why is market research required before preparing a content marketing plan?
TRANSCRIPT
Market Research for Successful B2B
Content Marketing
B2B Content Marketing Spend
On an average B2B Marketers spend 28% of their total budget on Content Marketing.
Image Source: 2016 B2b content Marketing Trends –North America : Content Marketing Institute/Marketing Profs
Percentage of the total marketing budget spent on B2B content marketing by Businesses
Spending is in on the rise
B2B Content marketing spending (over next 12 Months)
Image Source: 2015 B2B Content Marketing Trends –North America : Content Marketing Institute/Marketing Profs
55% will increase spending
Content Marketing tactics usage
Image Source: Gartner, http://www.ovrdrv.com/digital-marketing-budget/
B2B businesses deploy their Content marketing budget on a mix of activities.
Some reasons for failed content marketing
Opting for the same strategy as competitors
Having no strategy
Not aligned with buyers’ needs
Data Source: Octane research “Digital India 2017: Marketing Trends & Forecast”
60% Content Marketers ranked
producing engaging content as their top challenge.
How B2B Marketers rate the effectiveness of their organization's use of Content Marketing
Image Source: 2016 B2B Content Marketing Trends –North America : Content Marketing Institute/Marketing Profs
Only 30% B2B Content Marketers are Effective
The right research provides insights into developing
successful B2B content marketing strategies to engage your target
audience.
What does a Content Marketer want to know before planning?Determine the kind of content needed while minimizing the risk of producing
irrelevant content. How to come up with the right strategy for content marketing?What social media channels will work to reach their target audience for
different products and markets.Who is the competition and what is competition doing? What tactics and methodology are other content marketers using most
often?What are effective content marketers doing different vs. the less effective
marketers?On an average, what budget did they fix to spend on content marketing
strategies?How to establish and maintain the reputation of the brand online?
What to research?What to research before planning a content marketing strategy?
1. Target market
2. Target Audience
3. Your Buyer’s Persona
4. Buyer behavior / buying cycle
5. Competitors
6. Market trends
7. Channels (what will work for your product and market)
1. Target MarketKnow your target market and segments to develop specific strategies. Understand and segment based on:
Common benefits that customers look for
Industry
Business size
Geographic Location
Affordability
What unique expertise of the company would help the market
Accessibility of the market segment through content marketing channels
How long is the buying cycle and what information is needed to nurture the market
What offering will they be more responsive to
2. Target AudienceFor each B2B target segment,
Identify your Decision makers
Identify your Influencers
Identify Users and Researchers
Look at Psychographics (the personal characteristics)
Cultural predispositions and influences
What business forums memberships do they have
What content would motivate them
3. Buyer Persona Research your buyers’ persona - prospects and the actual customer base (through surveys, interviews). Look at these factors:
Role in the organization
Goals for success
Biggest challenges faced
Reading, social media habits
Personal background – education
Shopping preferences – how does she search for information or interact with
vendors
4. Buying JourneyNeed
Recognition
Research & Consideration
Evaluate Alternatives
Purchase
Understand the buying cycle for the product/ service in the target market.
What are buyers trying to accomplish at each step?
What is buyer behavior at each step? How can marketers nudge buyers
forward to the next buying stage?What content is needed at each step to
push the buyer to the next stage?Which content marketing tactics do
buyers prefer at each step?
B2B Buying Cycle
5. Competitor Analysis Analyze your competition to understand them and build your strategy around it
Their current strategies
Their positioning and brand messaging
What content marketing tactics are they using
What content marketing channels are they using
Their resources and capability
Analyze competitor’s possible future moves (Response Profile)
6. Market Trends Find information about latest trends, such as:
What content type is your audience attracted to?
What forums are becoming more popular?
What techniques like influencer marketing or native advertising are gaining
ground?
What channels are B2B customers likely to move to?
What are trending topics to write on?
7. Marketing ChannelsResearch channels to reach your audience effectively:
Analyze the social web traffic and outcomes
Identify social media channels your Target Audience uses
Analyze previous reports to study channels that have given most relevant traffic and business
Image Source: 2015 B2B Content Marketing Trends –North America : Content Marketing Institute/Marketing Profs
B2B Content Marketing Social Media Platform usage
In short, invest in researchUnderstand the target market and audiencesDevelop a content marketing strategy backed by researchMinimize the risk of failure
“Whoever understands the
customer best, wins.” Mike Gospe
