The majority of print service providers (PSPs) are serving the business-to-business (B2B) market space. They are typically working with major corporations to help them on some facet of their overall communications needs, be it a large format sign, forms for internal use, a brochure, or a cross-media integrated marketing campaign. These types of PSPs are known as B2B marketers.

While much of the attention in the marketing and advertising world gets lavished on big brands that sell products to a broad audience of consumers, B2B marketers have the unenviable task of trying to target much more specific audiences to sell to  with significant sales cycles and price preferences. Just as business-to-consumer (B2C) marketers have adapted to digital tactics to engage with their audiences in new and interesting ways, so have B2B marketers. One key way that B2B marketers have transitioned to digital is with the use of content marketing. It is an area that service providers need to evaluate in their go-to-market strategies.

According to the Content Marketing Institute (CMI), content marketing is defined as “a marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action.” Because B2B marketers need to reach very targeted audiences and generate qualified leads that turn into sales, content marketing is an ideal tactic.