Nowadays, the first contact with customers is almost always through content. Quite simply because potential customers in search of a suitable solution, product or service initially consume a whole range of content anonymously – mostly online. They read website texts, professional articles or social media posts, watch videos or use industry portals. Based on the content found, they make an initial judgment about the respective provider. Therefore, companies can only lay the right foundation for a successful customer experience with good, memorable content.

Of course, such content must always be linguistically correct and understandable because it not only influences the first impression but ensures whether and how a potential customer builds a relationship with the brand or the company. This is only possible if it is considered relevant and useful by the consumer. In addition to usefulness and relevance, the aspect of emotionality shouldn’t be underestimated – even in B2B business. It is no longer enough to answer questions with facts only, rather it is important to go one step further in terms of content and to offer more than the customer expects. Companies should always make sure that their content is authentic, e.g., only make promises that can be kept.

Especially since customer journeys are usually highly dynamic: potential customers sometimes skip steps in their purchase decisions, go through them twice, or take a step back – and that across different touchpoints – so it is advisable to deal with the content thematically.

First of all, the topic must be of importance to the customer (relevance) and respond to a current problem (priority) with appropriate proposed solutions (utility). A company can of course only implement this if it offers suitable products or services in this area (competence). As trivial as it sounds, successful content marketing clearly starts with the right topic.

Once the topic is ready, it can be viewed from different perspectives, linked to specific customer questions, and served with appropriate answers – in short, filled with content. The more carefully this is done, the more comprehensive content is created as an almost seamless source from which companies can extract a wide range of content – prepared for different target groups and channels. As part of such a themed campaign, the content is given an overarching consistency and reliability, which in turn has a positive effect on how content consumers perceive its producers – across every phase of the customer journey and every touchpoint. The topic is crucial, and the content opens the door to a successful customer experience.

By Daniela La Marca