There’s never been a better time for supply chain and logistics businesses to implement a content marketing strategy — except for maybe yesterday.

Content marketing is a form of inbound marketing in which vendors publish digital content to attract customers who are searching for products and services like theirs. If done right, it is highly effective in growing brand awareness, generating and converting leads, and driving sales and repeat business.

Think content marketing isn’t for supply chain and logistics businesses? Guess again. Here are five reasons why companies in these industries should use content marketing.

5 reasons to use content marketing

1. Buyers use content to make purchasing decisions.

The B2B buying landscape has shifted dramatically in the last 10 years. Buyers no longer rely on sales reps to make purchasing decisions; they turn to the internet. Companies must shift to accommodate buyers at various levels of self-sufficiency in the purchasing process.

The reality is that 94% of B2B buyers use online research. That means they’re judging whether or not to buy from your business based on the kind of digital content you publish (or do not publish, as the case may be). Consider these stats:

• 95% of B2B buyers are willing to consider vendor-related content as trustworthy.
• 51% more B2B buyers rely on content to make purchasing decisions than they did last year.
• 47% of B2B buyers consume 3 to 5 pieces of content before engaging with a sales person.

2. Control the conversation in your favor.

Customers go online to discuss their buying experiences — both positive and negative. If a potential buyer googles your business’ name, what will they find?

Content marketing puts you in the driver’s seat of reputation control. If you publish thought-provoking blog posts about industry trends, you can earn a reputation as a thought leader in the space. If you curate the latest articles about relevant happenings, people will begin to view your social media accounts as a resource for industry news. Be professional, quirky, clever, ahead of your time, youthful, wise, funny, off-color — whatever your brand is, you can set that reputation by what you publish online.

3.  Present yourself as a solution.

When prospects go online they are looking for information and for answers. Position yourself as an expert who fully understands their problems and how to solve them by publishing content that anticipates their pain points. Quickly and fully respond to customer queries on social media. Use content marketing as an opportunity to be the solution prospects are looking for, right when they need it most.

4. Content marketing is more effective than traditional marketing.

Companies in the supply chain and logistics space have a lot to gain by modernizing their marketing tactics. We see this every day with our clients. With the evolving B2B buying landscape, ads in industry publications no longer cut it as a “marketing strategy.”

Take two examples under consideration. How about TotalTrax, a warehousing technology company that grew new business by 30% with content marketing? Or 3PL Cerasis, who gained 98 customers from its content marketing efforts? Content marketing works, and that’s been proven time and again with logistics and supply chain businesses.

5. Your competitors are doing it.

Content marketing is already a widespread practice within the supply chain and logistics industries. If you’re not producing content to attract prospects and retain customers, you’re missing out.

This year, 75% of marketers are increasing their investments in content marketing. Why? Because it works. Successful content marketers experience drastically more site growth than their competitors. In fact, content marketing leaders experience 7.8 times more site traffic than their competitors.

In sum, content = customers. If you’re not using content marketing as part of your marketing program, you’re going to get left behind, if you’re not already.

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