“A satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all.” -Michael LeBoeuf
For most marketers, ‘marketing success’ is all about curating content that revolves around the products and services being offered. Going a step further, the initiatives circulate around tracking analytics, the number of social media shares, website visits, and click-through rates.
But are these metrics enough to measure marketing success?
When we come to think of it, there is only one judge to determine the success or failure of your marketing campaigns – your customers!
The internet is brimming with content and information. What’s making your content stand out? Is your target audience connecting with the content that you’re putting out there?
For a content marketing strategy to be truly effective, it is essential to analyze your customer’s needs, understand their requirements, and plan ahead. So, how can you keep customers at the center of your content marketing strategy and emerge a winner? Customer-centric content is the answer. Let’s find out how, shall we?
What is Customer-Centric Content?
A customer-centric marketing approach keeps customers and their needs at the very heart of it. It is a way of providing value to your customers by delivering them the exact solutions that they’ve been looking for.
Research suggests that around 60% of customer-centric companies are more profitable than the ones that don’t focus on their customers. The customer-first approach will empower you to create long-lasting relationships with your customers and encourage them to bring repeat business.
Depending on the quality of their experience, customers can become strong advocates for your brand, helping you widen your reach and attract potential users. With this unique methodology, brands no longer have to push consumers into buying their products. Rather, they can simply generate the need by understanding the consumer’s needs.
Why Do You Need a Customer-Centric Strategy?
Statistics show that 80% of consumers say that they are more likely to do business with a company if it offers personalized experiences. Customers will give you business only if they resonate with your brand’s products and services.
There are a lot of companies out there that are trying to market their products aggressively by using content marketing strategies. But if your content is not impactful, users turn you down and move ahead with other brands. This is where the need to devise customer-centric strategies comes into play.
It’s ultimately the users of your services who will help you achieve your business goals by purchasing your products. But to encourage them into buying your products, you should be able to understand their preferences, evolve with their changing tastes, and connect with them at an emotional level.
5 Tips to Create Customer-Centric Content
While curating content that’s customer-centric, the approach should be to offer a solution to customers rather than promoting your own products and services. By adopting this approach, not only can you create a positive customer experience but also make loyal brand advocates.
Here are five tips that will enable you to make customers the hero of your content marketing strategy:
1. Listen to Your Customers: To understand what buyers desire, it is important to first listen to them and get acquainted with their problems. Different customers will come up with a different set of problems as they progress in their buying journey. By listening to them, you will be able to assess the kind of service/product that they’re looking for and guide them to the right solution that fits their needs. Social listening is incredibly helpful in gaining in-depth insights into the user’s choices and preferences.
2. Give them a Solution through content: Once you’ve identified the challenges being faced by customers, you can create content addressing those challenges and providing them with a solution. For instance, a user might come up with a problem but might get confused about the right type of product/service that will help resolve the issue. Here’s your opportunity to convert a prospect into a customer by highlighting the key features of your product and telling them how it will add value to them.
3. Provide Easier Accessibility: Your target audience should not struggle to find your content pieces. On the other hand, you cannot just sit back and relax while you wait for your customers to stumble across your services. Structure your content in such a way that it’s easily accessible by users across different channels.
4. Identify Content Gaps: In order to achieve content marketing efficiency, refining your content strategy at regular intervals is of utmost importance. Analyze which content pieces are performing well and identify gaps by conducting a content audit. Fill the gaps with content that acknowledges the customer’s needs and demands.
5. Encourage Customer Feedback: Customer feedback is a goldmine of information. You can get valuable insights by conducting customer surveys, in-person interviews, telephonic interviews, and more. Ask your customers directly about the challenges they’re facing, their opinions, and what improvements they would like to see in your products and services.
Customer-centric content is a key driver of growth and requires diligent planning and strategizing. Knowing your customers is an art and requires practice. It can only be achieved by listening to your customers and creating an experience for them where they feel heard.
Ensure that you make your buyers the hero of your brand story to witness a boost in engagement and deeper customer relationships.
Ace your marketing efforts with a robust content marketing strategy. Talk to us!