Chris Bolman

How to Develop Content for the Modern Customer Journey

Percolate: one system to manage your marketing process

Insights

Excited to be leading the way in content marketing

CUSTOMERS

The economics of attention are in their favor, not yours

The only place where share of attention is growing is mobile

More media autonomy means less patience for interruption

They are well-informed. If you’re not relevant and contextual, you will be ignored [see: ad-blocking]

What do we know about today’s customer?

The economics of attention are in their favor, not yours

The only place where share of attention is growing is mobile

More media autonomy means less patience for interruption

They are well-informed. If you’re not relevant and contextual, you will be ignored [see: ad-blocking]

In spite of that, the fundamentals of how and why people buy has not changed

What do we know about today’s customer?

Problem or need recognition

Information search

Solution search

Evaluation and comparison of alternatives

Purchase decision

Post-purchase behavior

Psychology tells us the buying process breaks down

This is (roughly) how this maps to marketingPhase Advancement Step Measurable Action(s)

Problem or need recognition [Generally] unaware of your brandAd impression, blog or website visit, social

media follow or exposure

Information search Aware of your brandTier 2 Lead (whitepaper download, webinar or

event signup, product page visit) or MQL

Solution search Understand (or potentially desire) your brand Tier 1 Lead (request a demo) or SQL

Evaluation and comparison of alternatives Believe your brand solves their need Sales opportunity

Purchase decision Act on belief your brand is the best solution Won customer

Post-purchase behavior Repeat and/or larger purchases Expansion / renewal / repeat purchase

Marketing [+ content] should play a role at all of these

Phase Advancement Step Measurable Action(s)

Problem or need recognition [Generally] unaware of your brandAd impression, blog or website visit, social

media follow or exposure

Information search Aware of your brandTier 2 Lead (whitepaper download, webinar or

event signup, product page visit) or MQL

Solution search Understand (or potentially desire) your brand Tier 1 Lead (request a demo) or SQL

Evaluation and comparison of alternatives Believe your brand solves their need Sales opportunity

Purchase decision Act on belief your brand is the best solution Won customer

Post-purchase behavior Repeat and/or larger purchases Expansion / renewal / repeat purchase

PEOPLE BUY BRANDS THEY KNOW, REMEMBER

AND TRUST

Be everywhere your target customer is (reach)

Be bold, distinct and salient (recognizable)

Be consistent with your brand (recognizable, again)

Be consistent over time (repetition and frequency)

Trigger high valence emotions (awe, positivity)

If possible, reinforce a conversion action (sales cycle advancement)

Building mental availability - checklist for content

HOW DO WE DO THIS WITH CONTENT?

Map creative to customer lifecycle

Path to Purchase Stage Objective(s) Creative Success metric(s)

Early1.Generate awareness

2. Start conversation

3. Entertain or educate

1. Social (video and visual)

2. Eye-catching visual experiences

3. Educational resources

4. Apps, tools, and gamification

Clicks, shares, engagement

Middle1. Inform

2. Continue education

3. Accelerate decision-making

1. Campaign content

2. Product videos

3. Gated content promotions

4. UGC

Leads, email subscribers,

page conversion rates,

repeat visitors

Ready to buy1. Reassure and reinforce credibility

2. Create anticipation

3. Accelerate decision-making

1. Short-term promos and sales offers

2. Customer stories

3. ROI / purchasing tools

Sales conversions

Audience (buyer persona) - map content for each one

Channel - how will content at different stages be delivered?

Device - is your content mobile-forward?

Departments - how is sales or HR using your content?

Other content dimensions to account for

B2C example

B2B example

Creative matters, a lot.

This

Not this

SO DOES TARGETING

Buying for Coca Cola by customer frequency % of UK cola buyers purchasing Coke x times, 2005

Source: TNS.

%

0

6

12

18

24

30

36

42

48

54

60

Number of purchases in a year0 1 2 3 . . . . . 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Then go narrower later on in the buying cycle

No such thing as too many creative variations…If you can manage the assets and act on the data

Understand who buys you, how, and what do they care about

Map content and creative to their path to purchase

Make content that is truly great and distinct

Distribution is the other half of the battle

Consider context (mobile, attention span, experience)

Test, track, and measure everything

Putting it all together

Thanks.

Thanks. Questions?