Communicators are getting a big chunk of the job done with their content, but many are failing at the most critical content function. According to new research from content experience platform (CEP) Uberflip and Forrester Consulting, 74 percent of surveyed marketers can identify the right targets and 63 percent can attract them, but only 11 percent feel confident they can engage their buyer effectively.
The new study, Accelerate Your Buyer’s Journey by Dynamically Curating Relevant Content, focuses on the presence and use of CEPs within enterprise organizations, and finds that marketers believe curated, relevant content experiences play an important role in successful buyer engagement.
“Forrester’s research confirmed that B2B organizations generally identify and attract buyers, but fail to truly engage them,” said Randy Frisch, co-founder and chief marketing officer of Uberflip, in a news release. “This disconnect is why we founded Uberflip and pioneered Content Experience. Our platform helps organizations create exceptional content experiences that improve buyer experience and satisfaction at scale, which this study calls out as a real need marketers and really all customer-facing teams have.”
The study addresses the impact of the global pandemic on buyer behavior, with 81 percent of participants calling out the continued shift toward more digital interactions and purchase decisions from face-to-face interactions. This is why curating relevant, valuable content, and offering it in a self-navigated, intuitive and appealing content destination, is so critical to reaching today’s buyers. It can further shorten the sales cycle and increase existing customer value.
Additional key findings from the study include:
Exceptional content experiences deliver a competitive advantage
B2B teams that create a top-notch experience help buyers find the right information and address their concerns and needs, ultimately driving them to develop an affinity for the brand. In fact, 69 percent of Forrester’s research participants agreed or strongly agreed that when buyers can direct their own journey, they could end up preferring [the vendor’s] offerings. And, by letting buyers sit in the driver’s seat of the sales process, trust increases and deals close faster.
Content should be used strategically throughout the entire buying journey, including post-sale
Currently, the research showed that 74 percent of survey respondents can identify the right accounts and 63 percent can attract them. However, only 11 percent report feeling confident they can engage their buyer. This demonstrates that marketers, sellers and CX teams will need to deliver more personalized experiences and use content to engage customers through every stage of the journey. Relevance is critical because 63 percent of respondents reported they will disregard content if it’s not relevant to their needs, industry or role.
CEPs enable companies to scale ABM programs through relevant content curation
Consistently scaling content for ABM programs was listed as the top content marketing challenges leaders are struggling with. They identified that the ability to curate relevant content for specific buyers improves the overall purchase experience and makes ABM more effective.
Download the full report here.
Forrester Consulting concluded its findings by recommending that B2B organizations consider implementing a CEP to scale demand and ABM efforts, choose technology designed specifically for content experience to reduce IT burden and leverage CEP metrics to demonstrate your content’s value. To dive deeper into the contents of the study, sign up here for the webinar Analyst Insights: Marketers, You Have a Buyer Engagement Gap, happening November 9, 1:30 PM ET.
