By Pete Winter

Why Customer Experience Should be the Focal Point of a Content Strategy

4 reasons customer experience is key to content strategy

Channel choice. Messaging mania. Structural solidity. Developing a content strategy can make a Scandinavian thriller novel look like a note to the milkman.

But it all makes sense if you turn the camera around, and focus on your customer’s experience.

You should as well. How your content touches the prospect at every stage of the customer journey, from cold suspect to repeat client, can make all the difference. And the emotions he or she feels as a result – satisfaction, comfort, confidence in newly-gained knowledge – can determine whether that prospect moves to the next stage of your sales funnel.

Put simply, it’s the job of your content to glue these positive feelings together into a measurable tendency to take action.

When they do, here are four reasons why they do it.

1. Because you’re the go-to search result

If you’re top of the search results for the questions they ask – or even on the first page – prospects will start remembering your company name, even if they’ve never heard of you before.

You understand their concerns? You’ve taken the time to write a blog or article that details an answer? They’re already feeling grateful. And gratitude is a mega-boost to customer experience.

2. Because you’re talking their language

Different sectors describe the same business problem in different ways. To an SME, it’s “anti-competitive”. To an economist, it’s “market failure”. To a government department, it’s an “illegal cartel” (or perhaps an “investment opportunity” if you are a banker).

If you take the time to tailor your content to different audiences – whether job title, industry sector, or simply brand names – it’ll be appreciated much more than a one-size-fits-all. And that content can still add value using the same White Papers and eGuides with just a few tweaks.

3. Because they’ve heard your name before

Risk-averse budget holders make a lot of informal decisions before the formal ones fall due. Away from the RFP, they’ll look at how often you’re mentioned on LinkedIn, how positive your newsflow is. It may never be noted down. But they’ll remember how they felt.

If you’re part of those discussions, the customer experience becomes more positive, simply because you’re known.

4. Because you’re part of the ecosystem

A simple test. Ask a random prospect to come up with names to approach for a new requirement in your sector. Would you make the list?

Many smaller companies punch above their weight, simply because they foster goodwill by being open to communication. They answer Tweets. Respond to Facebook comments. Pick up criticism and make an honest attempt to correct things when they go bad.

Companies that feel connected, win business. They “get the Web”.

So next time you’re feeling frustrated by a content strategy req, turn your perspective around and imagine yourself in the role of your customer, experiencing his/her challenges. You’ll be listing dozens of business pains, hopes, dreams, and fears in minutes.

What if your content strategy answered that specific list? It’d still look complex, but all of it would be driven by a single thought: focus on your customer.

Here’s a start. Download How to Create a Content Strategy for B2B Marketing. It’s a new eGuide with a (detailed) approach for building your content strategy from the customer up. Because let’s face it, the one thing customers don’t need is complexity.