B2B Content: Gift Boxes or Life Vests?

A few Thanksgivings ago, my family traveled down under for a once-in-a-lifetime vacation spanning both coasts of Australia. We flew to Perth first as supremely delighted passengers of Emirates Air. Our return to the States from Sydney came on a U.S. domestic airline that shall remain nameless.

Upon boarding our first Emirates flight, a flight attendant quickly came to our row with something in hand. She extended a small box to my wife and me. “For your son,” she said sweetly. We handed the parcel to our jubilant 2-year old, who tore into it with typical zealous toddler abandon. It contained a stuffed fuzzy green monster, snacks, a blanket, and other goodies to entertain our little guy.

Fast forward two weeks. As we took our seats for the Sydney-to-Los Angeles leg of our journey home, a flight attendant quickly came to our row. He, too, bore a delivery. He extended a small plastic package to us while stating, “For your son.” 

It was an infant life vest. 

Smart. Practical. There if we needed it. But expected (I'd hope they have life vests as a given).

Both airlines tried to give us a sense of comfort and safety. There was certainly utility in both offerings. But there was an obvious difference.

I think that that pretty much sums up B2B’s all-too-typical content marketing problem. 

Through our content, customers engage with and experience our brands, products, and services, often long before and long after they purchase. Unfortunately, and too often, B2B content is more like the life vest than the gift box. In fact, it might be more apt to describe too much B2B content marketing as DIScontent marketing. 

There is such an abundance of content out there, and it’s growing exponentially. So much volume, so much chatter — and, unfortunately, so much sameness. A sea of assets that are too often focused on hard selling products or "boosting SEO" instead of addressing the issues that really keep buyers up at night. 

And B2B buyers are indeed discontent. According to recent Edelman-Linkedin research, nearly a third of B2B decision makers rate the overall quality of the thought leadership they consume as “mediocre to very poor.” Ouch. Yet, the same study reveals that thought leadership can be effective in influencing purchase decisions – and that decision makers are willing to pay a premium to work with an organization that produces great content over competitors that don’t. 

Content experience is customer experience – throughout and beyond the funnel. And, as it’s commonly held that nearly 70% of the B2B buyer journey is digital, B2B buyers often take much (if not all) of that long trip down the funnel without you. 

So, as you look ahead to 2020 and your marketing content, ask yourself what you’re giving customers and prospects: useful and delightful gift boxes or just something to hold onto if the plane goes down?