The customer is not interested in the journey

While many companies have now come to realize that the customer should be at the center of their communication—the concept of “customer centricity”—they have not yet fully grasped that they can only influence the customer journey to a limited extent. The customer journey encompasses all interactions a potential customer has with a company before deciding to purchase a product.

The customer journey is particularly complex in the B2B sector, as many decision-makers (buying centers) are involved, which makes the process take longer. In addition, the decision-making and purchasing behavior of potential customers has changed significantly as a result of digitalization. They naturally navigate the internet and use it to gather comprehensive information about available offerings. Typically, a B2B customer reviews multiple pieces of content before making a purchasing decision. For companies, this presents an opportunity to draw attention to themselves.

Dynamic and Practical: The Basic Content Model

Marketing experts face this challenge every day: How can they reach prospects at as many touchpoints as possible with information that is relevant to them? How can they support potential customers in their purchasing decisions? And can they achieve long-term customer loyalty? This is precisely where the Basic Content Model comes in: It enables companies to respond to dynamic purchasing decisions by focusing on a current and relevant topic in which the company has the appropriate expertise. To this end, the Basic Content Model provides a framework that makes it possible to implement content marketing campaigns in a practical way.

How to Approach Topic Research the Right Way

An effective content marketing campaign always begins with thorough topic research. Companies can get started by first conducting a market analysis and gathering relevant facts. In this context, it is helpful to work in an interdisciplinary—or cross-departmental—manner. A good approach is to hold a workshop in which representatives from the company’s customer service, sales, marketing, and management departments participate and discuss which topics are currently of greatest interest to customers.

For example, customer service knows which products might be causing problems. The sales team can report on which solutions are frequently requested. Marketing is aware of which subpages on the website visitors click on the most. And management provides information on emerging trends. In addition, it is beneficial for companies to utilize the following sources of information:

• Sales, Support, and Customer Surveys
• recent studies
• Keyword Analysis Using Tools Like Google Trends

This approach ensures that companies can compile a comprehensive list of topics.

Define the base topic

The next hurdle to overcome is identifying the right topic for the content marketing campaign. When selecting a topic, it’s important not to lose sight of your own goals. It is therefore crucial that the company possesses a high level of expertise regarding the chosen topic. Only then will it be able to create informative and useful content that provides added value for the target audience.

The focus here is on the following key questions:

• What solutions does the company or product offer with regard to the topic in question?
• Where do the company's strengths lie in each area compared to its competitors?
• What immediate challenges do potential customers face?

Accordingly, the topic should be of high priority and relevance to the target audience. The topic that best fulfills these three criteria is the core topic. Such analytical preliminary considerations ensure that companies, with their identified core topic, are not only in tune with current trends but, above all, offer real value to their target audience while highlighting their expertise. Furthermore, depending on the topic, it may make sense to bring partner companies on board that support the thematic approach and can be integrated into the content.

Create a Campaign Concept

A well-thought-out concept should clearly outline the rationale behind the core theme. It should also include key information such as:

• Who provides the input?
• Who creates the content?
• Who is responsible for approving the content?
• What are the deadlines?

In addition to these key figures, the concept includes initial aspects of the core content. On the one hand, the core content can be made available for download on the company’s website as part of lead generation in exchange for contact information. On the other hand, it serves as the foundation for additional content that the company can use not only to promote the download of the basic content but also to establish a public presence around the core topic. The concept should therefore define a promotional strategy. This strategy outlines how and through which channels the individual pieces of content will reach the target audience.

Core Content as the Heart of the Campaign 

Once the concept is in place, the next step is to develop the core topic in a way that adds value and present it in a suitable format. The core content forms the heart of the content marketing campaign. Its quality determines the quality of all other campaign components. When creating the core content, companies should therefore cover the identified topic comprehensively and provide answers to as many questions as possible along the customer journey. Suitable formats for this include:

• E-books
• Whitepaper
• Guides
• Manuals
• Topic Dossiers

Offer promotional content for every touchpoint

Even the best core content is worthless if no one consumes it. Appropriate promotional measures are therefore a must for every content marketing campaign. Smaller, thematically consistent content modules derived from the core content are well-suited for this purpose. This promotional content should not only draw attention to the topic but also encourage interested parties to download the core content through integrated backlinks. Since it can be distributed across multiple channels, it contributes significantly to lead generation.

There is a wide range of formats available for promotional content:

• Listicles (Checklists, Tips)
• Interviews
• Statements
• Blog Posts
• Technical Reports
• User Stories
• Social media posts

The key factors in determining the appropriate format are which touchpoints are relevant to the target audience, what type of content is best suited for the specific message, and whether it is possible to implement a storytelling approach. In addition, companies should ask themselves which of their own channels they have at their disposal—such as a corporate blog or newsletter—and which third-party channels, such as online or print PR, they want to use.

Accordingly, it’s advisable to use a variety of content formats and alternate between eye-catching social media posts, in-depth expert reports, and helpful checklists. By using varied, up-to-date angles, new and useful content can be derived time and again from a single piece of base content. Promotional content ensures that companies are present at all relevant touchpoints and can thus engage potential customers at any time—no matter where they are in the customer journey.

Long-term and sustainable success is convincing

The Basic Content Model allows you to plan and implement a complete content marketing campaign that engages prospects with tailored content throughout their individual customer journey. The initial investment in comprehensive, high-quality basic content pays off in the long run. Core content creates a virtually inexhaustible source for sustained communication with the target audience. By combining foundational content with a wide range of promotional content, you can increase visibility and discoverability at all relevant touchpoints, expand your reach, and effectively support lead generation. This allows you to generate leads, convert them into customers, and build long-term loyalty to your company.

To avoid the risk of being misled by a contrived customer journey, companies should use the practical Basic Content Model to focus more closely on the relevance and priority of a topic within their target audience, as well as on their own expertise in that area.