You, Me, & SAP
Content strategy and execution at Aspera/USU
Challenge:
Aspera/USU had acquired a SAP license management company, along with its experts and software tools, and wanted its existing customer base and new prospects to utilize them.
My role was to create a content strategy and execute it to generate leads with the ultimate goal of increasing sales of the tool.
Approach
I interviewed our sales engineers, SAP consultants, and even a few customers at a trade show to understand their pain points and motivations.
I audited the content and gained insight into the complex world of SAP software licensing.
I developed a content strategy and started creating content.
Insight:
SAP software licensing is a tremendously complex and business-critical process because costs can quickly escalate, and compliance is a significant challenge.
Set, it often falls to a SAM manager with only a cursory understanding of SAP licensing, meaning they may not fully comprehend their risks. And if they do, they’re seeking guidance on how to manage them.
A fresh content strategy
We decided to educate SAM managers with little SAP knowledge about their three biggest pain points:
Indirect access to SAP systems
SAP software audit preparation
Their migration to SAP’s new S/4HANA platform
To educate them, we used straightforward educational content that would drive them to request a consultation or a product demo of Apera/USU’s SAP license management solution: LicenseControl for SAP. The key in each piece of content was empowering the reader with helpful guidance.
I started with blog articles. Previous articles highlighted license changes or developments in licensing, which demonstrated our thought leadership, but didn’t seem to convert blog readers into leads. We continued to publish this type of thought leadership article in trade magazines. We focused our blogs on providing actionable advice that individuals can use to improve their licenses.
The blog articles included CTAs that led to gated long-form content, which I ghostwrote with Aspera/USU’s SAP experts. Once the visitor downloaded the content, they became a lead and would be contacted by the Sales Team.
S/4HANA Migration white paper
A sample page from S/4HANA
Graphic in S/4HANA white paper
SAP white paper cover
Sample page from SAP white paper
The white paper's contributors
A tongue-in-cheek blog about indirect access
A blog about S/4HANA
The product page, shortly after the USU rebrand
Product copy on the web
I wrote the core product messaging, updated existing webpages, and created new webpages, including a pillar page that linked to other pieces of content. Writing the messaging involved competitive benchmarking and interviews with sales colleagues.
Results
Within a year, the content exceeded its goal for qualified leads by 120%
Over that period, requests for SAP expert consulting increased by 50%.
USU acquired four new LicenseControl for SAP customers.