Customer relationships are crucial for successful business. Whether you go back to a hotel for a second, third and fourth time depends on how good your relationship with that hotel is. There is no shortage of good food in today’s competitive world. But customers will choose the hotel that not only gives them good food but also makes them feel good through, for example, personalized service. Better still, they’ll be eager to delight their friends and colleagues by bringing them there, in addition to spreading the good news of that hotel as far as they can.
The same applies to a barber shop, a salon, a car wash… Pretty much every business.
Content Marketing helps you establish great relationships with the people that matter to your business, including potential customers, leads and existing customers.
Good content helps your business attract strangers and have meaningful conversations with them. A great content strategy isn’t about your business talking and everyone listening to you. It’s about the exchange of information, including goals, desires, challenges and solutions. Content Marketing focuses on engaging your customers so that they comment on your content, tag you in conversations on social media and respond to your questions, for example in surveys.
Many forms of marketing hog the conversation. The audience has no chance to speak. We all know such a person in real life and let’s face it, we don’t like talking to them. Every one of us likes to be heard and we enjoy conversations where we get to talk as well as listen.
Content Marketing is about conversations that nurture your relationship with your audience, thereby building trust. They know that you listen to them and that as a result, you know them. And when it’s your turn to speak, they will listen to you.
One of the main benefits of listening to your customers, as opposed to just talking at them, is you get to know which stage they are at in the buyer’s journey. There are 3 stages: Awareness, Consideration and Decision Making.
A customer in the awareness stage has just realized that they have a problem. They need information that educates them about the problem and about the options available to solve the problem. Appropriate content to share with him/her would be a relevant guide eg. an ebook titled, “Everything you need to know before owning your first car.” It could also be a blog post titled, “Why owning a car is cheaper in the long run.”
A customer in the consideration stage is actively weighing options that will help them solve their problem. If you’re conversing with such a person, giving them a catalog of your products would be appropriate. A free pdf document titled, “What to consider when choosing the perfect car for you,” would also be helpful.
A customer in the final stage of decision making is ready to buy. They need a price list or information about an offer that you have. They could also benefit from knowing the after sales services you offer.
Content Marketing done right enables you and your audience to grow together and nurture a mutually beneficial relationship. It’s especially effective in the increasingly digital world we live in.
Get the maximum benefit from your digital assets such as social media and website by adopting a content marketing strategy. Contact us for a free consultation.
