"Content Alone isn’t King. Customer-Centric Content is" by: Yael Warman, Content Development Manager @ Google Cloud/XM
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Because of the way in which the internet has altered consumer behavior, the fate of marketing campaigns and sales funnels lies in the hands of buyers. A company that is not genuine in their messaging and is not focused on the WIIFY is destined to fail. Yael Warman will talk about How you develop a content strategy that is genuine? By developing a customer-centric content strategy. And a key component of a customer-centric content strategy is a customer reference program. Takeaways: 1. Why should your company leverage customer references in its content strategy? 2. Benefits of establishing a customer reference program 3. How to establish a customer reference program
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"Content Alone isn’t King. Customer-Centric Content is" by: Yael Warman, Content Development Manager @ Google Cloud/XM
- 3. In real life
- 4. Nathan 10 years old The patience of a saint Ilanit 6 years old Drama queen Her way or the highway
- 6. WIIFY?
- 7. Because of digital, the fate of marketing campaigns and sales pipelines lies very much in the hands of the buyer.
- 9. What’s a reference program
- 10. Why customer references? Your existing customers know you When you say you are great, you are being arrogant. When others say you are great… that’s an endorsement Extend reach exponentially by leveraging your customers’ circle
- 11. •Less time spent by sales reps searching for suitable customer references. •Avoiding overusing and under using valuable customer references. •Gaps being filled for customer references in certain industries/products/geographies. •A reduction in sales cycles. A well coordinated Customer Reference Program results in:
- 12. Where do I start? 1. Recruit 2. Prioritize 3. Create/amplify 4. Manage 5. Measure
- 13. What assets? ● Customer stories (written or video) ● Case studies ● Testimonials ● Name drop ● Quotes ● Event speaking engagements ● PR opps ● Webinars ● Peer to peer
- 14. Industry events Amplification Your website or blog Your SoMe channels Your customer’s website and SoMe channels Trade publications
- 15. Do● Align with sales team needs ● Approach customers early and set expectations ● Understand their motives ● Be clear about approval processes ● Discuss amplification ● Highlight the business and technical benefits ● Do it yourself ● Find a tool to keep track ● Thank them
- 16. Get everyone in on it
Editor's Notes
- I’ve been doing content since way before it became king. We didn’t have events dedicated to us. That’s exciting because it goes to show how much the marketing industry has evolved. I started my career almost 20 years ago working in advertising and we were professional bullshitters.
- We made people believe that life would look like this if they switched to a certain insurance or drank enough Metamucil… Content, as opposed to advertising, realizes that life doesn’t look like this.
- Life looks like this. And as messy as this looks, this sells because it is genuine and as consumers, we can relate to this. I have a theory about why this evolution has taken place and I think it is because those marketing and advertising execs from the 90s grew up to have families and lives that are messy.
- I know I have. These are my kids (with a few filters on of course). And they have taught me a great deal about marketing.
- My 6 year old, she is a bit of a drama queen. This is when i wouldn’t let her wear flip flops to go out in 5 degree weather. This morning she reminded me of one crucial element in effective content. As I was getting dressed, I was thinking about breakfast, which in my house typically consists of whatever you can grab on the way out, and i remembered we only had one waffle left, so I thought I would do whatever sensible parent in that situation would do… eat it quietly before they realized it… but when I got to the kitchen, my son was already eating it and my daughter was crying. I started to convince her to have cereal, or yoghurt. Then I yelled that I was going to be late and she needed to eat something else or go hungry. That didn’t work… it didn’t work because I wasn’t being genuine and honest about the WIIFY.
- Your customers are no different. If you push your agenda, if you aren’t genuine, if you do not talk about WIIFT, they won’t listen
- Today’s buyers have immediate access to all the information they need to make an educated buying decision before even speaking with your company. This access to information means that the fate of marketing campaigns and sales pipelines lies very much in the hands of the buyer. So making sure that the information your audience has access to drives them towards you is critical.
- Now how do you make sure that your content strategy drives people towards you? By developing a customer-centric content strategy. According to Nielsen, 92% of people will trust a recommendation from a peer, and 70% of people will trust a recommendation from someone they don’t even know.
- So put your customers at the center of your content strategy by establishing a customer reference program. Customer references are ideal for your consideration and purchasing stages of the funnel. They are a marketing effort, typically led by the content development team, designed to gather references to help salespeople provide proof of customer success to potential customers
- Why? Your existing customers know better than anyone else what it’s like to interact with your company. So why not leverage their positive feedback to bring in new business? Because you sound arrogant when you talk about how great you are, but when others do, that sounds genuine Because when you involve your customers in your content, they’ll promote it too.
- Identify to whom you have sold a product, service or solution, and then actively recruit satisfied customers. Materials: will discuss ahead Reference management: implement a management system to keep track of customers referenced, when/where/how and give access to sales so they can search through it and find suitable references. Measure: tell management how many customers were referenced each month, which customers and which evidence pieces were used in the sales cycle, and what the ROI of your customer reference program is
- To make sure your customer reference program works, it has to be a team effort implemented from the top down. Your company’s board needs to agree to put customers front and center and make sure all customer facing departments in the company contribute. Assigning KPIs that relate to the number of customer stories account managers need to refer to marketing is one way of ensuring a constant flow of customers and it will help your sales team “touch” those customers and give them an incentive.
- As the world of content continues to evolve, content just for the sake of content will cease to be king and content that is genuine, relatable, and that puts the customer at the center, will reign.