Research NXT: What, according to you, are the most significant trends around content consumption in your industry?

Allison: In B2B SaaS, we’re still working to create the right content to drive the right action, while always doing more with less. And that’s no longer just at the discovery phase or top of the funnel. It also means creating content that engages all identified target audiences throughout the customer journey and increasingly across owned-and-operated channels. That begins by understanding exactly what your big idea means to different audiences and when the best time is to deliver it, then leveraging the right people, process, channels, and technology to drive an impactful strategy forward.

Research NXT: What are the new skills marketers in your industry will need to ace up going ahead into 2020?

Allison: In shifting to a customer-, audience- or user-first strategy, marketing needs to partner with sales, product, and customer success to better identify and understand their various audiences, anticipate their needs and understand how to connect in the right way, at the right time, in the right context and at scale.

Creating content experiences that convert requires a deep understanding of your audience, the customer journey, and the value exchange needed at every step. It also means planning for diversions in that journey. Whether that is as simple as creating unique continued experiences for your customers vs. your potential buyers, or building experiences for various personas or industries, knowing how to pair technology and data to drive a one-to-many content strategy will maximize engagement and results. In a digital world, creative, digital, operations, and revenue teams need to work together to optimize the customer experience at every touchpoint, with your audience and content at the core of engagement.

Research NXT: From a technology perspective, what are some of the top challenges that content marketers in your industry face these days?

 Allison: To maximize resources and meet their revenue goals, content marketers need to understand the impact of what they’re producing, and develop the right content to achieve the best results. For that to happen, they need technology solutions that will not only offer them the insights they need to see what’s connecting and what’s not, but that will also let them test their messaging for different audiences and segments, and customize their approach. 

But it’s equally important that technology not get in the way of meeting those objectives. More than anything, prospects, and customers want to feel like an actual human being is approaching them. Whether you’re sending an email or giving a demo or presentation, retaining that human element is more important than ever — both for the people you’re approaching and in terms of achieving your ultimate goals.

Research NXT: How, according to you, should a CMO approach investment in content marketing with so many options around?

 Allison: I’m a true believer in measuring what matters — tracking direct impact such as conversion throughout the buyer’s journey and beyond. But that’s often easier said than done. To build on what they can measure, in order to do more of what works, CMOs need to make investments that focus on results.

It can’t be about volume or frequency or measuring the number of press releases, events, digital content assets, or direct mail campaigns. Understanding the needs of your audience and the impact of your efforts should be the guiding light to driving your investments and scaling what works.

Research NXT: Now that we’ve reached the point where content marketing stacks have become the norm, how do marketing teams manage so many tools seamlessly and concentrate on the actual creative work of content marketing?

Allison: In theory, automation and insights enable marketers to do just that, focusing on creativity as technology scales and automates impact. The reality requires a mature content and marketing engine built on people, process, and technology. Understanding the impact of content can ensure some resources support the development of creative assets and experiences, while close alignment to the demand and customer success teams provides the feedback loop and measurement to guide creativity against performance.

Research NXT: Do you truly believe and see value in research-based content marketing as a winning strategy?

Allison: Theory backed by data and consumer insights is certainly more valuable than non-data backed content if your goal is to inform your audience better and help them be smarter about what they do. It also enables a level of credibility that can very well be unique to your value proposition.

You hear the terms “data-driven” and “data-backed” often — those require strategies that are informed by research, both into the industry as well as into audience needs and behaviors. When you know what your audience’s needs are, you can develop content in all forms to educate, inspire, and inform.