Whether via speech, print, events or the internet, content mediates all customer relationship touch points. Content is not just a vertical pillar of digital transformation. It is horizontal across functional silos, mandating new models of collaboration on the critical path of value realization. To drive transformation in an optimized fashion, a multitude of specializations and initiatives must be aligned and activated in multi-layered roadmaps that integrate organizations, human resources, technical capabilities, longer-cycle audience development publishing initiatives, and shorter-cycle campaign type initiatives. In this session, Carlos shows how content-driven roadmaps and collaboration models can bring order to digital transformation chaos.

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Session Notes

Courtesy of Karine Bengualid from Brought to you by the Letter K

“Content is the ‘location, location, location’ of the 21st century,” says Carlos Abler.

What does that mean, exactly? You have to achieve success like a media company would. You have to think about how your content plays out because every facet depends on content. And you have to achieve excellence just like a media company would.

Think about it from different departments’ perspectives (tech, sales, marketing, support, programs, etc.). Each work in silos, but your content can penetrate some, if not all, of these silos because content is always there at every customer touchpoint.

Make sure your content isn’t fragmented between the different areas of the organization that connects with the customer, but rather, it should take your customer through their journey with your brand. All these different departments can have siloed content, but there is an opportunity for alignment and collaboration.  

Three key forces have a very horizontal nature (that breakthrough each silo) when it comes to all the different kinds of organizational, technical, and programmatic silos: content, data, and customer experience.

It’s the customer relationship gestalt—start with the person with the question(s), then the brand is there with the answer(s) to get them to the next place.

Developing a “matrix of excellence” is a way to get everyone in different departments/groups to work across the matrix in a sustainable and accountable way. You need to get these cross-functions to collaborate and work well together.

Allowing these different groups to co-design what the content experience is for customers is the best way to ensure success.

Participatory design is a method for people to create (content and ideas) together. It works even if some of the collaborators have no experience in content by methodically harnessing what they do know and understand in an optimized way.

By gamifying the planning experience, you’re helping everyone focus and you’re driving the brainstorming process to gather specific outcomes.

Micro-muscles—use this exercise to think things through before planning.

1. Map topics to tactics
2. Map tactics to goals and pain points
3. Rationalize where to use in customer journey and why
4. Typical calls-to-action, marketing automation events (behaviors)
5. SLAs and lead scoring
6. Reverse-engineer the goals and numbers

This exercise prepares you to answer the questions: Who are your target audiences? What are the strategic and quantitative goals? What needs, goals, and pain points will your content address? What tactics will you use and how will they help? What are the CTAs linking to? What is the timing and rhythm of publishing? What are your KPIs?

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