This Master's thesis explores whether there are content stimuli that are best suited to a specific stage of the customers' buying cycle. In other words, is there a connection between the engagement of website visitors and their current stage within the buying cycle? To study this relationship, an external webpage of IBM and its sub-pages are used to analyze webpage visitors' click and scroll behavior and to assess their interest in the presented content assets. The exploratory investigation was undertaken based on three online surveys with a total sample of 234 participants.
The age of classical advertising is over. The introduction of digital technology and the spread of the Internet have led to radical changes in the way companies meet the expectations and interests of their stakeholders. In digital communication, content marketing plays a major role in achieving business benefits. In fact, valuable B2B content marketing initiatives can drive website traffic, customer engagement, and inbound leads, which yield sales and retain customers. In the context of this digital environment, companies increasingly aim to provide relevant, engaging content assets to acquire new leads and create business benefits.
This raises the following question: What digital content assets encourage website visitor engagement and how does this relate to customer progress in the B2B buying cycle? According to the literature, content that is consistent, timely and contains exclusivity messages that matter to the target audience lead to engagement. However, engagement is obviously dependent on individual customer needs, motives, and goals. It should, therefore, be interesting for companies to know how to turn their website visits into engaged visits, but research on engagement combined with content marketing is scarce—especially in the B2B context.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
1.1 Initial Situation
1.2 Research Question and Objectives
1.3 Structure
2 Fundamentals
2.1 B2B Buying Process
2.1.1 Customer Journey
2.1.2 How to Acquire Leads: The Sales Funnel
2.1.3 Hierarchy-of-Evidence
2.2 Content Marketing and Engagement
2.2.1 Content Assets to Engage Customers
2.2.2 Content KPIs
2.2.3 Hierarchy-of-Evidence
3 Hypotheses
3.1 Website Visitors’ Engagement
3.1.1 Customer Engagement and Buying Stage
3.1.2 Customer Engagement and Involvement
3.1.3 Customer Expectation Fulfillment and Buying Stage
3.2 Website Design
3.2.1 Heat Mapping
3.2.2 Content Asset Preferences
3.3 Overview of the Hypotheses
4 Methodology
4.1 Surveys
4.1.1 Sample
4.1.2 Design, Instrumentation and Procedure
4.1.3 Measures
4.1.4 Pre-Test
4.1.5 Data Analysis
4.2 Website Analysis
4.2.1 Heat Mapping
4.2.2 Content Assets
5 Results and Discussion
5.1 Results of H1
5.2 Results of H2
5.3 Summary of Results
5.4 Quality Criteria
5.5 Managerial Implications and Discussion
6 Limitations and Further Research
6.1 Strengths and Limitations
6.2 Implications for Future Research
6.3 Concluding Remarks
Research Objectives and Key Themes
This research aims to identify which digital content assets best encourage engagement among website visitors in the B2B IT sector and how this engagement correlates with the visitors' stage in the buying cycle. By analyzing click and scroll behavior on IBM landing pages, the study seeks to optimize website design and content strategies to better align with customer journey needs.
- Correlation between B2B customer buying phases and website engagement
- Influence of customer profile and IT involvement on online engagement
- Evaluation of website design through heat mapping and click analytics
- Identification of effective content assets for lead generation
Excerpt from the Book
1.1 Initial Situation
As a consequence of globalization, increasing international competition and digitalization, today’s organizations are forced to find new ways to challenge their competition through other than the classical strategies of introducing superior products, better services or lower prices (Repoviené, 2017, p. 37). In this context, the issue of content marketing has received considerable attention. Recently, researchers have shown an increasing interest in content marketing as a strategically important marketing approach (Aguilera-Moyano, Baños-González, & Ramírez-Perdiguero, 2015, p. 519; Ahmad, Musa, & Harun, 2016, p. 331). The advantage of content marketing is that it can offer an informatory, entertaining and consultative way to provide value to different target audiences (Järvinen & Taiminen, 2016, p. 164; Kietzmann, Hermkens, McCarthy, & Silvestre, 2011, p. 241; Wiersema, 2013, p. 470).
In addition, content marketing is considered one of the most frequently accessed online information sources for business-to-business (B2B) customers: A study by Adamson, Dixon and Toman (2012, p. 60) found that B2B customers rely heavily on online information before conducting a purchase. The study asked 1,400 B2B customers about their purchasing decisions and found that they tend to finish approximately 60% of a typical purchasing process before contacting a seller. Thus, especially in the early stages of the customers’ buying cycle, in which customers become aware of a product or solution and read advertisements or visit a company’s social media pages, content marketing plays an important role in attracting the target audience’s attention to the brand (Du Plessis, 2017, p. 1).
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: Provides the context of B2B digital transformation and defines the research scope concerning content marketing within the IT industry.
2 Fundamentals: Establishes the theoretical background by reviewing the B2B buying process, the sales funnel, and existing research on content marketing and engagement.
3 Hypotheses: Formulates specific hypotheses regarding the relationship between visitor engagement, buying stages, IT involvement, and content asset preferences.
4 Methodology: Details the empirical study design, including the use of three online surveys and heat-mapping tools to gather data for hypothesis testing.
5 Results and Discussion: Presents the statistical analysis of survey and tracking data, evaluates the hypotheses, and discusses managerial implications.
6 Limitations and Further Research: Critically evaluates the study's constraints, such as sample representativeness and methodology, and proposes directions for future academic inquiry.
Keywords
Content Marketing, Website Engagement, Customer Journey, B2B, Sales Funnel, Heat Mapping, Lead Generation, IT Industry, User Experience, Digital Marketing, Expectancy Fulfillment, Buying Cycle, Click Analytics, Customer Involvement, Inbound Marketing
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this thesis?
The thesis focuses on how B2B companies in the IT sector can utilize targeted content marketing to increase website visitor engagement and guide them through different stages of the customer buying journey.
What are the core thematic areas?
The core themes include the B2B buying process, customer journey mapping, the sales funnel model, website design optimization using heat mapping, and the measurement of customer engagement via content KPIs.
What is the main research objective?
The primary research objective is to analyze which specific content stimuli are most effective at engaging potential buyers at different stages of their buying cycle.
Which methodology is employed in this research?
The study employs a mixed-method approach, combining theoretical literature review with empirical data from three online surveys and website behavior tracking via heat-mapping software.
What does the main part of the work cover?
The main part covers the theoretical definitions of B2B buying processes, the development of hypotheses regarding visitor behavior, and the empirical application of these theories through an IBM case study.
How are the key terms for this research defined?
The research characterizes engagement through a behavioral lens, defining an "engaged visit" as one that results in a significant action such as a click on a linked page, video, or download.
What role does the IBM website play in this study?
The IBM website serves as a practical, real-world example to examine how a B2B enterprise uses various digital assets to influence potential customer behavior and facilitate the buying process.
What are the implications for practitioners?
Practitioners are advised to align website content with the user's specific buying stage and to prioritize interactive, experiential assets like product demos to drive higher engagement and lead conversion.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Kim-Cheyenne Greiner (Autor:in), 2018, B2B Content Marketing and Buyer Stage. How to Engage Website Visitors with Appropriate Content, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/944693
