So much B2B content flooding the internet is just… boring. Have you looked around your market and noticed that lately? Your competitors are probably churning out the same tired blog posts, chasing the same keywords, and running the same post-and-share-on-LinkedIn strategy that they first trotted out in 2014.
Well, not you!
By foregrounding conversations with customers and with your internal executive team, you can develop compelling narrative content that is unique to your business while still being helpful and practical for your market audience.
Here’s a simple trick that’s both underutilized and surprisingly effective: Spend 30 minutes talking to your audience before you even start writing. Talk with a customer. Or even talk with a C-suite executive to learn more about the internal perspectives of your business. Just talk with someone.
Just half an hour.
Let’s say half an hour each month.
It’s a small investment that could lift your content impact significantly. Yet, how often do marketing teams skip this?
“Too busy,” they say (we hear this all the time), which is ironic, given how much time this small step could actually save. “Too busy” just isn’t going to work anymore.
Let’s take a close look at how a meaningful 30-minute interview with a top customer could change your marketing team’s entire trajectory.
Speak Their Language—Literally
Spend just a little time listening to your audience, and you’ll get the actual words, phrases, and tone they use. They might not sound like keywords (even long-tail keywords), but they will feature prominently in your customers’ language. When your customers read their own words, they will feel seen.
The kind of language use hits home—whether it’s industry jargon, insider humor, or an oddly specific concern. Without these insights, you’re at risk of sounding like every other brand out there. Not that it’s “bad,” just… beige.
But those 30 minutes? They could make all the difference between blending in and standing out.
Understand What Really Keeps Them Up at Night
Let’s be honest, you can guess at your audience’s pain points, or you can hear them straight from the source. You know what your business does best, so you should know these pain points by heart.
But knowing your customers’ pain points is very different than addressing them directly in marketing content. There’s a missing connection without a formal interview to tether those points.
A short conversation can reveal specifics—perhaps they’re comparing you to a competitor, or they’re skeptical about a certain product feature. Without these insights, your content might only skim the surface while real concerns go unaddressed. Thirty minutes of listening helps you get right to the heart of what matters, skipping the guesswork.
Skip the Endless Revisions and ‘Getting It Right’ Struggles
Your customers don’t want you to hem and haw with your product offerings, so why are you jockeying for perfection with your marketing?
Think about how many hours are spent guessing what the audience wants, debating in Slack threads, or drowning in rewrites. A quick audience call is a fast track to clarity. It means fewer “is this what they want?” meetings, fewer back-and-forth emails, and a lot less hair-pulling.
The more you hear directly from your audience, the less tweaking you’ll need to “get it right.” You’ll know precisely the message you need to communicate.
Boost Engagement That Converts—And Get Some Good Karma While You’re At It
Content that’s grounded in real voice and real concerns will perform for you over time. Remember, content marketing is a long game. It’s an investment.
When people see themselves reflected in your words, they lean in, engage, share. And this connection does something magic: it builds trust. Trust builds relationships, and relationships drive revenue. It’s all of a piece.
Your readers (your customers) will start to think, “Ah, these folks get me.” And that’s where engagement and loyalty begin.
Bottom Line: Make Those 30 Minutes Happen
Before you type a single word, set up that quick call, ask your questions, and listen. You’ll get more than a few quotable lines; you’ll walk away with the fuel for content that’s relevant, engaging, and ready to perform. Those 30 minutes might just become your secret weapon. “Too busy,” from either end of this interview process, just isn’t going to work anymore.
