B2B content marketing - thought leadership can directly influence business

As per a research conducted in US among 1,300 business decision makers, 45% said thought leadership content from a company has directly influenced their decision to do business with them.  The same survey quotes that majority of the decision makers are disappointed in the quality of available thought leadership

There are few guidelines to follow while formulating B2B content strategy.  First and foremost is to understand the current state of the specific industry when it comes to business development.  Which channel(s) gaining or losing ground on influencing the decision.  According to the ‘digital maturity’ of the industry – there will be channels that might not have any role to play.  There should be an understanding on the changing demographics of the decision makers with more Millennials entering the senior executive levels.  This can guide the deployment timelines of various digital channels and create content accordingly

The other factor is the actual decision-making journey, timelines for which vary depending on the industry.  For all or many, trade events and telemarketing remain as important ‘lead generation’ channels with digital channels performing the ‘conversion’ role.  It’s important to align the channels and content along this journey to encourage the decision makers to take the ‘next step’.  Ensure there are clear conversion goals set

The 3rd factor is the long-term ambition of the company.  This defines the overall content strategy, specifically the area of focus for the thought leadership.  With this focus, one can decide on the actual topics and channels to distribute the content authentically.  Using channels that decision makers use for reference and learning is also important.

At Centric, we help many businesses to develop content for their digital foot print that is aligned to the ‘digital maturity’ of the industry, the decision-making journey and the long-term ambition of the company.  Our content specialists work with our clients closely to formulate the strategy