Support content may not be applicable to every business situation, but for those in which it is, it can play an interesting and multi-faceted role.
On a very basic level, providing content which gives support or training to supplement your offering after a purchase can be a very useful way to automate and standardize repetitive information transfer. This can reduce the in-person support toll on you or your team, as long as it is something which can actually be automated and doesn’t require personal nuance.
But the real magic of support content is that it leads a double life . . .
BY DAY . . .
If you make your support content public, it can be a key part of the guided discovery phase, giving potential customers an idea of what it will be like to take advantage of your offering. But, without being a customer, this kind of content will most likely only provide extrinsic value which points to the utility of your offering.
BUT, BY NIGHT . . .
Once they do become a customer however, that extrinsic value suddenly becomes intrinsic and compounds with the value that is inherent in your actual offering. If they are already familiar with this support content before a purchase it can also speed up the onboarding process.
MEANWHILE, ACROSS TOWN . . .
Finally, support content can also be a double-agent. Customers of competitors with similar offerings but less-robust support systems may find themselves turning to your content for assistance, which can be great for creating loyalty and driving new business.
