Sir Francis Bacon, the Renaissance-era statesman and philosopher, described “the scientific method” as the development of a hypothesis, the design of experiments to test it, the analysis of the results and the subsequent rethinking of the original thesis.
He viewed it as “a light that would eventually disclose and bring into sight all that is most hidden and secret in the universe.”
Fast forward to W. Edwards Deming, a celebrated professor of statistics and an influential force in the rise of Japanese industry after World War II. He was among the first to apply the tenets of the “scientific method” in the context of business.
Deming argued that companies could achieve better quality control by recording the number of product defects, analyzing why they happened, instituting changes, recording how much quality improved and then refining the process.
Today, more than half a century later, the scientific method — also known as the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle—is making serious inroads into realm of B2B content marketing. More and more companies are adopting it in some shape or form to increase the return on their content marketing and lead generation investments and drive overall marketing effectiveness.
At Starfleet Media, we call the approach the Content Marketing Cycle. It consists of a closed-loop process predicated on not just utilizing A/B testing, landing page optimization and other analytic approaches to “getting found” and driving more downloads from target prospects. It also involves taking a systematic and holistic view of a given content marketing program.
The Content Marketing Cycle can viewed as a framework for planning, implementing and maximizing the value of B2B content marketing and lead generation programs. It is fueled by the belief that all program elements must be measured and progressively improved upon on an ongoing basis.
Stay tuned for more thoughts and pointers, including a description of the four basic stages of The Content Marketing Cycle.