In 2021, businesses have come to expect more in terms of convenience and experiences. How should we respond in this age of rapid digital transformation and outpace competitors? This post discusses how you can improve customer experience with content marketing.
Introduction
The B2B market is transforming rapidly.
It has always been, but with the pandemic forcing many to work from home, the rate of digital adoption has multiplied by five to ten times within the span of a year [1].
Whether you are a digital company that sells software products to other companies, a consultation firm that offers professional services to organizations, or even a marketing agency that provides content and other creative services, one vital fact predicts the rise or fall of your business:
Customer experience.
Food For Thought
Put yourself in your client’s shoes. Outside of business, they are also consumers who visit websites like Amazon, which provides excellent and user-friendly experiences to help consumers with their purchasing decisions.
Now picture this: The same client would like consultation services to boost their company sales and revenue, but your website hasn’t been updated for months. There are no contact details for customer support. Information on your website, which is meant to help them along their buyer journey, is filled with jargon.
Ultimately, whether you are a business targeting consumers, or a business targeting other businesses, you want your customers to be enthusiastic and loyal to your brand. You want them to be your brand ambassadors, who will talk positively about your business to others.
Customer Experience in B2B
To increase consumer purchase intent and behavior, marketers vigorously research ways to improve the consumer experience.
For B2B, operational shifts since the emergence of Covid-19 have led to an increase in demand for convenience and better customer support. B2B leaders who prioritize this approach and invest heavily in customer service apps, systems and processes to improve customer experience outpaced their competitors. In fact, it is predicted that those who invest in customer experience will see 3x in revenue within three years [2].
Updating your website and simplifying transactional processes are only a few ways to enhance your clients’ buying journey. If you want to make it easy for your clients to purchase, they must perceive the information on your products to be helpful and authentic [3].
Nevertheless, one must not forget that it is easy to look up information in this digital age. Forrester found that 68% of B2B customers conduct their own independent research through online mediums [4]. This is why it is important to build a positive image of your brand on social media platforms.
Content Marketing on LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a great space for B2B networking. As the perception your clients have of your brand also impacts their customer experience, content marketing on LinkedIn is a particularly useful tactic to employ.
You can publish articles, videos and even webinars. Creating and publishing valuable and relevant materials on LinkedIn will consistently help you get your brand out there. Remember, though, that the quality of your posts and engagement on LinkedIn reflects upon your brand image.
That’s right; even the engagement on your posts matters. If you don’t have an engaged audience that adds value to your post, it will not paint a good picture of your business. Hence, if you are using a fully automated tool to increase your reach on LinkedIn, it is best to use it wisely.
Conclusion
In order for your clients to feel close to your brand, you must be able to connect with them on an emotional level. Naturally, the first thing you have to do is listen, not hear. Hearing is just the process of perceiving sound. Listening, on the other hand, is a conscious choice that you make to understand.
If you want your customers’ loyalty, you must first consider what you can do for them, not what you can get out of their patronage.
When both sides reciprocate, there will naturally be mutual profitability.
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