Win Now and Later with Content

I recently had a conversation with a client that left me inspired by what he shared. Leadership had asked him: "What can you do this week to show progress in your marketing efforts?"

This made me think about David M. Cote's principles from Winning Now, Winning Later.

As you likely know, high-quality content is not just nice-to-have; it’s the lifeblood of B2B software companies—not only for growth, but for survival. Content builds brand authority, enhances customer understanding of your product, and decreases your CAC (customer acquisition cost) by fueling your inbound engine, reducing reliance on paid ads.

If done well, content can substantially shorten sales cycles by equipping your sales teams with materials that address the questions and objections of prospects on the verge of converting (more on that here).

Additionally, content goes beyond lead generation by increasing LTV (Customer Lifetime Value) and loyalty through post-purchase resources and information—think how-to videos, infographics, or useful articles (hopefully, like this one).

So, if content is essentially your Swiss army knife for growth across multiple fronts, how can you ensure leadership understands and supports the time and resources required to produce results?

The Dual Approach: Quick Wins and Long-Term Gains

Balancing short-term victories with long-term goals requires a strategic approach. Here are a few tactical ideas to help you achieve both, inspired by David M. Cote's book.

Quick Wins:

1. Refresh and Repurpose Existing Content: Identify high-performing content from the past and give it a fresh twist. Update statistics, add new insights, or convert a blog post into an infographic or well-designed video. This saves time and resources while capitalizing on proven success. Visual content, such as infographics, can engage audiences more effectively and provide a fresh perspective on older content.

2. Leverage Trending Topics: Tap into current industry trends and news. Create timely content like clearly designed whitepapers or videos that address your audience's immediate concerns. This boosts engagement and positions your brand as a thought leader.

3. Optimize for SEO: Perform a quick SEO audit of your website. Update meta descriptions, titles, and keywords for your most valuable content. This can improve your search rankings and drive more traffic almost immediately.

4. Operational Efficiency: Apply Cote's principle of focusing on efficiency without sacrificing quality. Streamline your content creation processes to produce high-quality content faster (this is where we might be able to help, more on that here: Why GDS).

Long-Term Gains:

1. Develop Evergreen Content: Create in-depth, valuable content that remains relevant over time. Think comprehensive guides, how-to articles, well-researched whitepapers, and case studies. These pieces continue to capture and engage audiences long after they’re published. Paying close attention to the design of these assets makes your content uniquely yours—clearer, more engaging, and strategically designed for fast comprehension, ultimately making it more impactful.

2. Build a Content Hub: Establish a central repository for all multi-format content, such as a blog, resource center, or knowledge base with how-to videos. A well-organized content hub enhances user experience and boosts your SEO efforts.

3. Invest in Thought Leadership: Encourage your executives and industry experts to contribute to content. Thought leadership pieces build credibility and trust, positioning your brand as an industry leader. Well-designed whitepapers that showcase expertise can be especially effective in establishing authority and brand presence.

4. Sustained Investment: Reflecting Cote's advice, invest consistently in your content strategy. Dedicate time and resources to developing high-quality content, including videos and whitepapers, even when immediate results aren’t apparent.

Answering the Leadership Question: "What Can You Do This Week?"

Leadership often demands immediate action. Here are the top 3 high-leverage, quick-win activities you can focus on this week to demonstrate progress and set the stage for future success, aligned with the principles from Winning Now, Winning Later:

1. Content Audit: Conduct a quick audit of your top 10 performing pieces of content. Plan to optimize at least three of them for current relevance and SEO. Consider incorporating visual content such as updated infographics or well-designed videos to enhance engagement. This maximizes the value of content that’s already proven successful.

2. SEO Quick Wins: Choose five high-potential pages on your website and update their SEO elements (titles, meta descriptions, keywords). This can result in a quick traffic boost with minimal effort, demonstrating fast results.

3. Create a Trend-Focused Blog Post: Identify a hot topic in your industry. Draft and publish a blog post addressing this trend, offering actionable insights. Pair it with visual content like charts, infographics, or short videos to make the information more digestible and engaging. This positions your brand as timely and relevant, driving immediate engagement.

By focusing on these top 3 activities, you'll be able to show tangible progress this week and lay the groundwork for long-term growth.

Bottom Line

Winning now and later with content requires a balanced approach. By focusing on quick wins and setting the foundation for long-term success, B2B marketers can deliver immediate results while building a sustainable content strategy.

How GDS Can Help

Our mission at GDS is to explain complicated tech into clear, engaging visual content that your audience can actually 'get.' Whether it's software, systems, or solutions, we simplify the hard stuff so you can focus on growth. If you are a B2B tech marketer in need of strategic content design and production, learn more about how we can help here.