B2B Marketing 101: What Is Content Marketing?

Here at Notch Communications, we’re in the business of content marketing — the act of creating unique and engaging content with the goal of attracting leads and generating business for clients. But why do we go to all the effort of creating high-quality, high-impact content pieces when we could just stick a few ads up on Google or LinkedIn and call it a day? 

Well, as you likely know, while adverts are very important in marketing, they are just one piece of the puzzle. Ultimately, marketing can be boiled down to one simple goal: helping people make decisions. When it comes to helping people make decisions, content is incredibly effective. That’s because we all engage with content every day: to learn, to be entertained, and yes — to make decisions. 

Decisions, decisions, decisions

Think about the last time you had to make a big purchase. Maybe you were in the market for a fancy new coffee grinder (guilty), or perhaps a friend of yours was extolling the virtues of their air fryer and you simply had to jump on the bandwagon. How did you decide what to buy? 

This process can be complex. We want to understand the options that are available to us and weigh them up according to what we deem important. Furthermore, buying decisions are rarely a simple rational choice. Purchases are often wrapped up in emotional factors that can sway decisions more than we’d care to admit. Consequently, decision-making can feel daunting and messy. As content marketers, it’s our job to simplify the process.

Navigating the buying landscape

Though decision-making is obviously more complicated, we can break it down into two main phases. The first is information gathering. In this phase, we aren’t weighing up specific options yet but assessing the lay of the land. What features do you want? Which options can you expect within your budget? What does an air fryer even do? The purpose of this phase is exploration, learning about what’s out there and gathering enough information to support the second phase: evaluation.

Once we’ve gleaned enough information about the landscape around the product, we now need to evaluate the different options. During this phase we’re explicitly comparing products, weighing up pros and cons, and making judgements about value. This air fryer has an automatic shut-off feature, but will it look ugly on the countertop? The new model has all the bells and whistles, but should you just get the previous iteration that’s now on sale?

Now, these days your first port of call for decision-making will most likely be the internet. If you’re anything like me, when you need to make a purchase, you jump onto Google and start trawling for useful resources, consuming anything and everything you can find. Blogs, reviews, videos, podcasts — you name it. In fact, a quick Google search for the term “air fryer” throws up a whole host of articles with enticing headlines, such as: What is an air fryer and how do they work? or 15 best air-fryers of 2024, tested by our reviews experts.

These two articles perfectly represent the different phases of decision-making. The first is targeted at information gatherers, providing a general summary of air fryers, diving into how they work, and listing features to look for. The second is for evaluators, with an explicit list of different models, descriptions of features, and links for where to purchase. These results are examples of, you guessed it, content marketing.

Making the link between content and marketing

Businesses know that consumers are looking for information to help them make decisions, so this can be an incredibly effective way to capture potential customers. The first article is actually from the KitchenAid website, and you won’t be surprised to hear that they sell air fryers. With this article, they are hoping to engage consumers who are in the information gathering phase. By doing so, they are putting their name on the map for when these customers move onto the evaluation stage, during which they might now make a purchase from KitchenAid.

This is where us content marketers come in. We take our knowledge of our clients and their industries and combine it with our content creation expertise to develop effective content that can achieve their goals. Our job is to craft content that — when delivered to the right people, at the right time — guides customers towards purchase. 

B2B vs B2C

So far, we’ve focused on consumer-based marketing, as it provides a clear an accessible example of the power of content. But at Notch, we describe ourselves as a business-to-business (B2B) marketing agency. This means that instead of marketing our clients’ products and services to the general public, which is known as business-to-consumer (B2C) marketing, we are marketing to companies and organisations. 

There are some significant differences between the two, but in either case it holds true that an individual person — a decision-maker — is going to be engaging with the content. This person needs information to help them with their decision, whether that’s for themselves or their business. 

The importance of standing out

So, we’ve covered how content can be a powerful tool in a marketer’s arsenal by engaging decision-making customers.  But in today’s landscape of information superabundance, feeling confident about buying decisions is harder than ever. So, in order to achieve our clients’ goals — be that guiding a customer to purchase or improving general brand awareness — we need to be strategic in our approach.

At Notch Communications, we specialise in more than just crafting content, we create compelling narratives that resonate with target audiences. Our process is rooted in understanding our clients’ businesses, industries, and unique challenges. From there, we develop content that not only informs and engages but also strategically guides customers through the decision-making journey.

So, if you’re looking to build brand awareness, nurture leads, or establish thought leadership, our team of experts in science and B2B marketing can ensure that your content stands out from the competition and makes a lasting impact.

Ready to make a big difference for your brand? Get in touch today to discover how we can help your business.