5 Strategies for Building a Content Engine & Effective B2B Marketing
With the rise of digital channels — and the shift towards a more self-service approach — prospects are completing most of their journey before ever speaking to a salesperson. The pandemic only accelerated this trend, as customers increasingly prefer to gather information and make decisions independently.
With the self-service approach, content plays a critical role in supporting the customer's buying journey. So, let’s explore the importance of content in today's B2B environment, the challenges of building a content engine in-house, and how businesses can effectively use content to engage prospects and drive growth.
The Shift Towards Self-Service Buying
In-person meetings and protracted cycles are common features of the conventional B2B sales process. But today's buyer's journey is very different. According to recent observations, a prospect is now 70% or more of the way through the buying journey before engaging with a salesperson. This shift is primarily due to a growing preference for a self-service journey where they independently research and weigh their options.
Benefits of a Self-Service Approach
This change is ultimately beneficial for businesses. It allows them to acquire high Lifetime Value (LTV) customers at a lower cost. Prospects are doing the heavy lifting of educating themselves about a company's products and services, thereby reducing the need for extensive sales efforts. Moreover, this self-directed approach shortens the sales cycle, as customers are better informed and prepared to make decisions.
The Role of Content in the Buying Journey
Before they speak with a salesperson, what are these customers doing? They browse your website, look through your social media accounts, and closely examine your company. They are looking for signs of life, reasons to trust you, and answers to their questions about your offerings.
This behavior implies that the content on your website, blog posts, and social media posts is more needed than ever. This content is the main source of information that prospects use to get through the buying process. It helps customers understand your offerings, determine how you can solve their problems, and eventually decide whether or not to work with your business.
Key Elements of Effective Content
To effectively support the customer journey, content must be comprehensive and engaging. Your library should include detailed product descriptions, case studies, testimonials, and educational resources. Additionally, you should regularly update your content to reflect the latest industry trends and company developments. This ongoing commitment to content ensures that prospects always find fresh and relevant information, increasing their understanding and trust in the brand.
Building a Content Engine
The foundation of any effective content strategy is a content engine. It allows a company to consistently produce excellent content that appeals to potential clients at every point of contact. This engine must be able to generate a wide range of content types, from educational posts to engaging videos, all in line with the business's overarching strategy and objectives.
Challenges in Developing a Content Engine In-House
However, building a content engine in-house is a complex and time-consuming endeavor. It requires diverse specialized skills, including content strategy, video production, copywriting, and editing. Having these talents in-house is necessary for many organizations to maintain control over output and quality. Furthermore, with dedicated resources, maintaining a cohesive content strategy and coordinating across departments might be easier.
The Value of Specialized Content Partnerships
This is where specialized content partnerships come into play. Businesses may not have the internal know-how to create a powerful content engine, but they do have important subject matter expertise. Businesses can efficiently integrate their knowledge with professional content-creation capabilities by cooperating with a team that has the necessary skills.
In such a partnership, the business provides the fuel—its unique insights, experience, and brand voice. The content team acts as the motor, driving the creation and distribution of content. This collaboration can encompass a range of services, from content strategy development and topic research to video production and editing.
Long-Term Benefits of Content Partnerships
These partnerships guarantee a high degree of consistency and quality while streamlining content creation. They allow companies to amass a sizable library of content over time that they can use for various campaigns and channels. By offering helpful tools that improve the user experience, this vast content library promotes customer retention in addition to helping with customer acquisition.
Future Outlook: The Evolving Role of Content
The right content can change the game in today's B2B market. It supports the customer's journey towards self-service, provides essential information, and builds trust. Companies that properly use content will not only interact with prospects more effectively but also see substantial growth.
A well-oiled content engine is invaluable as the B2B buying journey continues to change. The ability to consistently produce high-quality content, whether in-house or through a partnership, sets a company apart from its competitors. With the rapid advancement of digital technologies, the importance of content in shaping customer experiences and driving business outcomes will only grow.
Launch a Content Partnership with GrowthMatch
Let's start the conversation about how we can work together. We aim to seamlessly integrate with your team, providing the expertise and resources needed to build an effective content engine.
Whether you're curious about the cost, timeline, or how our collaboration will unfold, we're here to provide clarity and transparency.
Schedule an intro call with us today. Let's discuss how we can leverage your subject matter expertise and our content capabilities to drive meaningful results.
