Like any marketer, we spend a lot of time, effort and sometimes money producing content and campaigns that match our prospects or customers, to persuade them to move on to the next stage of the customer journey. Sometimes, the content delivered and the campaigns are not enough for our audience.
In this article, discover the 4 reasons that may explain why your content isn’t working and what to do to improve it.
Your content lacks relevance
Each of your prospects or customers is different. They have their own desires and needs. They are at different levels of interaction with you – as a brand, they are looking for different things, they will be persuaded or remain indifferent to totally opposite things. It is impossible to create a single message that is relevant to the entire audience.
How do marketers solve this? By creating personalized content using the analysis of explicit data (self-reported data from completed forms) and implicit data (behavioral data). This should be done across all communication channels, not just in emails.
Your content isn’t timely
The world is changing faster than ever and there are so many demands these days that we often look at the products and services on offer in just 15 minutes. We do it when we want, and above all when our schedule allows. Whatever I am looking for, I need the content to answer my question at the moment I need it. I don’t want to have to wait a week for a callback, I don’t want to wait for the right email to be sent to me in a future newsletter.
How do marketers solve this? Most often, by using inbound marketing to personalize your visitors’ experience. Whether you use website personalization for relevant products, frequently asked questions, contact information, or use push notifications in your app, make sure the experience is relevant for the user when they are engaged. Try to trigger your responses as quickly as possible so your users don’t have to wait.
Your content isn’t on the right channel
Think about your mobile phone. You have emails, SMS, instant messages, calls, apps. You certainly use each of them for a very specific purpose. And at the same time, if you asked an older relative, they would use them differently from you. Ask a younger relative than you and they will also have another way of using them. And all of this is based on context. Personally, I would not want my bank to start sending me Facebook Messenger instant messages and I would not want my friends to send me emails every time they have a question for me. Each of us uses communication channels differently. Yet, as marketers, we tend to think simply about cost.
How do marketers solve this? Stop guessing and start asking. Ask people which channels they want to receive information through and adapt accordingly. You can do this either directly through your subscription forms for your online communications or later in the preference center.
Your content lacks consistency
If I am a customer and I visit your website or contact you for support, the content shown to me should be as personalized as what I receive in my inbox. As a loyal customer, if I have to explain everything every time even though I know you have all the information about me, I will get frustrated very quickly. We have all had the experience of being contacted by a call center. We have also had the similar experience of receiving a call, and they know exactly who you are, your history with the company, and are able to help you immediately. It is not enough to have a one-off campaign tailored to the individual, but rather that every campaign should be consistent across all channels.
How do marketers solve this? Rather than creating one-off campaigns in a “spray and pray” mindset, use software that allows you to collect data on your audience’s profile, their interests, what they want to receive, through which channels, how often, and let it do most of the work for you. It is simply not possible to do all of this and remain consistent with your entire audience by doing it manually every time.
