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September 30, 2019 Content Chat Recap: Put Your Ideal Customer At The Center Of Your Content Marketing Planning Process

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Whether you’re B2B or B2C, your brand needs a customer-focused approach with your content. In this #ContentChat, we discuss the best strategies for putting your ideal customer at the center of your content marketing planning process, including a discussion of how to get executive buy-in on your approach, ways to actively and passively collect content ideas, and examples of brands that have taken risks that paid off because they know their audience.

Q1: Why should you put your customer—and not your brand—at the center of your #contentmarketing planning process? And how do you get your executive team onboard with that perspective?

Unfortunately, some companies take a brand-first approach with content (or in general), potentially due to internal pressure from execs or teammates that do not understand the value of customer-centric content. Regardless of the reason, we do not recommend this approach.

Content should be created with your customer needs in mind. Why? When you provide your customers with content that helps solve their problems and enables them to do their jobs better, you are more likely to earn their trust and loyalty.

If your content is not created with your customer needs in mind, then it’s not content marketing.

There are places for brand-centric content, including your company’s “About” page, press releases, case studies, and more. Even then, you’ll want to position your work as “here are the challenges we help you solve,” instead of “here are our great results and shiny new features, buy our product.”

Q2: What are some ways I can scale talking to my customers so I can make an informed content marketing plan?

There are multiple ways that you can learn about the type of content your customers want: Assess the performance of your existing content to see what topics your customers gravitate toward…

Listen to and engage with your audience conversations on their preferred online and offline channels to mine for opportunities. These channels can include social media sites, online forums, professional industry groups, and more…

Use surveys or polls to invite qualitative and quantitative feedback. Once you ID your brand advocates or individuals passionate about giving feedback, create more tailored questions and opportunities for them to inform your content direction…

Leverage your CRM for insight, and partner with customer-facing teams like sales or customer service. Any customer conversations are an opportunity to uncover new content ideas.

Q3: How can and should I involve a B2B customer advisory board in my content marketing strategy?

If you hold regular customer advisory board (CAB) meetings, include content on your agenda. Ask for feedback on your recent content and desires with future content.

If you do not regularly host CAB meetings, use email or other channels to ask for feedback.

Your CAB can give direct feedback on your plans, and it is also a valuable forum to actually discuss your customer needs and how your company help. Part of this involves grounding expectations in reality, for both the customer and your company.

Your CAB is also a prime target for beta testing.

However your CAB is structured, you must focus on providing value for its members. Help them address their business needs, and show how you are implementing their feedback in your strategy (in a way that they care about).

Always have a goal for your CAB to ensure it remains productive.

And be clear on what your CAB should/should not do. We do not recommend having your CAB approve campaigns or editorial calendars, as those involve other business units and needs.

Q4: On the B2C side, how can and should I involve my brand super fans in my content marketing strategy?

Engage with your brand super fans and give them reasons to talk about your brand. If relevant, consider creating an exclusive fan community where you can further engage with these advocates. Offer exclusive sneak-peeks or beta trials, feature them in your content, ask for their feedback, and show how their input is shaping your content strategy.

Feature user-generated content on your channels, and create campaigns that encourage participation from your audience. For those customers with especially compelling stories, ask to use them for testimonials.

Who knows, one of your loyal customers could be your next best employee.

Q5: What are some examples of companies that have taken what may seem like an unusual content strategy path that has clearly resonated with their customers?

Check out some of the examples below, and comment if we missed any great examples.

Q6: Final tips for creating a customer-centric content strategy?

To be customer-centric, you must understand and value their needs, the types of content they prefer to consume, and the channels they use most. Do not let your team’s preferences or opinions take priority over your customer’s needs or preferences—especially when there is data at your disposal to understand what content resonates best with your audience.

About Alek Irvin

Alek Irvin is a content marketing professional with a rich history in social media management, executive thought leadership development, and media relations. As a consultant at Erika Heald Marketing Consulting, he creates human-focused content and thought leadership platforms that help brand leaders connect and engage with their communities. Alek has worked with a range of startups and Fortune 500 companies across the B2B technology and consumer spaces, including IBM, Dell Technologies, Hitch Works, Emtrain, Integrate, and Frameable. Connect with him on Twitter @AlekIrvin.

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