By Michelle Etherton, The Partner Marketing Group
Being in the content creation business, we’re always keeping pulse on what buyers want from the content we create for our clients. I recently read a report that drove home one of the biggest considerations for today’s content strategies—B2B buyers want you to get to the point. And fast.
The report I’m referring to is, Time-Starved B2B Buyers Move Toward Shorter, More Targeted Experiences, published by Demand Gen Report and Uberflip. Their survey polled 189 buyers of B2B products, with 1/3 serving the technology/software industry.
The report confirms the demand for content is growing, while attention spans are shrinking. A few key takeaways from the report include:
- 78% rank case studies as the top content type used for research, as well as the most valuable
- More than 60% of buyers prefer content organized by business role or industry
- B2B buyers want more mobile-optimized content
- Prescriptive content that lays out a formula for success is the most popular
- Buyers are willing to share basic information in exchange for content, but hesitate to provide details like phone number and budget
[bctt tweet=”78% of #B2B buyers rank case studies #1 content type for research ” username=”PartnerMktGrp”]
How can you make it easier on your buyers?
With no time to waste, consider how you can make your content easily accessible and consumable for buyers.
- Are you gating too much content and/or asking for too much information?
- Can your buyers quickly find relevant content by role or industry?
- Do you have content for each stage of the buying cycle?
- Are you investing in the right types of content in the right format?
The Case for Case Studies
If you think about it, there’s good reason case studies rank #1 for B2B buyers.
- They’re short and engaging
- They are often targeted to a specific role/industry
- They showcase your expertise from your customer’s perspective (i.e., they trust it)
Case studies are one of the smartest content investments you can make, hands down. If you need help bringing your customer stories to life, contact us for help. We can take care of everything for you and create a traditional 2-page PDF or a modern infographic case study to use across multiple channels—from email campaigns to your blog to social media.
