We live in an age in which the customer is in control of the buying journey, and yet, according to recent research, most B2B companies are falling short on delivering the experiences customers want. Customers are more educated, more proactive and more autonomous throughout the buying cycle than ever before. Companies can no longer rely exclusively on SEO tactics and attractive websites to deliver a positive customer experience.

To differentiate themselves and consistently engage customers, companies must deliver a clear, compelling and consistent corporate message across all touchpoints that speaks directly to their customers’ unique needs. And because content plays such a critical role in the buying process and customer experience, you must take a strategic approach to developing customer-centric content — content that is aligned with your corporate messaging, supports specific business goals and speaks to the specific pain points and challenges your customers face.

A study conducted by the Content Marketing Institute found that 60 percent of marketers with a documented content strategy consider their B2B content marketing efforts to be highly effective at accomplishing overall business objectives as compared to 32 percent of marketers who only have a verbal strategy and 11 percent who have no strategy at all.

Customer-centric content doesn’t just happen. It requires a disciplined, intentional approach and a documented content strategy is the key to success. Today’s customers are very savvy and quick to ignore companies that are not delivering meaningful and relevant content. Don’t be tossed to the side. Leverage a customer-centric content strategy to increase and maintain the highest level of engagement throughout the customer journey.