How content marketing supports the customer journey

In digital marketing, customers’ needs should always be the primary focus. Not only do all customers have needs, but those needs should be met in the most expedient and fulfilling way. Modern customers are discerning. Confronted with large volumes of messaging at all sides, they know how to get what they want and they will always go down the path of least resistance. Marketing your company successfully involves supporting the customer journey on their terms and considering their key decision points.

Beginning the Customer's Journey
According to a recent study, the three most effective content marketing tactics are video content, in-person events and editorial content.¹ Notably, all three of these content types can be used to support the customer journey. Video content creates a passive consumption experience, but customers use these videos to make informed decisions. For example, I’ve noticed that my teenager searches images and video before web pages. As with many people, he’s a visual learner and may gravitate to video over the written word.

The marketing community is almost obsessed with attribution, but the reality is that different people prefer different channels. Using a combination of vehicles is likely the best way to effectively connect with different audiences. According to Video Brewery, 90% of online shoppers use video to make their shopping and buying decisions.² If the videos were not useful in their buying journey, they might not be inclined to watch them. Videos may be the modern day surrogate for in-person events. Videos are an effective digital marketing technique to directly engage consumers and best relate to their needs in an informative and engaging format. Editorial content is an essential digital marketing technique from a search engine optimization perspective, and helps create authority within the customer's mind.

The way the customer's journey begins sets the tone for the rest of the customer's interactions with the company. What is important is that the start of the journey guides the customer directly to the next portion of the journey. This is usually achieved in digital marketing through the use of the "call to action." If content cannot guide the customer to full conversion or purchase initially, focus on additional points of engagement.

Retaining the Customer's Interest through Their Journey
Once an initial contact has been made with the customer, the goal of digital marketing is to apply behavior to retain that interest and further them along their journey. Beyond the content itself, it’s important to consider the framing and relevance of the content. According to The Content Council, 7 out of 10 customers prefer content that is customized;³ in other words, customers are looking for content that is designed specifically to support their individual journey. It isn't enough to just create generic content; the content has to realize and identify with the customer's ultimate goals. By properly analyzing digital marketing data, marketers can identify the customer's needs and utilize content marketing information that addresses questions likely to surface during that part of the customer’s journey.

Supporting the Customer Following Conversion
The customer journey should support the customer from their initial contact to long after conversion. Though it is the customer's journey, the journey never actually ends. It is, instead, a continual process of increasing engagement, which in turn increases conversion and retention. Retention, in particular, is incredibly important; Bain and Company reports that a 5% increase in customer retention could equate to a 75% increase in revenue.⁴

Econsultancy reports that up to 83% of customers may require customer support⁵ when buying online. Content marketing offers a clear opportunity to support and streamline the conversion process by offering the information that customers need to complete their purchases. By collecting digital marketing data from the customer throughout the customer journey, content can be further customized and tailored to the customer's needs. By building a relationship with the customer, data points can be collected and an analysis of the customer can be used for the purpose of targeting. An engaged customer isn't just more likely to convert; an engaged customer is also a customer that the company knows more about, and therefore speak to more specifically.

Mapping Out the Customer Journey
Creating a strategic flow of information to the customer is essential to creating a coherent "story" for the customer to follow. The customer journey can be developed by analyzing behavior and considering what points to influence along that journey. Unfortunately, sometimes the journey may not seem to parallel your business, and the key becomes transforming critical touchpoints around the customer’s view.

It’s likely that a combination of digital marketing techniques will create the optimal communications strategy. Typically the customer’s path is best supported by integrating inbound marketing tactics, such as content marketing with outbound communications. The customer's behavior and actions can be analyzed to deliver content that will deliver relevance. Additionally, abandon points can be utilized to help overcome obstacles through the use of content, such as needing further information about a product, or clarity regarding how to complete a process.

Supporting the customer journey is one area in which content marketing truly shines, but content marketing is not an instant fix. Content marketing, as with all types of marketing, must be approached thoughtfully and constructed with care if it is to truly identify with customers and meet their needs. Too often, content marketing becomes company-focused rather than customer-focused and fails to take customers on the journey that they desire. 

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