The Content Marketing Institute is one of the most well-regarded educational entities in the U.S. when it comes to content marketing. The chief strategist of Content Advisory the education and consulting division of the Content Marketing Institute is Robert Rose. Robert has developed content and customer experience strategies for a number of large corporations. He’s also the co-author of what’s been called the owners manual of the content marketing process: Managing Content Marketing. I was recently privileged to have a conversation with Robert about the importance of the customer experience to a company’s bottom line.
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Want More Sales? Focus on the Customer Experience
When creating content, you want to find something that your customers will align with and find value in. Whether you are teaching your audience or inspiring them, you need to make sure you do it in such a way that they will recognize the value. This isn’t always easy. We may think we have an awesome contest idea, but then it tanks. Or, we find out that ten million other businesses had the same awesome idea. How will you know if what you are creating is really a great idea? Rose recommends asking the five whys. During our interview, he gave the following example. He asks a client to come up with a blog idea. The client says, I want to do a blog for my customers on how easy it is to make paper mach. He then asks the client: Why does the audience care about that? The client replies, They care because they have kids and it would be a great thing to do on a Saturday morning. He again asks the client: Why does the audience care about that? He keeps asking why until they get to a truly interesting blog topic or an interesting perspective on a topic that’s already been done. Or, many times, the client finds out that their great idea really wasn’t that great after all. The customer experience is all about what appeals to them “ what they are interested in and what will make life easier for them. By continually asking yourself why, you’ll end up finding a topic that creates the ultimate customer experience.
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Revamp Your Marketing Strategy to See Sales Soar
If your sales haven’t been progressing as you’d hope, it may be possible that you need to revamp your marketing strategy. Many people start off with what they think is a good content marketing concept, but then they find out they’re not going about things in the best possible way. Remember to focus on your purpose, what your customers need, how to improve the customer experience, and what makes you unique. Every time you’re about to write a blog or film a video, remember to go back to these focus points. Doing so will help you create content that speaks volumes and turns your readers and viewers into buyers. Have your sales been stagnant lately? You might need to revamp your marketing strategy. Check out Roberts books or his podcast for more information about how to do this successfully.
This article is contributed by Dave Reimherr who is the founder @ Magnificent Marketing LLC. Magnificent is a full-service digital marketing agency with a specialization in content marketing and social media marketing and advertising. David has 20 years of experience in sales, marketing, strategy & branding.
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Vikas Bhatt is the Co-Founder of ONLY B2B, a premium B2B lead generation company that specializes in helping businesses achieve their growth objectives through targeted marketing & sales campaigns. With 10+ years of experience in the industry, Vikas has a deep understanding of the challenges faced by businesses today and has developed a unique approach to lead generation that has helped clients across a range of industries around the globe. As a thought leader in the B2B marketing community, ONLY B2B specializes in demand generation, content syndication, database services and more.