The Intersection of Customer Experience and Content Marketing: A #CMWorld Twitter Chat with Sue Brady

No customer wants a disappointing encounter in their interactions with a brand. But what role does content marketing play in delivering an optimal customer experience across the buyer journey? On a recent #CMWorld Twitter chat, we spoke with Sue Brady, Vice President of Marketing and Customer Engagement at Hughes. Sue gave us insights into the current state of customer experience and how to achieve our goal of keeping buyers happy.

What follows is a brief recap of our discussion. Read our Twitter Moment for more tweets from the chat.

What are ways to identify the types of content that will help enhance the customer experience?

A3a: Find out what drives calls into your customer srvc ctrs. Create content to address those reasons. Use data to understand the website pgs and links most often visited & write copy that helps visitors easily get there. #CMWorld https://t.co/5SWnk4VxMV

— Sue Brady (@SueBrady) September 1, 2020

A3b: Analyze your website chat data to understand what customers are looking for most often, but can’t find. Then write content to fix that gap, or move around the placement of existing content. #CMWorld https://t.co/5SWnk4VxMV

— Sue Brady (@SueBrady) September 1, 2020

A3c: Look at your whole customer journey to see where copy should be rewritten to make it more clear (ie welcome emails, customer newsletters). #CMWorld I have a lot to say on this question! https://t.co/5SWnk4VxMV

— Sue Brady (@SueBrady) September 1, 2020

A3: The types of content you create (and how they’re distributed) should be dictated by — say it with me — your #audience and their preferences. #CMWorld

— Mike Myers 🤠 (@mikemyers614) September 1, 2020

A3 #CMWorld

Customer journey mapping will be helpful to analyse what type of content users interact with.

Will also depend on where they are in the buying process.
Videos/graphics – Work well in discovery/awareness stage
FAQ/Detailed Blog- Consideration/purchase

— Smita (@Smita_DigiMarke) September 1, 2020

Should your customer experience efforts vary at different points of the funnel? Is there one area you should concentrate your content on over another?

A5a: Yes. If a customer can’t find or doesn’t understand your info, they might not buy. If they buy & misunderstand how to use your product, they’ll be unhappy & likely to call and/or return your prod. or cancel your srvc. #CMWorld https://t.co/2AgxDPnr5n

— Sue Brady (@SueBrady) September 1, 2020

A5b: Once a customer, CX becomes more about their actual experiences with you. That means customer service is important, as is product performance, user guides and self-help instructions. #CMWorld https://t.co/2AgxDPnr5n

— Sue Brady (@SueBrady) September 1, 2020

a5: yes!

but remember it’s not always a funnel, and is sometimes more a “choose your own adventure” lead by the customer.

so have your experiences and content meet them where they are.

prioritize content that educates, & experiences that are fun and memorable.#CMWorld

— Lauren (@laurfarrell) September 1, 2020

A5: Yes as a general rule I like the model of acquisition vs. nurture vs. advocate. Different content types should target different points. Now the % of where your focus may be will depend on goals and objectives but each part of the journey should have a clear roadmap. #CMWorld https://t.co/pph48EXEU6

— Megan┃Freelance Digital Strategist (@thedataoutlier) September 1, 2020

What challenges can marketers face when it comes to CX? Why do we sometimes struggle to deliver customer experiences that exceed customer expectations?

A4a: There is always a balance btwn Sales and Mktg. Mktg has to deliver the right content that gives useful information, and Sales has to use it to sell. Sometimes the CX can get lost in that balance. #CMWorld

— Sue Brady (@SueBrady) September 1, 2020

A4b: Website content serves multiple purposes. In addition to selling, and setting expectations, it also has to be good for SEO and google quality scores. Sometimes CX is forgotten here too. #CMWorld https://t.co/gWibZiE5I4

— Sue Brady (@SueBrady) September 1, 2020

A4: Lack of communication, minimal to no funding, lack of time/man power to collect sufficient data, lost connection between what the customers WANT vs what they NEED
Customers buy what they want, not always what they need, or what we think they need #cmworld https://t.co/TW9V1zTw5j

— Charlie Appel Agency (@ColfaxInsurance) September 1, 2020

A4: Often, it’s because marketing goals and customer goals don’t match. Pushing content that meets business metrics without addressing expressed need from your customers is bound to bomb. In order to exceed expectations, we first need to know where to meet them. #CMWorld

— Rachel Wendte (@rkwendte) September 1, 2020

How are you identifying the types of content that will help enhance the customer experience? Have you faced any challenges? Share your insights in a comment below.

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