How Can SMEs and Start-ups Find New Customers Using Content?
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Unlocking the Power of Content: A Go-to-Market Strategy for SMEs and Tech Products
Content is a pivotal go-to-market (GTM) tool for online and product-first content, offering a multitude of benefits to companies looking to expand their reach, build their brand, and acquire new leads. Particularly in European countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, and France, where language is intricately tied to culture, localized content becomes a linchpin in a successful marketing and sales strategy.
This article will investigate how content can unlock a low-budget marketing and go-to-market strategy for corporates and start-ups.
The Power of Content for Online Products and Services
Product-first companies and SMEs face unique challenges as the competition grows, especially due to the artificial intelligence (AI) and deep tech-based tools available. Many product-first companies have innovative products but need help communicating their value to potential customers or explaining why the sale is important. Often, big budgets are allocated for marketing and sales, neglecting content, the most economical and effective GTM tool available. As a matter of fact, strategic content marketing can bridge the gap between product innovation and market adoption, driving growth and revenue.
Content is more than just words on a page. It's a strategic asset that can inform, educate, and persuade any target audience. For product-first companies, content serves multiple purposes, such as:
Educating the Market: Innovative products often require a level of education to help potential customers understand their benefits and applications. Content can simplify complex concepts, making them accessible and relatable.
Building Trust and Authority: High-quality content can position companies or executives as thought leaders in their industry. By providing valuable insights and solutions, content has the power to build trust with the target audience, making them more likely to consider the underlying product or service.
Driving Engagement and Leads: Content that resonates with the target audience encourages engagement, whether through blog comments, social media shares, or direct inquiries. This engagement can be nurtured into leads and, eventually, sales.
Supporting the Sales Process: Well-crafted content can be a powerful tool for any sales team. Case studies, whitepapers, and how-to guides provide valuable resources that can help close deals by addressing specific pain points and demonstrating your product's value.
Benefits of Content Marketing for Product-First Companies
1. Amplifying Reach and Visibility
Content marketing extends the reach of your brand beyond traditional advertising. By creating and distributing valuable content, you can attract a wider audience. This is particularly important for product-first companies that may not have established brand recognition. Through search engine optimization (SEO) and social media sharing, content can reach potential customers who are actively searching for solutions to their problems.
2. Cost-Effective Marketing
Compared to traditional marketing methods, content marketing is highly cost-effective. While it requires an investment of time and resources to create high-quality content, the long-term benefits far outweigh the costs. Content has a lasting impact and can continue to attract and convert customers long after it's published.
3. Enhancing Customer Relationships
Content provides an opportunity to engage with your audience on a deeper level. By addressing their needs and challenges, you show that you understand and care about their success. This not only helps in building stronger relationships but also fosters customer loyalty. Satisfied customers are more likely to become repeat buyers and advocates for your brand.
4. Supporting Product Launches and Updates
When launching a new product or updating an existing one, content can play a crucial role in generating buzz and excitement. Teasers, blog posts, and videos can create anticipation and provide detailed information about the features and benefits of your product. This ensures that your target audience is well-informed and eager to try your latest offering.
5. Providing Valuable Insights
Content marketing is not a one-way street. Through content, companies can gather valuable insights into your audience's preferences, behaviors, and pain points. Analyzing engagement metrics, comments, and feedback helps you refine your marketing strategies and product offerings. This data-driven approach ensures that your efforts are aligned with your audience's needs.
Approaching New Markets: The Importance of Localized Content
Content can be pivotal while exploring new opportunities and clients in new markets. In a market where companies have no brand recognition or network, content can be used to bridge the gap and create trust. However, companies should be cautious about content in new markets.
When creating content for foreign markets, companies need to think in local terms and consider local sensitivities, which is quite complex compared to translation. Localization goes beyond mere translation. It involves adapting content to resonate with the local culture, values, and nuances of a specific market in the scope of the product or service. In Europe, where linguistic diversity is significant, localized content ensures that the message is not only understood but also appreciated by the target audience.
Why is localization important for content strategy?
Cultural Relevance: In countries like Germany, Netherlands and France, cultural nuances play a critical role in consumer behavior. Localized content respects these nuances, creating a deeper connection with the audience. For example, using local idioms, references to local events, or cultural symbols can make your content more relatable and engaging. These nuances can even differ among regions.
Trust and Credibility: Consumers are more likely to trust brands that communicate in their native language. By localizing your content, you demonstrate respect for the local culture and language, which in turn builds trust and credibility with your audience.
Increased Engagement: Localized content tends to have higher engagement rates. When people see content that speaks directly to their experiences and interests, they are more likely to engage with it, share it, and act upon it. In addition, localized content prevents misunderstandings and creates a clear and concise brand message.
Further Content Marketing Tips: SEO Optimization for Localized Content
Search Engine Optimization (SEO), the practice of improving the quality and quantity of website traffic, is the cornerstone of driving organic traffic to a website and app. When combined with localization, SEO can significantly enhance visibility and reach in specific markets.
Localized Keywords: Thorough keyword research should be conducted for each target market. Keywords that work in English-speaking markets may not be as effective in markets like Germany. Use localized keywords that your target audience is searching for to ensure your content ranks high in local search results.
Local Search Engines: While Google is dominant globally, other search engines like Bing or local directories also hold significant market shares in certain regions. Optimizing your content for these platforms as well to maximize your reach.
Geo-Targeting: Use geo-targeting strategies to ensure that your content reaches the right audience would improve your chances. This includes using local domains (like .de for Germany or .fr for France) and creating content that is specifically tailored for each region.
Content Marketing and SEO: Benefits to Organizations
Localized content and SEO optimization offer a plethora of benefits to organizations looking to expand their footprint in European markets, including but not limited to:
Organic Growth: By appearing in local search results, your brand gains visibility among potential customers who are actively seeking your products or services. This organic growth is not only cost-effective but also sustainable in the long run.
Brand Building: Consistently producing high-quality, localized content helps in establishing your brand as an authority in the market. It shows that you understand and cater to the unique needs of your local audience, thereby strengthening your brand image.
Lead Acquisition: Engaging and relevant content attracts potential leads. With effective calls-to-action and localized landing pages, you can convert these leads into customers. Additionally, localized content can be leveraged in email marketing campaigns, social media, and other digital marketing channels to nurture leads further down the sales funnel.
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Content as a Go-to-Market Strategy: The EU Go-to-Market Example
Many start-ups and SMEs assume that using English content will enable them to find international customers or succeed with their GTM projects in Europe. Although, in theory, English content enables international access and recognition, the customer intent and approach are the make-or-break factors in this GTM equation.
When planning content marketing for a different country, marketers should first understand the language proficiency and comfort levels of the local (B2C or B2B) customers. In Europe, many consumers in bigger cities have good levels of English. However, if someone can speak English, it doesn't automatically mean they are comfortable talking or reading English.
These conclusions can differ regarding education, personal preferences, lifestyle, and whether the consumer was raised watching dubbed (e.g., Germany) or original (e.g., the Netherlands) TV content. For instance, in a country like the Netherlands, where many locals can speak English fluently, consumers might use English daily and, therefore, be comfortable using English terms and keywords while looking for products or services.
However, in countries like Germany, Austria, and France, where English-speaking is more the exception, regardless of how well individual customers speak English, they might be more inclined to use German, Austrian, and French keywords while looking for products and services.
There are also cases where consumers prefer local products for sensitive and trust-based services, like banking, money management, legal services, education, health, etc. For example, in Germany, finance, banking, and health services strictly point to German language search intentions as consumers think in their native language while searching for services. As a result, English content won't be displayed among the search results for these customers, making the English-content-only Fintech and Healthtech products and services invisible.
Even in countries like Germany, where the local language has clear search result superiority, exceptions might apply for more globalized services like gaming or deep tech.
For services that are preferred in English, the use of English will be necessary as the use of English can differ from region to region, changing the consumer approach and search result rankings. Although English is used widely in areas like Brussels or Amsterdam, locals might use different keywords or spellings while searching for similar services.
The same rule applies to a decision related to American English vs. British English. Therefore, if marketers want the intended content to be found organically by the locals, they should perform a keyword search and understand the preferred search language of the customers.
In this scope, marketers should remember that B2B and B2C customers function alike as the representatives of B2B clients are consumers and search for products or services in the way other consumers would think. For example, a German bank executive might need "AI consultants" or "risk management software." Still, they will likely perform this search in German as they think in German, their native language, and imagine a German search will provide more relevant results.
In summary, if customers are not searching or reading in English, the content marketing efforts might not convert into tangible results. Companies might know about the customers that reached out to them, but what about the customers they didn't know about? Any company might be losing a potential customer to a German or Dutch-speaking competitor as we speak unless they localize their content. Therefore, a prior language/keyword search and localization are crucial for any successful GTM project and earning international clients.
Conclusion: Understanding the Role of Content
The power of content as a go-to-market tool cannot be overstated, especially in diverse and culturally rich markets like Germany, BeNeLux, Poland, France or Greece. By localizing your content and optimizing it for search engines, you can create a robust and low-cost marketing and sales strategy that drives organic growth, builds your brand, and acquires valuable leads. Embrace the nuances of each market, respect the language and culture, and watch as your brand flourishes in the European landscape.
Do you need low-cost marketing ideas for your products and services? By integrating localized content and strategic SEO practices, you can position your brand at the forefront of your industry, capturing the hearts and minds of European consumers. Let’s make your content a cornerstone of your success. Check out or references or contact us directly to discuss content-based growth and GTM strategies.
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