Does Your Content Make Customers Feel Seen?

What causes B2B buyers to forego leader brands and go with a non-leader?

Price is a consideration, of course. But in my experience, this is rarely enough when there's some sort of value-add involved.

When prospects come to me, after getting frustrated with big agencies, their specific complaints vary, but their underlying issue with them is usually the same — they don't feel seen.

They feel big agencies aren't taking the time to understand their industry or specific needs. They feel they're dealing with factories rolling out undifferentiated product who can't be bothered to look them in the eye or listen to what they have to say.

And this is often the nature of leader brands. So if you're a B2B non-leader brand , there's money to be made in making prospects feel seen.

And content is often a non-leader's first chance to make a prospect feel seen (and the only chance if you screw it up).

Can cheap human-made content make prospects feel seen? Not likely. Not just because of the relative skill of the writer (which may or may not be an issue), but also because a low-cost freelance writer simply may not know enough about your particular circumstances and those of your customers.

Can AI-generated blog content do it? In theory, it could, if you're addressing an industry where there's relatively little disagreement about why prospects do what they do, and plenty of content already in existence explaining it.

Can "personalized" AI-generated content do it? Again, in theory it could, in the same circumstances as before. But even then, the quality of the output will only be as good as the quality of your data.

And digital marketing data is fraud-ridden, often inaccurate, usually incomplete, and frequently cobbled together from different sources (often using slightly different definitions).

Hell, two-thirds of marketing leaders don't even trust their own measurements.

Not that data is useless. Experienced humans can be remarkably skilled at making accurate conclusions based on incomplete or partially compromised data.

But with AI, any expert will tell you it’s "garbage in, garbage out."

So B2B non-leader brands must get serious about making prospects feel seen through high-quality human-made content.

It can’t just be about shitty SEO blogs. Sure, they can get the suckers in your tent, but then what? You've still got to close the deal.

If the prospect is in market, you'll need at least one more high-quality content piece that makes them feel seen before asking for contact information.

If they're not in market, you'll need at least one more high-quality piece that makes them feel seen so that they'll follow you or subscribe to your newsletter. Because shitty SEO writing does not inspire people to ask for more.

So, let’s go through what types of content will most likely make prospects feel seen.

E-Books & Guides

This is content where you demonstrate that you can solve your customers’ specific problems, through instructions or advice. And when you’re a non-leader, it may be particularly valuable since you might not have a lot of case studies, success stories, or other social proof yet.

Thought Leadership

Thought leadership is content that demonstrates that your brand has a point of view. It demonstrates that you’re thinking about the same things as your prospects. And that you care about what's on their minds and what worries them. In short, thought leadership demonstrates your brand's active interest in being a contributor in your prospect's industry and not just a vendor.

Live Webinars & “Ask Me Anything” Sessions

Anything that gives you a chance to talk to prospects instead of just talking at them will make them feel seen. Especially if the talking happens in real time. And the best way to do this is to let them ask questions directly, instead of you trying to divine what prospects are asking by feeling the search bumps on Google's head.

Product Selectors

A product selector is a series of online "yes or no" or multiple-choice questions related to the prospect’s circumstances, where at the end you tell them which product or solution you think best matches their needs.

Even though this is an automated process, it you ask the right questions, it creates the impression that you understand your prospect’s type of business, even if you don’t understand the prospect as an individual.

What would you add?