Why do we need content marketing?

To explain the purpose of marketing content, first I need to explain something about buyer behaviour and why businesses didn't need marketing content years ago when they do now.

Over the 16 years I've worked in marketing, I've noticed a significant change in buyer behaviour. And with everything that's happened in 2020, this has only accelerated.

So how do we buy now compared to 16 years ago

1. We often check out products online and read reviews and articles before we go to a shop or make contact with a supplier
2. We have much less interaction with sales assistants when we get there
3. For straightforward purchases, we often expect to be able to do the whole thing quickly and efficiently, without any human interaction or conversation
4. We google people before we go on a first date… oh wait, that’s not related to buying. Nevertheless, I think it’s the same trend manifesting in a different context

The thing these examples have in common is that people are much further on in their decision-making process when they make contact with the seller (or potential life partner). They've educated themselves and weighed up the options without making themselves known to the shop or supplier. ​

Why is this?

I believe there are 2 reasons for this:

1. We expect to be able to make informed decisions
There is so much information available at our fingertips, we expect to be able to learn much more about what we buy before we approach the seller. I’m talking about website product descriptions, online reviews, video demonstrations etc. These things all help us learn almost everything we need to know about a product or service without any conversation with the seller. And we expect these resources to be available.

2. We are much more careful about giving our data to companies we don't know
Many (most?) of us have given away our data only to end up being spammed or contacted incessantly when we've decided not to buy from someone. For years I got phone calls from a  double-glazing company after I made the mistake of clicking “request a quote” on their website. We've all fallen fowl of the over-zealous automated email sequence. Nowadays it's so easy for companies to set up marketing automations and too many forget to stop and think about whether it's what their buyers want. 

What do we need to do, as business owners?

We satisfy the two needs I’ve just described.

1. We empower our buyers to make informed decisions using content marketing to inform and build confidence in our products and services.

​2. We respect our buyers data by complying with GDPR (and common courtesy) and only collect the data you really, absolutely need. Any more and it'll put buyers off. 

How do we use content marketing to help buyers make informed decisions?

In a nutshell, you need much more information on your website (assuming that's where your buyer will go to find out about your product or service) than you would've done if you were in business 15 years ago. 

This is your “first date” content that buyers can access quickly and get immediate value from. Use it to demonstrate your credibility and help your buyers to educate themselves in your area of expertise.

In my next blog, I'll show you what "content marketing excellence" means in practice.

Need more help?

If you need a structured process to decide what content marketing you need, take a look at my One Day Marketing Machine online workshop.
 
If you'd like some one-to-one help, do get in touch. I'd love to hear from you and see how I can help. Contact me
 
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