Building loyalty is essential. But it’s also an investment. Loyalty leaders invest in creating long-lasting relationships with their customers not only through a structured loyalty program but also by incorporating other strategies into their marketing plan. Content marketing is amongst these strategies, enabling businesses to improve the retention rate significantly and create customers for life.
Content marketing means marketing content that the target audience wants to see, searches for, engages with and, shares with others. As today’s empowered customers consume five times more content than 30 years ago, content creation reveals new opportunities to connect and re-connect with them across all the stages of their shopping journey.
Here are the key steps you need to know to get the most of your content marketing efforts and drive customer loyalty.
Know your audience
Knowing your audience is the first step of any successful marketing activity including content marketing. By identifying who your customers are and what matters to them the most, you can design smarter and more effective campaigns.
If you are a data-driven company, content marketing can provide you with valuable insights regarding what content your customers consume. This will help you create relevant content around topics that really matter to your customers and keep them around.
Deliver relevant messages
Create valuable brand content that is both entertaining and educational. It is an excellent way to win your customers’ trust and build an emotional connection with them.
Focus on the needs of your customers and create useful content that informs them, answers their questions and finally helps them address their pain points. They’ll most probably come back to your site to find information or read your blog posts, engage more on your social media pages, visit your store and want to do business with you.
Focus on the omnichannel experience
Marketers who create relevant messages based on their customer’s behavior and preferences and stay consistent across all channels, (emails, mobile app, ads, social media etc.), build valuable relationships with their customers and generate positive business outcomes.
Especially today, businesses can leverage new technologies to get closer to their customers with content tailored to their needs, delivered at the exact right time for conversion. With marketing automation tools and artificial intelligence technology, marketers can interact with customers in real time offer a personalized experience, exactly when they expect it, regardless of the channel.
Related content: Transforming Retail with AI technology
Get creative
With visual content going big, start thinking new engagement opportunities with your target audience. Either you are a B2C or a B2B brand, videos can play a key role in attracting audiences and driving engagement.
Keep in mind that digital content must be designed to be consumed on mobile devices which must offer new types of interactions and engagement opportunities. By thinking mobile-first and with your customer in mind, you’ll be able to deliver the right message and content type, ensuring convenience and creating more effective connections with customers on the most personal device they own.
Track your content marketing efforts
Content marketing is measurable. Optimizing content delivery and testing your messages across all channels is critical to the success of your marketing plan. Make sure your content is designed to foster relationships and is driving actions. By analyzing your campaign, you can refine your content strategy and make smarter decisions for your brand.
Content marketing could be part of either your customer acquisition or customer retention strategies. If used right, content will lead to greater customer engagement and retention.
