Far too many content marketing programs fail to connect the brand to customer problems before the customer starts looking for a solution. At this crucial and overlooked point in the customer journey, most brands provide content about the product and the industry, when they should address specific customer pain points.
There’s “a gap that exists in almost every program … when it comes to how to position your brand to put it into the consideration set,” said Liam Moroney at The MarTech Conference last month. “One of the biggest impacts is it creates a very jarring experience. It switches very quickly from thought leadership to product but fails at placing your brand into the consideration set for buyers.”
The winding customer journey
Moroney, co-founder of Storybook Marketing, a demand generation agency specializing in B2B SaaS, laid out a plan for solving this problem. The first step is to stop thinking of the customer journey as a straight path from awareness to consideration to purchase.
“[Customers] are simply not going through this linear path,” he said. “Much as we want people to, much as we build our programs to, brands are being selected in the minds of buyers through mental lists that are developed long, long before those solutions actually come up.”
Dig deeper: 3 critical steps for creating content that converts
Instead of the buyer’s journey, marketers must focus on establishing mental availability: Having their brand come to mind when a buyer encounters a problem. Doing this requires using category entry points and having content that associates your brand with the specific problems it solves.
Category entry points are situations or cues that trigger a buyer to think about a problem and potential solutions. A cloud HR software vendor might target content around “management challenges for hybrid and distributed workforces” or “improving the onboarding experience for remote workers.” These topics address real problems potential buyers face and position the brand as knowledgeable and helpful.
Marketers need content that maps to these category entry points. But …
How do you do it?
“How do you map content to this? How do you actually go about creating a content section in your overall program that helps you address these category entry points?” Moroney asked.
By focusing on problem-centric content and thinking about content not just on the funnel level, but in terms of what it is trying to communicate to the audience. Fortunately, because your product is the solution, you already know what the problems are.
“We have a tendency to focus on the solution a lot more than the problem,” he said. “We fall in love with our own solutions. We see our technology as worthy of talking to everyone about, and we often forget about the problem that it solves … but the problem is ultimately what the audience is interested in.”
Dig deeper: The AI-powered marketer’s roadmap to the future of content
This content shouldn’t avoid mentioning the product but should primarily demonstrate a deep understanding of the problem and how the brand approaches solutions.
It’s all about the problem
Content that resonates with the audience’s challenges and provides valuable insights, establishes the brand as a thought leader and trusted source of information. Because of this, the brand is much more likely to come to mind when a buyer starts considering potential solutions.
This is a longer-term strategy and may not result in immediate sales — the ultimate success metric. So, what do you measure to find out if you’re succeeding?
“From a measurement point of view, consumption is key with this content,” Moroney said. “It’s not a conversion tactic. It’s not a demo request driver. It’s content that will seed into their minds, develop memory structures, but those memory structures will be far more valuable than a lot of the lead lists that you’ll develop with that middle and bottom-of-funnel content.”
The post Beyond the funnel: A new approach to content marketing appeared first on MarTech.
**Rethinking Content Marketing: A Modern Approach Beyond the Traditional Funnel**
In the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing, content marketing has long been a cornerstone of brand strategy. Traditionally, marketers have relied on the tried-and-true “funnel” model, where potential customers are guided through a linear journey from awareness to purchase. However, as consumer behavior becomes more complex and the digital ecosystem grows more fragmented, this traditional funnel approach is proving to be increasingly inadequate. Today’s consumers are more informed, more discerning, and more empowered than ever before, requiring marketers to rethink how they engage with their audiences.
This article explores the limitations of the traditional funnel model and introduces a modern approach to content marketing that is more dynamic, customer-centric, and aligned with the realities of today’s digital world.
### The Limitations of the Traditional Funnel
The traditional marketing funnel is based on a linear progression through three stages: awareness, consideration, and decision (or conversion). While this model has served marketers well for decades, it is rooted in an outdated understanding of consumer behavior. Here are some of the key limitations of the funnel:
1. **Linear Assumption**: The funnel assumes that customers move through the buying process in a straight line. In reality, the customer journey is far more complex, with multiple touchpoints, channels, and moments of decision-making. Consumers may jump back and forth between stages, or skip stages altogether.
2. **One-Way Communication**: The funnel is based on a one-way communication model, where brands push content to consumers at each stage. However, today’s consumers expect two-way interactions, where they can engage with brands, ask questions, and provide feedback.
3. **Focus on Acquisition**: The traditional funnel is heavily focused on customer acquisition, often neglecting the post-purchase experience. In today’s competitive landscape, retaining customers and building long-term relationships is just as important as acquiring new ones.
4. **Lack of Personalization**: The funnel treats all customers as if they are on the same journey. However, modern consumers expect personalized experiences that cater to their individual needs, preferences, and behaviors.
### The Modern Approach: A Holistic, Customer-Centric Model
To address these limitations, marketers need to adopt a more holistic, customer-centric approach to content marketing. This modern approach recognizes that the customer journey is not a linear funnel, but rather a dynamic, multi-dimensional experience. Here are some key principles of this new model:
#### 1. **Embrace the Customer Journey as a Loop, Not a Funnel**
Rather than viewing the customer journey as a one-way funnel, marketers should think of it as a continuous loop or cycle. In this model, customers can enter and exit at any point, and their interactions with the brand can happen across multiple touchpoints, both online and offline.
For example, a customer might first encounter a brand through a social media post, then visit the website, read reviews, and eventually make a purchase. After the purchase, they might engage with the brand through email newsletters, loyalty programs, or customer support. Each of these interactions is an opportunity to build a deeper relationship with the customer and encourage repeat business.
#### 2. **Prioritize Engagement Over Acquisition**
In the traditional funnel, the primary goal is to move customers from awareness to conversion as quickly as possible. However, in the modern approach, the focus shifts from acquisition to engagement. Rather than simply pushing customers through the funnel, marketers should aim to create meaningful, ongoing interactions that build trust and loyalty.
This means producing content that is not just promotional, but also educational, entertaining, and valuable to the customer. By providing value at every stage of the customer journey, brands can foster deeper connections and encourage repeat purchases.
#### 3. **Leverage Data for Personalization**
Personalization is no longer a “nice-to-have” — it’s a necessity. Today’s consumers expect brands to understand their preferences, behaviors, and needs, and to deliver content that is relevant to them. This requires marketers to leverage data and analytics to create personalized experiences at scale.
For example, by using customer data, brands can segment their audience based on demographics, purchase history, and online behavior. This allows them to deliver targeted content that speaks directly to the needs and interests of each segment. Personalization can also extend to the timing and format of content, ensuring that customers receive the right message at the right time, through the right channel.
#### 4. **Create Content for Every Stage of the Lifecycle**
In the traditional funnel, content is often focused on the early stages of the customer journey, such as awareness and consideration. However, in the modern approach, content should be created for every stage of the customer lifecycle, including post-purchase.
For example, after a customer makes a purchase, brands can send follow-up content that helps them get the most out of their product, such as how-to guides, tips, or user-generated content from
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