Why A Good Product Just Isn’t Enough

So you’ve built your business and you’re confident that you offer a great product in your industry.

Perhaps you’ve developed something that meets the need of your target consumer by providing a quicker, easier, or more entertaining product. You’ve even shelled out on paid advertisements in hopes of getting your product out there.

Now what?

Advertisements attract prospective customers and increase potential sales, but there’s a greater potential to be had in consumer engagement beyond selling your product. Business writer Lynella Grant from The Balance lists 5 Things More Important to Buyers Than WHAT You're Selling:

1. How Well They're Treated

2. How Efficiently the Buying Process Went

3. How Much Aggravation They Had to Endure

4. How Many Mind Games Are Played on Them

5. How Well the Business Has Its Act Together

All these factors outside of these products sound pretty experiential, right?

But they're all stemmed from the common desire of consumers to have the best experience with a brand as possible. For the average company that may just be ensuring that your consumer can get your product without a hitch. But the strongest brands are those that succeed in building relationships with their consumers that tie these 5 factors into its customer service.

Each of these 5 things can be translated through Content Marketing, building relationships with your consumers in ways that tie your brand into their lives and encourages them beyond being just an average shopper.

Experts at Articulate Marketing sum it up clearly,

"Having a trove of valuable, useful content turns your brand into a source of information, one which your audience will look to when dealing with questions or pain points regarding your specific expertise."

Content Marketing is known for its ability to increase SEO for a brand, offer valuable and entertaining content like educational videos or series, and keep readers informed through blog posts and more. From word of mouth advertising, brand advocacy, and increased interaction, building a relationship with your target consumer is incredibly resourceful. And the best way to do this? Give customers more value than they can pay for. This is where the power of content marketing shines.

But it for much more that too.

Research in 2015 from the Center for Generational Kinetics and Aspect Software found two-thirds of Americans feel good about themselves and the brand they are curious about they can solve a problem without talking to customer service. What does this look like? This looks like investing in making content that not only adds value to the consumer's life, but makes their interaction with your brand as easy, streamlined, and enjoyable as possible.

Jay Baer of Convince&Convert says this about integrating customer service in your Content Marketing strategy.

"Self-service seems like a universally applicable solution to drive costs down while simultaneously increasing customer satisfaction with content marketing."

You may be at the point in your business where you’re trying to adapt to a digital emphasis in your marketing and wondering what exactly that entails. As we’ve discussed in earlier blog poss, content marketing comes in various forms. It’s important to choose a few that are reasonably possible for your company and fits the goals you are trying to meet.

Some examples of self-service content are:

1. Blog posts on the best way for a person to use your product.

2. Before-and-After Photos or testimonies from real people that have benefited from your product/service.

3. Self-help videos that address your consumers most asked questions.

4. Web pages that detail the elements (cost, expectations, results) of a service your company offers.

5. VR or AI applications that allow the user to interact with and visualize your product in their lives.

The bottom line of content marketing is creating a routine of touch points in the lives of your consumers that build relationships but also act as customer service resources that improve their overall experience.

Think back on your favorite anything, sports team, band, restaurant, etc. When you learn about an update about them or anything that seems relevant to you, you engage with the brand more than if there was no other form of communication than experiencing them in person. When you try to find out more information about that thing, the easier it is to find that information on your own, the more satisfied you are with that thing as a whole.

The same is true for the consumers of your product/service. They feel like they are part of the bigger picture when their concerns are adequately addressed and cared for in a visible and predictive manner as Content Marketing allows. In speaking of the approach Amazon.com takes on integrating customer service into Content Marketing, social media customer service pioneer Frank Eliason says this,

“Two of the things that companies need to get much better at are taking feedback, and then not just addressing the customer‘s issue, but addressing it for all customers. That is where you get your greatest value.”

So we've explored the less tapped into side of Content Marketing when it comes to building brand relationships with your consumers, which is for enhancing your customer customer service.

But if you're still skeptical about how investing into it can tangibly benefit you like the brand owner, here are 6 Reasons from John HSU and Copypress to part with.

1. To Enhance Brand Loyalty

Your consumer is going to want more from your company than just a receipt. If they don't get the experience they want and felt exploited, they'll go elsewhere.

2. To Educate Your Customers

Sometimes things about your product just aren't intuitive. Maybe what you offer is dynamic and always changing. You need a way to keep customers aware of this. Trust us, they'll appreciate and stick with you much longer than if you didn't.

3. To Reduce Response Times

Any form of online content can be accessed quicker and easier than your customer trying to call or e-mail your company. For any issue, whether urgent or trivial, it's best for your customer to find the answers as quickly and contextually as possible.

4. To Reduce Strain on Your Customer Service Team

It saves you so much time and effort to offer a resource that answers questions for your customers before they have to pick up the phone. Much customers prefer that, and it gives your Customer Service Team more time to handle issues that can't be addressed this way.

5. To Maintain Consistency

The great thing about creating content is that every person that interacts with that content is getting the same information. When it comes to other forms inconsistencies or inaccuracies are possible, increasing misunderstandings and frustrations. But content that aligns with your brand's goals provides a reliable source as well as a branding tool.

6. To Provide SEO Benefits

Lastly, this approach to marketing can answer questions that your consumers and prospects have before they even know to ask you about it. Improving your brand SEO increases the likelihood of search engines offering your website as an answer that someone has for even the most random questions.