Omni-channel Monday: Hitting the Mark – Involving Stakeholders, Sales, and Service for Effective Content Development

Creating content that resonates requires more than just a creative team. Successful content reflects the full spectrum of the business, incorporating insights from stakeholders, sales, and service. To hit the mark, marketers need to engage these teams, answering the "who," "what," and "why" of content creation. Here's a step-by-step process for ensuring your marketing efforts align with every part of the organization.

Step 1: The “Who” – Aligning with Stakeholders

Objective: Understand the broader business goals and target audience from key stakeholders.

Content that resonates with the right audience requires clarity on who you're targeting. Stakeholders—executive leadership, department heads, and key decision-makers—bring the strategic insight necessary to align content with company goals. They provide high-level direction on the “who”—who the content is for and what broader objectives it should support.

Action: Kick off the content planning process with a meeting involving key stakeholders. In this meeting, focus on clarifying the company's goals, identifying the target audience, and defining the long-term outcomes that content should achieve.

Outcome: A clearly defined audience and alignment with business goals that ensure your content serves both immediate and long-term objectives.

Step 2: The “What” – Collaborating with Sales

Objective: Understand what resonates with customers and prospects from the sales team.

Sales teams have direct contact with prospects and customers. They know the challenges your audience faces, the objections they have, and what motivates them to make a purchase. Engaging sales in the content creation process helps you understand the "what"—what should be communicated to capture your audience’s attention and address their pain points.

Action: Organize a brainstorming session with sales teams to gather insights on frequently asked questions, common objections, and success stories. Sales should provide real-world input on what customers care about most.

Tools: Use collaborative tools like shared documents or whiteboards to capture feedback, ensuring these insights can inform the messaging in your content.

Outcome: Messaging that reflects the real needs and motivations of your audience, creating more targeted and effective content.

Step 3: The “Why” – Engaging the Service Team

Objective: Leverage post-sale feedback from the service team to build trust and long-term relationships.

Your service team plays a critical role in the customer experience after the sale. They know why customers stay loyal, where challenges arise, and what ongoing needs should be addressed. Tapping into this knowledge allows you to address the “why” in your content—why prospects should trust your company for long-term value.

Action: Meet with the service or customer success team to collect feedback on customer experiences, challenges, and any recurring issues. This information can help reinforce trust and show prospects why choosing your company leads to lasting benefits.

Tools: Service data, customer satisfaction surveys, and support tickets can offer valuable insights into common customer concerns and successes.

Outcome: Content that highlights long-term value and post-sale benefits, improving customer retention and trust.

Step 4: Create a Unified Content Plan

Objective: Develop content that brings together insights from all teams—stakeholders, sales, and service.

After gathering input, it’s time to bring everything together. With the "who," "what," and "why" defined, you can now create a unified content plan. This plan should outline the target audience, core messaging, and long-term value propositions.

Action: Draft the content plan, ensuring all teams have visibility into the approach. Gather feedback and refine as needed to ensure that every aspect of the business is represented.

Outcome: A content strategy that reflects the full customer journey and aligns with business goals, sales insights, and post-sale service.

Step 5: Ongoing Check-ins and Feedback Loops

Objective: Maintain alignment throughout the content creation process with regular collaboration.

As content is developed, it’s essential to keep the lines of communication open with all teams. Regular check-ins allow for feedback, ensuring the content stays relevant and aligned with evolving business needs.

Action: Set up periodic check-ins with stakeholders, sales, and service to review drafts, make adjustments, and ensure everyone is on the same page.

Outcome: Continuous alignment and collaboration, ensuring content development remains on track and resonates with its intended audience.

Step 6: Post-Launch Review and Refinement

Objective: Evaluate the performance of the content and refine the process for future campaigns.

Once the content is launched, review key metrics to assess its impact. Share this feedback with all teams involved so that future content can be refined and improved.

Action: After launch, gather performance data such as engagement rates, conversions, and customer feedback. Hold a post-launch meeting to discuss what worked and what didn’t, and use those insights to fine-tune your process.

Outcome: A continuous improvement cycle that leads to more effective, engaging, and well-aligned content in future campaigns.

Conclusion

In today’s omni-channel marketing landscape, creating content that truly hits the mark requires input from every corner of the business. By involving stakeholders to define the "who," sales to clarify the "what," and service to provide insight into the "why," marketers can develop content that resonates with audiences, aligns with business goals, and reflects the full customer journey. This collaborative approach ensures that content creation isn’t done in a vacuum but speaks to every aspect of the business, from acquisition to retention.