Lead nurturing and content marketing are a dynamic combination. Delivering relevant content at the perfect time is a great way to build your brand’s value in the eyes of your customers. But what kind of content do you need for a successful lead nurturing program? What should you send, and when should you send it?

Let’s walk through the entire customer lifecycle and take a look at the types of content that can be a great fit for each stage. We’ll use a fictional company, Mr. Roboto, Inc., to demonstrate how to sell robotic office workers to small businesses with content-driven lead nurturing.

Mapping Content To The Lifecycle

Each stage of the B2B buyer’s lifecycle is unique, and as a marketer, you’ve got to reach your prospects and customers on their own terms throughout their journey, from awareness and interest to consideration, conversion, and expansion.

Awareness

This is your opportunity to attract the buyer’s attention. Focus on their issues, problems and pain points. Content types might include:

• Social media
• Advertising
• Sponsorships
• PR
• Blog posts
• Events
• Webinars

Ideally, you should deliver content from industry experts at this stage as well as your own insights. So, for example, the marketing team at Mr. Roboto might post an invitation on social media like this: “Attend this virtual conference with robotics experts to learn how androids solve staffing issues for innovative companies.”

Interest

Capture the attention – and information – of your prospects with content that provides solutions to specific problems. Educate and help them evaluate buying criteria with more in-depth content, including:

• Webinars
• White papers
• eBooks
• Analyst reports
• Videos
• Reviews

At this stage, the marketing team might send an email: “Join this webinar with experts from Mr. Roboto to see what it takes to successfully implement an all-automaton workforce.”

Consideration

Now it’s time to demonstrate your brand’s value and show what it’s like to buy from you. Content for consideration might include:

• Product demos
• Data sheets
• Product trials
• Pricing
• Case studies
• Testimonials
• Vendor comparisons
• Implementation data
• Webinars

With an increasing amount of insight into their prospects, the marketing team can send content tailored to the interests of prospects. An offer at this stage might be: “Looking for robot contractors? Read this case study to see how a travel agency saved money and improved customer satisfaction by switching to robot workers.”

Conversion

When prospects actually buy, it’s your job to make the process as easy as possible – and to validate their decision. This kind of content is appropriate here:

• Live and video-based training
• Live and on-demand webinars
• Self-guided training options
• User guides
• Demos of add-on products and services

This is also the time to begin implementation training and offer professional services. For example: “Just for new customers! Watch this video to learn how you can break the bad news to your biological employees.”

Expansion

Continue the learning process after the purchase and check in often. Provide customers with information on new features, plus upsell, cross-sell, and loyalty campaigns.

• Customer communities
• VIP/advocacy programs
• Newsletters and emails
• Phone calls
• Live and on-demand webinars

At this point, Mr. Roboto’s marketing team might send current customers a newsletter: “Join this webinar to find out how the Robot 3.0 upgrade will affect you. (Spoiler alert: you will be exterminated.)”

Ready to put your own content-driven lead nurturing program into action? Get this workbook for developing a lead scoring program and download this guide to creating a content marketing strategy.

Read more: The 9 Parameters of a Lead Lifecycle