Our world likes to get personal. Whether that occurs on social media, on reality television, or in the latest tabloid magazine, someone always seems to be spilling all their secrets somewhere. When an individual chooses to be personal, he or she allows others a glimpse into their story. In the B2B industry, getting personal means understanding your audience and delivering the relevant content they need.

Evergage works to deliver real-time web personalization in digital marketing. The company recently published the results of a new survey conducted which examined the expectations and attitudes of 242 B2B and B2C marketers from around the globe, in regards to real-time personalization.

The report, shared on The Business Journals, found that over 90% of marketers currently use or intend to soon use personalization for online customer interactions. Almost half plan to increase budgets in this area and 80% intend to increase budgets for personalization by more than 10%.

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We live in a society of personalization.

  • We personalize our coffee. At one time or another, you have been in line behind someone who took an extra fifteen minutes to make sure his overpriced espresso was made to perfection.
  • We personalize our cable lineup.
  • We personalize our banking services.
  • We personalize our Netflix accounts.
  • We personalize our iPod playlists.

It remains just as important in the B2B industry to personalize content.

Always Remember: The Customer Is the Star

At times, it is easy to forget that the customer is the star, as Direct Marketing notes. They remind us to ask these questions as we develop content strategy:

  1. When my audience takes in the content I have delivered, are they picturing themselves, or are they only seeing my specific brand? B2B content marketing is not a sales pitch. In order to create and deliver content in which the audience sees itself, your first must know who you are speaking to. What is a customer’s role? At what stage in the buying cycle are they finding themselves? What makes them tick?
  2. When I tell my company’s story, is my goal to create an environment in which our target customers will want to take part? B2B content does not have to be boring. Starting to read a book only to find the descriptions boring and the characters lackluster will cause the reader to toss it and find another. However, a book filled with language in which the reader can see themselves as part of the action will make for a page-turner. When you tell your customer’s story, are you creating a page-turner?
  3. What specific advantage does my content provide that is unique to the industry? It becomes more and more difficult to stand out from the crowd, but it is possible. Creating generic content will not help customers make good buying decision; developing engaging content which meets the need and stands out from the competition is what B2B buyers are looking for.

In B2B Marketing, It’s Time to Get Personal

Personalizing content is what will make your company stand out in the B2B industry. Of course, there is a balance between personalized content and a weird I-know-too-much-about-you approach; avoid going overboard with content. Experts suggest going small, then growing your content marketing efforts over time, which can be well worth the time and energy you invest.