitepapers, case studies, or research reports to guide them toward a decision and establish your business as a credible solution.

• Decision-stage content closes deals.

In the decision stage, content should directly address potential buyers’ objections and provide assurances (this is where product demos take precedence). Your audience here is mainly procurement officers who want to know how smoothly things will run once they commit. Sell them on long-term benefits and ease of implementation.

Crafting Down-Funnel Content that Fuels the Journey

In our M4PS Content Marketing Review, we ask what content types are most valuable at each stage of the journey.

At the end of the day, the primary goal for B2G marketers is to generate leads that convert.

By broadening the content strategy to cover all stages of the buyer’s journey, especially focusing on down-funnel messaging, marketers can drive more meaningful engagement with decision-makers and, ultimately, increase conversions.

Get Your Leads Out of the Driveway and Across the Finish Line.

What does your specific buyer say they need at each stage? Who should you be targeting? What should your content include?

The M4PS Content Marketing review is your packing list and guidebook—critical for planning your 2025 strategy and budgets!

Learn more here.

For more information on leveraging research,
including the 2024 M4PS Content Marketing Review,
contact Solutions@GovExec.com.

And don’t miss our recent webinar,
Content that Converts: 
Insights from the New M4PS Playbook!