3 ways marketers can meet customers’ changing content needs in 2023

By Dave O’Flanagan, chief product officer

The digital world is constantly changing, and with it, consumer behavior. But, despite this continuous change, one thing remains central to a positive, rewarding customer experience (CX): content.

Our research has found that just 5% of content gets the vast majority of customer attention. And with content expected to grow by 20% by 2030, managing this ever-increasing catalog of blog posts, whitepapers, eBooks, webinars, demos, videos and other content has become a task on a scale that rivals the sorcerer’s apprentice battle against the water-carrying brooms.

There is a growing category of technologies that can help marketing teams of all sizes manage their content while also strengthening their customer engagement through elevated customer experiences. These solutions enable content creators to work alongside IT on a unified platform to build marketing assets and get them live on corporate sites more quickly. Other solutions help consumers better navigate websites to locate the content they seek on their preferred channel and in their preferred format.

1. Provide a CX entry point

Many small and medium-sized organizations may blanch at the prospect of implementing a fully integrated marketing tech stack. Misconceptions of the IT and marketing resources required to implement and maintain the platforms needed to launch and manage CS across all their digital channels - from the web and mobile to voice assistants and smart displays - can cause teams to opt for the status quo.

For these organizations, a platform such as Content Hub can serve as the nerve center of a content program. A single platform on which developers can build CX frameworks and content creators simultaneously produce and design the assets that will populate them may feel far-fetched but it’s not. Our headless CMS, Content Hub One provides these marketing teams a low-risk way to begin delivering digital experiences.

When paired with a cloud-based content management system (CMS), platforms like Content Hub One can equip an organization to create assets, manage them and deliver content to consumers in a simple and agile way. This powerful combination not only enables consumers to locate the information they seek but also ensures that they are served the most current and accurate content available. Research has found that poor or outdated content lowers the likelihood of closing a sale by 40%.

2. Use AI-powered search

The best content in the world, however, is worthless if a consumer cannot find what they are looking for in the moment. It’s one of the reasons brands spend up to 10% of their marketing budgets on search engine optimization (SEO). In fact, global spending on SEO is forecast to exceed $122bn in just five years.

And, while marketers invest heavily in making sure that their site and pages organically rise to the top of the first page of results, many overlook the results returned via their own site’s search function. Search and the discovery of content has never been more imperative for brands. Consumers have notoriously short attention spans; customers will jump to another site within an average of 45 seconds if they are unable to find what they are looking for.

Increasingly, brands are using the power of AI to keep users on their sites. Powered by AI, Sitecore Search, for example, supports the search and discovery of a wide array of content formats. Sitecore Search empowers marketing teams with an intelligent search solution that personalizes how content is matched, presented and promoted to reflect the specific needs of a consumer. AI powers capabilities, including predictive “type ahead” functionality that enables customers to locate results quickly, as well as the ability to promote content based on customer feedback.

3. Ensure ease of integration

Organizations with limited IT resources can benefit from the trend toward low-code and no-code interfaces that enable the integration of platforms like Content Hub One and Sitecore Search into their existing technology stack. Sitecore Connect provides a drag-and-drop user interface that makes it easy for anyone to connect Sitecore products to their customer relationship management (CRM), digital commerce, customer support, security and other IT solutions.

The CDP Institute found that when considering a martech solution, ease of integration was the leading criterion. Two-thirds of marketers said that integration among marketing and other internal solutions was required. When considering any marketing technology platform, leaders need to ask potential vendors questions such as:

● Is the platform flexible? Will you be locked into the vendor’s ecosystem or have the freedom to assemble a best-of-breed solution?

● How difficult is it to maintain the solution? With today’s labor shortage and tight technology job market, will you be able to find a team with the skills needed to support the platform?

● Does the available budget match the vendor’s proposal? Will the vendor provide customer references that can speak to the implementation process?

An evolving market

Staying on top of trends and innovations in content marketing and the management of digital brand assets is a continuous process. Sitecore is committed to supporting brands and to providing tools and platforms that enable them to stay ahead of customer behavior and expectations and deliver positive customer engagements and experiences.