Content is one of the most versatile assets of your marketing system.  It’s a unique representation of your firm and how your unique experiences and skills benefit the customers you serve. Think of it as an asset that can be repurposed into multiple formats.

But the real value of content comes from its impact on customers. According to Google, B2B buyers and influencers do 12 searches prior to visiting a specific brand’s website. That should give you an idea of just how much content they see.

Volume quality– not quantity– should be the goal of your brand. In 2017, 97% of B2B buyers that responded to a Demand Gen survey indicated that the most popular type of content was focused content that lays out a formula for success.  When your prospects and customers consume your content it should be engaging, informative, and valuable to them.

 

There are numerous types of content that your firm could use to connect with an ideal customer. The key to success, then, is knowing what the exact type of content that your ideal customer wants to consume is.

Valens Point emphasizes strategy in order to identify the message that your content needs to send, the audience it’s written for, and the channels that will get it in front of said audience. Without a strategy in place, you’re likely to waste valuable time and energy producing content without a purpose.

Strategically planned and written white paper and case study content can be reused as a video, an infographic, a SlideShare presentation, and numerous social media posts.

Buyers look mostly to white papers (82% of a recent Demand Gen survey) for data and analysis, followed by webinars (78%), and case studies (73%) to make purchasing decisions. Close behind are eBooks (67%), infographics (66%), and blog posts (66%).

And since they also report viewing three to five pieces of content before engaging with your sales team, you should be thinking strategically about what content to produce.

Content is only useful if your target audience sees it.  Therefore, your distribution plan should include the channels through which your target market and ideal customers consume content. That includes your blog, social media accounts, and email.  Without distribution, your ideal customer may never see your content.

McKinsey research shows that, on average, a B2B customer will regularly use six different interaction channels throughout the buying decision journey.  Having multiple content types for your firm’s strategic content will allow you to utilize multiple channels, including your website, SEO, email, social media, and in-person interactions.

Systemizing the use of your content will ensure that it has the best chance of being found and consumed by your target audience.

Customer experience (CX) is a vital component of increased engagement and sales success.  A well-designed customer experience increases your conversion rates and helps to retain customers. It includes providing the right content, at the right point in the customers’ buying process. Dimension Data says that 84% of organizations working to improve their customer experience report an increase in revenue.  Meaning that a concentration of customer experience and content has a decided return on investment.

If increased revenue wasn’t enough to prompt you to action on CX, consider this: companies that have effective omni-channel engagement (meaning the same experience and content regardless of channel) keep 89% of their customers, compared to just 33% of those with poor omni-channel experience. (Source: Aberdeen Group)

Customer experience and great content demands precise writing, strong strategy, and a deep understanding of the pain points your prospects face on a day-to-day basis.  That requires a concentrated effort. But, the concentration pays off according to CMI: B2B marketers with a documented strategy are more likely to consider themselves effective.

When you begin to integrate content marketing and your sales teams you’ll discover how valuable content truly is.

Handing off leads to the sales team will become better organized and productive.

The sales team will have an understanding of the customer’s journey, what’s they have used to educate themselves, and can refer to content the customer has consumed to validate the quality of leads and readiness to take next steps.

The sales team will also have an arsenal of conversion-oriented content like case studies and value recognition tools.