3 Ways Content Strategy can be used for your Service Design Offering

Content strategy is an ongoing process to continually service the customer, turning business objectives and goals into a plan that uses content as a primary means of achieving those goals.

With so much information on how to build a content strategy, I find it useful to give context in certain areas, where content ultimately finds its end user and helps the customer find what they need. This is why it is important to consider a service design approach to content with the goal of expediting and streamlining the customer experience.

Here are three ways I like to think about content strategy as it pertains to service design:

Promoting User-centered Focus via Engagement

Engagement is at the heart of every content strategy. Engagement with users, stakeholders, subject matter experts and content owners. An engagement-guided document plans out the internal creation, management and organization of content.

In service design, engagement is produced by focusing on the users’ needs — whether they are known by the user or not. It answers why the user is seeking out your product and identifies how content could fulfill those needs.

Supporting Operations Behind the Scenes

Back-stage processes and operations define the scope of the project and improve the supporting architecture. They also outline the dynamics of the front-stage experiences.

For example, the governance section of the content strategy clarifies roles and responsibilities of staff members.

This leads to less confusion over procedures and accountability. Without the distraction of duplicative efforts and clunky processes, the result is a more tailored document that gets everyone on the same page.

The nature of a service blueprint supports cross-organizational efforts. The output of this effort defines the internal staff members’ workflows. Touchpoints aren’t assigned to various owners; instead, the ecosystem is viewed holistically. The more cohesive the internal structure, the better streamlined the customers’ interactions in the front stage.

Mapping Important Touchpoints

Content strategy serves as a platform on which future customer journey mapping can be built. This approach teases out customer user flows. This provides a focus for internal product development. By looking at the bigger picture of customer engagement, staff members can plan new experiences that flow with the other known interactions.

Effective content strategy supports the development of the structure, process, and dynamics in any service design approach. The user-centered focus of the content strategy aligns with the need to define the customer touchpoints in a service design approach. The holistic nature of the content strategy ensures seamless customer experiences in the front stage.

Thus, engaging with your customers through content strategy, rather than simply using a tracking document of content-related activities, becomes a solution in the service design process.