Customer pain points are typically the focus of content marketing efforts. But your pain points are a source of content too.
Hear me out. No matter how much your company researches, invest, and educates customers on the best way to use your product or service, your customers will do things that make their lives (and yours) more difficult.
They’ll click that button four times, even though there’s a message on the screen saying the page will take a few moments to process.
They’ll implement your service without coordinating with other teams that may be secondary users.
They’ll skim through the very important contract and have questions about five months down the road.
Turn these frowns upside down and make them into best practices content.
Where to get inspiration
Ask your account managers, sales team, and customer success teams which common mistakes they see customers making. Oftentimes, they have a solution or recommendations for addressing that mistake.
Use these conversation starters when chatting with your colleagues:
When customers do _____, it causes Y to be less effective.
There is a common misconception among customers that ______ will lead to ______. Actually we recommend _________ instead.
Customers often wait until __________ happens before taking action. Here’s a way for them to be more proactive.
Your colleagues are limited to one-on-one interactions or passively hoping customers seek information on the Knowledge Base. You have the opportunity to reach a much wider audience, and to do it proactively.
Crowdsource from your customers
People love sharing their own clever ideas. Ask your customers which “aha” moments they had while using your product or service.
Compile those into blog. The peer validation will make it resonate with your audience more, and the contributors will be more likely to share the content since they helped develop it.
Comfort, don’t criticize
To be effective in this approach, it’s important to remember that your audience won’t be receptive to being scolded.
The audience shouldn’t feel criticized; they should feel helped. You’re providing them with a way to avoid headaches and get the most from their investment in your product.
Even though the starting point is your frustration, filter the content through the lens of helping your audience.
Content titles should look this this:
How to do _____ faster
How Customer X streamlined reporting in our tool
Conversations to have as you select a ______ vendor
Content ideas are everywhere – even around the office Keurig. I hope this idea starter helps you fill a couple slots in your content calendar.