Creative Counsel   Branding • Content Creation • Digital Marketing   Matter More™

Content Marketing: “Outside In” to Engage, Educate, Validate, Position & PROFIT

The best way to approach any marketing and especially content, is by thinking “outside in” versus “inside out”. I learned early in my career that when people read something, there is a voice in their head that is saying “why does this matter to me?” Your customers know why they value and use your products and services, so the bigger question is, do you?

An interesting example of this may be a company that has just made a huge investment in the latest and greatest piece of equipment. They now spend a significant amount of their marketing budget talking about this new shiny machine, its features, speed, efficiency, etc. This will surely help them realize a nice profit for some period of time before it too becomes obsolete. Their hope is that this dedicated focus and spend will drive engagement and new business from their customer base.

So, what if a significant number of customers really value your project management process and call escalation procedures? Suppose they experience peace of mind knowing who their primary contacts are through each phase of a big project. They are relieved to know that they will hear from each representative proactively, so they don’t have to worry or think about next steps. In other words, they value the experience working with you far more than what you use to get the job done. Given that, might they be unwilling to pay more for the new machine’s higher runtime cost, given service is what they really value? Wouldn’t it have been better to know? Your marketing plan might have been more balanced with some resource directed at promoting your operational differentiation and exceptional customer experience.

To initiate a significant and ongoing investment in content marketing, it’s crucial to understand the business attributes most valued by your key customers. It is from this pool of information that great content planning and execution emerge. Like that remarkable new piece of equipment, extremely well-developed content can fall flat and burn resource if it is not aligned with your customer’s values, needs and interests.

The more you know, the fewer missteps you take. Reducing missteps typically leads to greater interest in your content with higher perceived value of your products and services. When you are delivering high value, you are far more difficult to commoditize.

On a side note, the headline created for this article does represent a set of key thoughts to remember.

“Outside-In” = Customer First Lens

“Engage” = Market Benefit Focused Topics

“Educate” = Inform, Share & Update

“Validate” = Products or Services Applied

“Position” = Aligned with Primary Value

“Profit” = Commoditization Avoidance

If you can remember or reference this when you begin to develop content, you’re in great shape and will remain higher up in the value chain.

Creative Counsel offers a no-obligation call to discuss this with companies who are interested in the topic or ones who have defined growth objectives and want to work with an agency who knows how to achieve them. Call Chris Casarona at Creative Counsel, Inc., 609-575-1415. Thank you for reading my content. I hope you found areas of value that you can apply to your company’s marketing – Matter More.