Quick question: Can you name a B2B company that generates consistently great professional content? One that nails it again and again: superb writing and design, valuable insights and guidance, lots of rich content to explore.
Maybe Salesforce or Zendesk? ServiceNow or Hubspot? All excellent choices because these B2B brands understand how to deliver a great content experience.
Let’s explore what content experience is and how to create great experiences that engage and convert B2B buyers. We’ll cover:
- The definition of content experience
- Why it matters in B2B marketing
- 3 attributes of a great content experience
- Examples from leading B2B brands
Want to dive straight into the full Tendo guidance? Download the B2B Marketer’s Guide to Content Experience.
What Is Content Experience?
Definition: A content experience is the summation of all the interactions someone has with your digital content and the impression they take away from it.
In a successful content experience, related content elements work together to engage users, provide value, and help them reach their goals. But too often B2B marketers don’t follow this more holistic and connected approach; they create one-off, siloed content assets or short-term content marketing campaigns.
Marketers that strive to deliver great content experiences will reap tremendous benefits:
- Generate more informed and educated leads
- Strengthen brand awareness and affinity
- Increase customer loyalty
- Accelerate customer acquisition
- Improve lead conversion
Why Does Content Experience Matter in B2B Marketing?
A changing digital landscape requires a new approach and mindset to content:
- Content is now central to every digital journey.
Fifty-five percent of B2B buyers rely more on content to research and make purchasing decisions than they did a year ago.1 - Buyer journeys are getting more complex.
B2B buyers now average 27 buying interactions during the buyer journey, an increase of 63% between 2019 and 2021.2 - Buyers are in control of the sales process.
One hundred percent of B2B buyers want self-service for the majority of the buying process—to engage when and how they choose.3 - Customers expect an omnichannel experience.
B2B customers now use 10 or more channels (email, video conference, online chat, etc.) to interact with companies—a 2x increase since 2016.4
Sources:
- Demand Gen Report, 2022 Content Preferences Survey Report
- Forrester 2021 B2B Buying Study
- TrustRadius, 2022 B2B Buying Disconnect: The Age of the Self-Serve Buyer
- McKinsey, B2B Pulse Survey 2021
What Makes a Content Experience Great?
What does a great content experience look like? When we put content experience under the microscope, its core characteristics come into focus. The content assets you create should, together, deliver an experience that is connected, engaging, and relevant.
A connected experience:
- Supports and engages users in ways that siloed content cannot.
- Maintains a consistent theme, topic, message, or design across channels.
- Delivers a frictionless and intuitive experience, from one touchpoint to the next.
An engaging experience:
- Attracts users with compelling and meaningful content.
- Holds users’ attention by being helpful, authentic, and trustworthy.
- Motivates users to explore additional content and continue their journey.
A relevant experience:
- Reflects a keen understanding of user needs and behaviors.
- Orchestrates personalized, contextual messages and journeys for users.
- Progressively guides users toward their informational or transactional goal.
View Content Experience Examples from Top B2B Brands
Ready to see what a connected, engaging, and relevant content experience looks like? We’ve compiled stellar examples from top B2B brands. It’s all in our free guide. Download the B2B Marketer’s Guide to Content Experience.
Need Help with Content Experience?
What is content experience like across your digital properties, and how do you want to improve it? Share your content challenges and goals with Tendo’s content experience experts. We’d be happy to assess a sampling of your digital content and share our feedback in a short call. Contact Us Today
