There is a reason that companies like Netflix have continued to create value in the marketplace—engagement. Their number one goal is to keep you watching. Every feature and every promotion is geared towards this final outcome. Digital marketers in the B2B space can learn a great deal from the innovations that Netflix has brought to the table.
Content Flows into Content
There is no such thing as a break from ads when you talk about Netflix. If a piece of content is not indirectly promoting a sponsor item, it is hinting at the next piece of content that will flow across the screen (to sell something else). This is the sole purpose of the autoplay feature in Netflix, which Youtube also uses to great effect.
What better time to encourage a prospect to watch your next piece of content than during your current piece of content? Think of how you can incorporate this idea into what you are currently marketing, especially if you have complementary products to sell in tandem.
Content Curation is Not an Imposition
Get over the notion that the customer knows what is best. This is more of a maxim to keep you quiet if you ever get into a direct argument with a customer. In the real world, customers actually love being led into a solution. The primary challenge here is to ensure that you do not offend your prospect in your initial ring-around-the-rosy.
You cannot hope for the next time should you lose engagement with a prospect at any point in time. They have more choice than ever. Even if you are the best choice, who’s to say they will remember your website or phone number after they follow the rabbit hole’s twists and turns around your industry? You’ve forgotten quite a few, haven’t you? Don’t make the mistake of thinking that your brand is somehow more important or exempt from this behavior just because you happen to love it more.
If an international industry leader like Netflix curates its content to customers and prospects to ensure engagement, then you need to do it too.
Capturing Data at Every Available Moment
There is no better way to keep up with a customer journey than to learn so much about that customer that you can find them at any time. Predictive behavioral analysis is always the best data to have, and it is always the most difficult to obtain. You have to get as much data as you can at every available opportunity.
Keep in mind that there is probably no piece of behavioral data that you won’t use at some other time. Make the investment in the tools that allow for trend creation, opt-in lists, and other data capture methodologies. You may seem a bit imposing at first, but your customers will thank you for it later when your content curation becomes more precise.
There is more competition entering the marketplace on a daily basis. The earlier that you implement the best practices above, the better your results will be. Regardless of how you tweak the template, engagement should always be at the core of your planning. And always remember: If Netflix isn’t overlooking it, then you can’t either!
