Personalization — The Key to Effective Content
In a previous post, we cited a study that found the failure to personalize was the biggest reason why marketing content was viewed as deficient. Plus, the ability to personalize was identified as the most desired improvement area.1
The inability to personalize content is clearly among the biggest obstacles facing B2B marketers today. We define personalization as the ability to create content for specific industries, companies, applications, personas, and stages in the buying journey.
While nearly 3 in 4 B2B marketing leaders believed it’s important that their prospects receive personalized content, only 46% thought their personalization efforts were effective.2 The reasons: producing personalized content took too much time and too many resources. The study concluded, “As buyer expectations continue to rise for a personalized, intuitive experience, B2B organizations have fallen short—unable to keep pace.”
For those companies effectively personalizing their content, the study found the benefits were dramatic. These survey participants experienced improved lead generation (46%), longer visitor times on their websites (37%), and improved sales conversion rates (34%). Plus, almost half of the marketers in an Ascend2 survey believed content personalization was a key element in improving the customer experience.3
TW’s Take:
Personalization is a must-do element of a successful content marketing program. Time and time again, we’ve seen clients sub-optimize results by sharing one-size-fits-all content with large, unsegmented audiences. Minimally, a piece of content should be repurposed for specific industry audiences. In addition, content should be targeted at the needs of individual personas (individual contributors, managers, or executives). Highly personalized content aimed at a niche B2B market with micro-targeted media can generate hundreds of high-value leads in a matter of days.
In our next post, we’ll explore how measurement is essential to prove the value of marketing content.
For copies of the studies referenced below, contact rwhitmyre@tizinc.com.
References
1, 2 The New Marketing Standard: How Today’s Successful B2B Marketers Accelerate the Buyer’s Journey with Content, Heinz Marketing, November 2019.
3 Strategies, Tactics, and Trends for Customer Experience, Ascend2, September 2019.
