B2B Content Marketing and Buyer Stage. How to Engage Website Visitors with Appropriate Content

Inhaltsverzeichnis (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

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

This Master's thesis investigates the relationship between B2B content marketing, website visitor engagement, and the buyer stage within the customer journey. It aims to identify content stimuli that best engage potential buyers at different stages of their buying cycle. The study uses an IBM website as a case study to analyze visitor click and scroll behavior.

• The impact of content marketing on B2B website engagement.
• The correlation between visitor engagement and their stage in the buying cycle.
• The influence of visitor profiles and IT involvement on engagement.
• The effectiveness of different content assets (e.g., demos, white papers) in driving engagement.
• Optimizing website design for enhanced user experience and engagement.

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

Chapter 1: Introduction Introduces the context of content marketing in a digital B2B environment, highlighting the shift from traditional advertising and the importance of engaging website visitors. It defines the research question and objectives, outlining the structure of the thesis.

Chapter 2: Fundamentals Defines key terms (B2B buying process, content marketing, engagement) and presents relevant theories. It explores the B2B buying process, including the customer journey and sales funnel models, emphasizing the importance of understanding customer behavior at various stages.

Chapter 3: Hypotheses Develops hypotheses based on the literature review to explore the relationships between visitor engagement, buyer stage, visitor profiles, IT involvement, and website design. It outlines the specific hypotheses to be tested in the empirical study.

Chapter 4: Methodology Describes the methodology used to test the hypotheses, including the design and implementation of three online surveys and the use of the Hotjar heat-mapping program for website analysis. It details the data collection process, sample characteristics, and statistical methods employed.

Chapter 5: Results and Discussion (Partial) Presents the results of the statistical analyses, focusing on the correlations between visitor engagement and their buying stage, involvement, and the effectiveness of different website design elements and content assets. It includes interpretations of the findings from the Hotjar analysis, without revealing major conclusions.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

Content Marketing, Website Engagement, Customer Journey, B2B Buying Process, Heat Mapping, Content Assets, Lead Generation, IBM, Digital Business Automation.