Over the past decade, content has become a critical element for delivering a consistent and compelling customer experience. Roper Public Affairs found that 80 percent of business decision-makers prefer to get company information in articles, rather than advertisements, and 70 percent of them said that content marketing helped them feel closer to the company. In today’s self-service sales environment, marketers are developing and promoting more content than ever before. Yet, less than half of B2B marketers have a documented content strategy, and NewsCred found that 50 to 70 percent of the content that is created goes completely unused.
To truly deliver a consistent and compelling customer experience, CMOs must lead the charge in developing a content strategy that creates a consistent customer experience at each phase of the buying journey by pulling the corporate message forward, strategically and intentionally, through all customer-facing communications.
Below are three important ways CMOs can ensure content is effective and contributes to a consistent and compelling customer experience.
Be customer-centric. Focus on developing customer-centric content that meets both the business objectives of the company as well as the business objectives of customers. Think about the challenges and obstacles customers face in achieving their goals, and how your organization’s services and solutions can solve them.
Own a position. Thought leadership content has the power to shape customers’ thinking when it takes an ownable stance with a clear and compelling point of view on issues relevant to your business and your customers’ business. The point of view should be steeped in the corporate message, convey the value your perspective brings to solving your customers’ challenges in unique ways and encourage further exploration of the ideas presented.
Be present. Typically, 60–80 percent of the buying journey occurs before a customer engages a company representative. Where do your customers go to inform their buying decisions? Identify their preferred media channels, such as LinkedIn, Twitter, blogs, etc. and deliver customized, engaging content to those channels.
A content strategy is not a “nice-to-have;” it’s a must-have. It is the framework for developing and deploying effective content that amplifies your thought leadership and pulls your message forward consistently throughout the customer experience.
