We are creating content that customers want, but it feels like the story we actually want to convey isn't being properly delivered
This is a concern that Elifunt has heard most frequently while meeting with numerous clients. While most companies strive to create trendy content and deliver professional insights for organic marketing, they often fail to properly convey their intrinsic values and authentic stories. This concern is inevitably deeper, especially for B2B companies dealing with complex technology or specialized services.
What are the concerns when planning B2B content marketing?
“ We support digital transformation with AI-based RPA solutions
“ We provide customized consulting based on proven know-how
innovate the industry paradigm with blockchain technology .”
Doesn't this sound familiar? The sentences above are phrases commonly found in content from many B2B companies. However, such messages do not resonate with the customers they are actually targeting. Why is that?
1. I don't know what language the customer understands.
The biggest problem is that we are speaking only from a corporate perspective. “AI-based,” “digital transformation,” and “proven know-how” are familiar to us, but to actual customers, they sound abstract and vague. That is why we end up receiving additional questions like this.
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how does this help our company
“What changes will occur if we actually implement it?”
“ How are other companies utilizing it ?”
While it is important to highlight a company's expertise, it is of no use if you cannot explain it in the customer's language.
2. It is difficult to promote our technology to the working-level staff.
Many B2B companies produce white papers, technical blogs, and trend reports. However, since most cover similar keywords and topics, our company's true strengths are not effectively revealed.
Listing difficult terms to demonstrate expertise or overusing keywords like AI and big data to emphasize trends can actually backfire. It is more important to convey the actual value our technological capabilities and know-how create, and the changes they can bring to the client's business.
3. It doesn't seem to be of much help to sales.
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“View counts are increasing, but the number of leads with a real purchasing potentialis decreasing.”
“It takes a month to create just one piece of content, but the sales team says they hardly use it.”
Marketing teams invest significant time and effort into content creation, but it is often not properly utilized in the actual sales field. While keyword-centric content designed for search optimization can boost general traffic, it is difficult to capture the attention of actual purchasing decision-makers.
To solve these problems, a different approach from before is required.
Changes in the B2B Market: Time for a New Content Strategy!
To overcome these limitations, a different approach from before is required. This is especially true considering the recent changes in the B2B market.
Purchasing decision-makers are undergoing a generational shift. The new generation of decision-makers searches for and evaluates information differently from previous generations. They place greater importance on a company's philosophy and culture, as well as actual customer experience, rather than the specifications of products or services.
The digital transformation of businesses has also played a role in this change. Unlike the past, which was centered on face-to-face meetings and proposals, online content now has a greater influence on purchasing decisions.
As the Elifunt team met with B2B companies of various sizes and industries, we also realized that our approach must change to keep pace with the evolving market.
So, we came to create a new content format called 'Core Content'.
What is 'core content'?
Core content premium content that deeply conveys a company's intrinsic value. Going beyond simple product introductions or industry trend analyses, it tells the company's true story in the customer's language.
What is 'intrinsic value' here? It is the reason we started this business, the future of the industry we envision, and our unique way of solving customers' problems. Such values are characterized by the fact that they are difficult to convey through product specifications or service introductions alone.
That is why we need a story created by the combination of the expertise of the company's members, know-how accumulated in the field, and insights gained through countless trials and errors.
Content where building brand value is more important than short-term results
This core content focuses on building the brand's long-term value rather than short-term results . The goal is to secure a sustainable competitive advantage in the market, rather than immediate lead generation or traffic growth. Delivering this intrinsic value is becoming even more important, especially in the current B2B market where functional differentiation of products or services is becoming increasingly difficult
In reality, many B2B companies possess outstanding technical capabilities and expertise, but they struggle to communicate them effectively. Core Content bridges this gap. It transforms technical excellence into tangible value for customers and unfolds expertise through authentic stories.
Above all, core content is not just for the marketing team. It is reliable content that captures the voices of every member of the company, making it something that can be confidently utilized in the sales field.
Core Content: 3 Features You Must Know Before Writing
So, how should you write this kind of core content? We have summarized it based on insights from Elifunt, a content growth marketing specialist
1. Interview-based authenticity
The most significant feature of our core content is that it is always based on interviews with company members. From the CEO's vision and developers' technical concerns to the stories of customers the sales team meets in the field, these vivid voices come together to paint a picture of the company's true face.
2. Translate into the customer's language
No matter how outstanding the technology or service may be, it is meaningless if the customer cannot understand it. Core content reinterprets professional material from the customer's perspective.
For example, it involves describing the “blockchain-based distributed ledger technology” promoted by companies as a “method for managing transaction records more securely and transparently.”.
3. Delivering the company's intrinsic value
Beyond product features or service processes, we convey why we do this work, what problems we aim to solve, and what future we envision. This serves as the foundation for building a long-term relationship of trust that goes beyond simple purchasing decisions.
Core Content Creation Guide: How Should I Create It?
1. Designing an Interview
The starting point of core content is the interview. To draw out a company's true story rather than simply explaining products or services, interviews from three perspectivesare necessary.
🎙️ 3 Interviews for Core Content Creation
- Vision Interview This interview, aimed at CEOs and executives, delves deeply into the company's raison d'être and future vision. It explores topics such as "why the business was started," "what problems the company aims to solve," and "how the industry is expected to change in the future.".
- Solution Interview We uncover technical differentiators through conversations with the people who actually create products or services, such as developers and engineers. Rather than simply describing features, we capture the story of the development process, including why a particular approach was chosen and the thought process behind the creation of this solution.
- On-site interview We listen to the actual voice of the market through members who interact directly with customers, such as the sales team and CS team. We collect vivid stories from the field, including frequently asked questions, concerns, and post-implementation feedback.
2. Structuring the Story
If you have collected diverse stories through interviews, you must now weave them into a single, consistent message. The key here is to structure the story around the customer's journey, rather than our company's perspective.
For example, you can unfold the story following a flow that covers the problems the customer was struggling with when they found your company, their concerns leading up to the decision to adopt the service, and the actual changes they experienced. This structure allows potential customers to easily relate the story to their own situations and understand it.
The story completed in this way goes beyond simple product or company introductions, enabling us to authentically convey our company's values and expertise.
If you are still hesitating about core content, join content experts 'Elifunt'!
The value of the core content is undeniable. However, the only drawback is that the actual production process is formidable. This is because it is an area that requires expertise, ranging from interview design to content creation and distribution strategies.
In such cases, consider collaborating with a professional partner. Elifunt is a content marketing specialist based on SEO and growth marketing, andis the optimal partner for core content production.
Beyond simple content creation, we accompany you through the entire process, from establishing strategies tailored to your company's situation to measuring actual performance. In particular, through content distribution strategies based on SEO expertise, we help ensure your content effectively reaches your target customers.
Are you currently wondering what story your company truly wants to tell and how to better convey it to your customers? Elifunt will be with you from the very beginning of that process.
If you need a way to promote your company's 'core,' join Elifunt!
