Align Your Content Marketing Strategy With The Customer Buying Journey
To Maximize Sales and Conversions
Content is king. But there’s more to an effective marketing strategy than rolling out articles and product spotlights. Timing is everything. To usher a customer through the buying journey, you must deliver the right message to the right people at the right time.
That’s why context holds the key to the kingdom. Emphasizing this are the results from a study we conducted through Martin Akel & Associates, entitled The Role of Media in the Adoption of Life Science Research Products & Systems in Sept 2015. The goal of the study was to learn how researchers use different content to move from one phase of the buying journey to the next. The survey was sent to Biocompare’s audience and had 894 respondents.
Turns out, all content is not created equal. What you say is just as important as how and when you say it.
What we learned from the study is that the context of the content delivered can make the difference between driving a customer to the next step, or pushing them away. Here’s how to build a content marketing strategy with the appropriate context for every phase of the buying journey.
Stage Your Content
First, understand how a prospective customer walks through the process. It starts with exploration to gain awareness. Customers are continually evaluating their choices as they learn more about their options. Next prospects build a preference in their considerations based on the exploration and learning experiences to make a final decision. After that, you’re not done yet. That final stage is repurchase. Customers will either return to your company to continue doing business, or leave you for an alternative.
Effective content marketing is customized to address buyers’ needs at every stage of their buying journey. With content marketing, it’s all about the customer.
Customize Content: Think Like Them
If you create content that’s overly promotional when a customer is really seeking education and information, you’ll run the risk of alienating them. If you don’t provide sufficient technical product information when a customer is ready to digest the details, they’ll get frustrated. If you deploy an email blast before a customer feels ready to receive that direct communication from you, they might feel bombarded.
Effective content marketing is all about delivering the right content at the right time.
When creating your content strategy, refer to the customer buying journey and think about what questions customers ask you at every stage. What do they need to know when they are just becoming aware of your product? What information do they need when they’re at the stage of consideration—and what about the next step when they begin weighing their options? What will they ask right before they make the purchase?
If you’re not sure, reach out to prospective and existing customers. Ask them what information is helpful in assisting them in the decision-making process.
Effective content marketing is customized to address customers’ needs at every stage of the buying journey.
Map Out your Content Strategy
The Akel study revealed which types of content are most effective during the buying journey. Based on our study, here is a recommendation on how to align context with the customer buying journey to maximize the results of your content marketing campaign.
Content Used During Earlier Phases
Awareness & Exploration-This is when researchers learn about your products and your company.
- The latest news (83%)*
- Articles about technologies / products (82%)
- Videos (75%)
- Webinars (63%)
- EBooks (60%)
- Poster presentations (60%)
Content Used During Middle Phases
Exploration & Evaluation-Scientist have identified the need for a product, they now must look for solutions.
- Comprehensive directory listings (71%)
- Application notes (67%)
- Interactive tutorials (67%)
- Product reviews (67%)
- Citations/references (61%)
Content Used to Drive a Decision
Evaluation & Final Decision-Researchers wants to compare the features of your products or technologies with other market offerings before they make a buying decision.
- Comparisons of products / systems (61%)
- Practical tips (59%)
- Protocols about technologies, products / systems (59%)
*Denotes the % response from the Akel study survey who responded
Measure Your Success
Remember, content is king—but context holds the key to the kingdom. Your integrated marketing strategy should be guided by how your customer journeys through the purchasing cycle, and what information they need to know to advance to the next step. Remember, your content offering should vary based on each stage, and it should always be focused on answering prospective customers’ questions. It’s all about them.
We’re making this sound easy. We admit that it’s not. But that’s why many life sciences companies partner with us to create and execute effective content marketing strategies.
We plan to make the full study results available in late April. If you would like to receive a notification as to when it will be released, email your Biocompare sales executive or sales@biocompare.com