This report details our findings about which content tactics B2B marketing organizations are using, and which distribution channels are most effective in the after-sales cycle. This data should help CMO’s invest in the right content marketing tactics for executing their post-sales content marketing strategy.

1. Rethinking Post Sales Content Marketing Survey Report
June 2013
Post-Sales
Content
Marketing
Trends 2013
Research

2. 2013 Post-Sales Content Marketing
Trends
With over 90,500 searches on Google every month, content marketing is soon moving from
being just a hype to an established discipline. While the popularity of content marketing is yet
to surpass Social Media Marketing which has around 300,000 searches a month, marketers are
soon realizing the importance of content marketing and the need to fit it in their traditional
marketing mix.
Regalix Research has conducted a study to help marketers overcome this challenge at various
stages of the customer lifecycle. Earlier in April 2013, Regalix Research released a report on
Content Marketing Trends for the year 2013 to enable marketers to map various content tactics
to their pre-sales objectives. The current report comes as a follow-up and covers the content
marketing strategies for post-sales stages.
Marketers dedicate a majority of their time on initiatives that create awareness and influence
the purchase decisions of their customers. The activities post-sales are usually neglected,
resulting in marketers losing out on golden opportunities to build large scale customer
engagements, increase revenue from existing clients and ensure retention of profitable
accounts. The post-sales content marketing strategy report tackles just that, the right content
marketing tactics that will enable CMO’s execute their content marketing strategy effortlessly.
We identified the six most significant post-sales stages for a B2B CMO: Aiding Consumption,
Increasing Satisfaction, Activating Engagement, Ensuring Repurchase, Driving Loyalty and
Enabling Advocacy. We analyzed content types and distribution mechanisms through the lens
of these marketing objectives.
This report details our findings about which content tactics B2B marketing organizations are
using, and which distribution channels are most effective in the after-sales cycle. This data
should help CMO’s invest in the right content marketing tactics for executing their post-sales
content marketing strategy.
Rethinking Post Sales Content Marketing; Survey Report June 2013
Unveiling Post sales content creation and distribution Tactics in the B2B Landscape
By Greg Sherwin and Priscilla Selwine
2013 Post-Sales Content Marketing TrendsRegalix Research © 06/2013 01

3. The convergence of data, technology, new consumer consumption habits and digital distribution
means marketers can no longer neglect content marketing programs. B2B marketers are now
highly cognizant of this fact, as 97% of marketer’s surveyed claim that content marketing is
crucial to their post-sales content strategy. However only 82% of the marketers surveyed feel that
their organizations are leveraging content marketing in the right way during this phase.
Key takeaways
Content marketing is a must in the
post-sales cycle
99%
of content marketing efforts in the post-sales cycle are targeted to
customers as opposed to partners, resellers and distributors.
97%
of B2B marketers believe that it is important to continue content
marketing in the post sales cycle; only 82% of them currently use
content marketing in this phase.
63%
of marketers claim that brand loyalty is the core benefit of a post-sales
content marketing campaign.
2013 Post-Sales Content Marketing TrendsRegalix Research © 06/2013 02

4. 99% of content marketing efforts are targeted to Customers in an attempt to help bolster
renewal efforts as well as establish customer confidence. Some 63% of these efforts are
targeted to Partners, through educational programs that enable them to sell better. While
Resellers (54%) and Distributors (27%) attract lesser attention as compared to the former two,
our survey reveals that they are not neglected in the post-sales cycle.
Customers are the main focus of post-sales
content marketing programs
2013 Post-Sales Content Marketing TrendsRegalix Research © 06/2013 03
Target audience
for post sales
marketing
programs
55%
Resellers
9% Others
27%
Distributors
64% Partners 99% Customers
Source: Regalix Research, June 2013

5. Cross-analysis of the benefits of a post-sales content marketing campaign reveals that 63% of
marketers surveyed find it helpful in increasing Brand Loyalty. Engagement (54%) and
Repurchase (46%) are other core benefits derived from post-sales content marketing
programs. However providing support(8%), improving brand perception (15%) and
facilitating product training to customers (8%) were not recognized and leveraged as much
by B2B organizations. These are untapped benefits of a post-sales content marketing
program and need to be added and implemented.
Loyalty, engagement and repurchase are
the top 3 benefits, say B2B marketers
2013 Post-Sales Content Marketing TrendsRegalix Research © 06/2013 04
Post sales content marketing benefits
Increases brand loyalty
Activates engagement with customers
Helps to re-sell, up-sell and cross-sell
Builds a feedback loop, captures the customers voice
Disseminates product updates
Increases product satisfaction
Improves brand perfection
Facilitates product adoption through training
Provides support to customers
Gather sales references
63%
54%
46%
40%
38%
30%
15%
8%
8%
0%
Source: Regalix Research, June 2013

6. The survey demonstrates that the content assets most frequently used by marketers are
Blogs (64%), followed by Online Videos (55%) and Newsletters (46%). Email is still the most
frequently used channel for distributing content to existing customers (82%), followed by
Websites (73%) and Social Media (64%).
Content assets and distribution channels that are most utilized by our marketers surveyed
are detailed in the table below.
Create a blog post and hit the send button,
say B2B marketers
2013 Post-Sales Content Marketing TrendsRegalix Research © 06/2013 05
Content type Distribution Channel
Blog
Online Videos
Newsletters
Webinars /Webcasts
Whitepapers
Social posting
Case studies
Infographics
Articles
Mobile content
Email
Websites
Social Media
Events
Search Engine
Paid Search
Mobile
Phone
Display Advertising
Print
64% 82%
73%
64%
27%
9%
9%
9%
1%
1%
55%
46%
36%
27% 18%
18%
18%
9%
8%
8%
Source: Regalix Research, June 2013

7. B2B Marketers prefer different content assets at different stages of the post-sales cycle. The
adjacent table indicates the most effective content asset and distribution channels for each
stage of the B2B post-sales process, as indicated by the B2B marketer.
Case Studies and Whitepapers transform
customers to brand advocates.
2013 Post-Sales Content Marketing TrendsRegalix Research © 06/2013 06
Aiding Consumption: One of the key challenges for marketers in the post-purchase cycle
is ensuring that the customer has a good experience with the product and brand. Apple
mastered this by focusing on the details when a user first experienced a new Apple
product. The same cardinal rule applies to B2B products and services. The survey points
that ebooks (65%), Podcasts (53%) and Online Videos(48%) help create that right first
impression with the brand and aid product consumption. The marketers surveyed
indicated that the most effective means to distribute this content is through Social
Media (33%) and Mobile (28%).
Increasing Satisfaction: Post-purchase cognitive dissonance is a phenomenon that
plagues even the B2B buyer transacting with an organization. Ensuring that you
validate the buyers purchasing decision, by providing the right content is important at
this stage. Marketers who responded to our survey found Case Studies (50%), Webinars
(38%) and Online Videos (33%) to be extremely useful in re-enforcing purchase
decisions. Email (66%) Mobile (33%) and Phone(30%) were the most effective media
channels used to gauge and increase customer satisfaction.
Activating Engagement: Infographics (69%), Blogs (61%) and Webinars (59%), promoted
through Social Media(50%), Search (33%) and Mobile (17%) are the best means to
engage an existing customer. Ensuring that customers have all the information needed
to understand the product by frequently publishing product updates is what motivates
B2B marketers to activate customer engagement campaigns.
Ensuring Repurchase: If a customer decides to re-invest in your brand, then it is safe to
assume that the product, promotion and the post-purchase experience has been
correct. B2B marketers surveyed found that Whitepapers (36%) and Case Studies
(23%), distributed through Email (33%) and the Website (24%) help in confirming
positive brand experiences and triggering repurchases.

8. Driving Loyalty: Brand loyal customers are the ones who provide the basis for increasing
market-share. The goal for most marketers is to build a selective loyal customer base who have a
strong resistance to counter persuasion attempts from competitors. Blogs(43%),
Newsletters(36%) and Webinars(31%) help B2B marketers in this endeavor. Emails (66%), Social
(33%) and Mobile (23%) are best suited for distributing content in this stage.
Post Sales
Stage
Content
Asset
Distribution
Channel
Aiding
Consumption
Ebooks
Podcasts
Online Videos
65%
53%
48%
Social Media
Mobile
Website
33%
28%
13%
Increasing
Satisfaction
Case Studies
Webinars
Online Videos
50%
38%
33%
Email
Mobile
Phone
66%
33%
30%
Activating
Engagement
Infographics
Blogs
Webinars
69%
61%
59%
Social Media
Search
Mobile
50%
33%
17%
Ensuring
Repurchase
Whitepapers
Case Studies
Webinars
36%
23%
20%
Emails
Website
Phone
33%
24%
14%
Driving
Loyalty
Blogs
Newsletters
Webinars
43%
36%
31%
Emails
Social
Mobile
66%
33%
23%
Enabling
Advocacy
Case Studies
Whitepapers
Articles
60%
32%
28%
Events
Social Media
Email
54%
33%
30%
2013 Post-Sales Content Marketing TrendsRegalix Research © 06/2013 07
Source: Regalix Research, June 2013

9. As indicated by the B2B marketers interviewed. The need for a post-sales content
marketing program is high. However the locus of control for developing and executing
such a program shifts from Marketing (12%) to Sales (67%). Website visits are still being
viewed as‘the’metric to measure the success or failure of a post-sales campaign as
opposed to referrals, repeat purchases or the number of brand loyal customers. The true
power of a post-sales content marketing will only be unleashed once marketers
successfully map and leverage innovative ways to market content during each of these
stages.
A long way to go
About the analyst’s
Enabling Advocacy: No one promotes something that isn’t the best out there for atleast
some dimension of customer experience. Building an army of brand advocates starts
with a great product and then goes into planning customer touch-points right from the
pre-sales cycle leading all the way to post-sales. Sharing the right content and creating
avenues for customers to share branded content would enable marketers in propelling
brand loyals to become brand advocates. B2B marketers feel that Case Studies (60%),
Whitepapers (32%) and Articles (28%) on third party websites are the most useful for
enabling advocacy. Sharing these at Events(54%) as well as through Social Media (33%)
and Email (30%) would help in reaching customers who are at the cusp of moving from
loyalty to advocacy.
Greg is the executive vice president and principal analyst serving
Product Marketing Professionals. He leads Regalix Research
research on how Software, IT and Internet companies develop and
execute digital marketing strategies by aligning business and brand
goals with sales enablement across all channels.
PRISCILLA SELWINE
Associate Director
Priscilla’s research is focused on B2B content creation and
distribution practices that enable product marketing professionals
deliver targeted sales enablement material. Her research combines
creative with scientific measurement that creates real digital
marketing leverage.
GREG SHERWIN
Executive Vice President
2013 Post-Sales Content Marketing TrendsRegalix Research © 06/2013 08

10. About Regalix Research
For more information Regalix Research
Headquartered in Silicon Valley, we help the CMO organization leverage emerging digital
practices for creating marketing leverage as they bring new products and innovation to
market. Regalix Research helps marketers through research-based insights, consulting and
peer-to-peer programs that guide marketing strategy development and execution. Our
focus is helping Technology companies leverage innovation and best practices to create
real differentiation. Our analysts are practitioners with a successful track record of
delivering real marketing results for both leading Fortune 500 companies as well as venture
backed firms.
Regalix is an award-winning Global Innovation company that leverages technology and
marketing to help companies grow. We create successful ventures with our clients through
co-innovation and idea-driven frameworks that inspire companies to think different. We
bring ideas to life by envisioning new companies, developing brands, engineering
products, and designing technology platforms. Founded in 1998, Regalix is based in Palo
Alto. Our Silicon Valley setting has enabled us to stay ahead of emerging trends in digital
technology and marketing.
For over a decade, we have provided complete marketing services – Social, Mobile,
Content, Multi-channel Campaigns, Technology Development, and Analytics – to
companies such as CA Technologies, Citi, Apple, eBay, Cisco, VMWare, NetApp, Cypress, LSI,
Keynote, and MetricStream
To find out how Regalix Research can help you,
please contact our office, or visit us at
http://research.regalix.com/
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Phone: 650 - 331 - 1167
Email: research@regalix-inc.com