Integrations are essential for B2B publishers wanting to deliver information to their subscribers in a timely, coherent manner.
How do we define integration? Fundamentally, it is the process of bringing together two pieces of software into a single, holistic system to solve issues with siloed data and isolated platforms.
It is a process present in almost all digital platforms, websites, and applications – and the world of B2B publishing is, of course, no exception.
For publishers, the rewards associated with 3rd party (often SaaS) integrations include richer engagement and simpler interactions with subscribers, a seamless user journey between platforms and the streamlining of authoring, editorial and commercial processes. Essentially, it is a process designed to enhance the quality and usability of a publisher’s digital offering and make life easier for both the publisher and their subscribers.
But in practice, what integrations can B2B publishers implement and in what ways can these enrich the customer experience and meet business goals?
Phased approach
The simplest, quickest, and most cost-effective form of integration is the addition of a link or button that connects a publisher’s marketing website to their research library and gives customers access to the informative content, intuitive workflow tools and interactive features available in their portal.
The flexibility of integration affords the option of quickly launching a content portal with a simple integration. Later, connections with the marketing website can be deepened as business conditions permit.
These deeper connections include integrations with CRM systems, eCommerce plugins, analytics dashboards, and marketing automation software, which, if done right, will work together to create a frictionless, seamless reading experience for the end-user and an intuitive administrative process for the publisher.
Mark Chadwick, Product Manager at Publish Interactive elaborates, “Integrations help to remove time-consuming manual tasks that often cause a delay in users getting the information they need. For example, an integration that automatically applies a license to a report or subscription as the customer makes a purchase means the customer can access the data and insights straight away. Or, if usage data is integrated into a CRM account, managers can understand a customer’s engagement level, without having to look elsewhere”.
One customer that successfully integrated its CRM system with Publish Interactive is Everest Group. The IT and engineering services research firm seamlessly integrates with Salesforce to ensure individual users were provided with relevant content access in an efficient manner.
Open, easily navigable content
Implementing a cohesive suite of software integrations also provides a flexible content delivery framework for both the end-user and the publisher.
For example, deeper integration between the marketing and content delivery platforms enables users to search for content on either site. Depending on the publisher requirements, the search functionality can then either direct users to product landing pages on their content portal or to product pages on their website. Metadata for individual products can be stored on a secured content platform and extracted with an API to populate product pages on an SEO-optimised marketing website.
“Integrations help to remove time-consuming manual tasks that often cause a delay in users getting the information they need.”
Product Owner at Publish Interactive
Publishers can also provide access to their research library without the need for registration. Gated, premium content can be created and uploaded within a framework for those without a subscription so prospective customers can understand the depth and complexity of the publisher’s offering. This open site model gives publishers two options: allow new users to search first then ask for registration once they have found relevant content available for purchase or take prospective customers to their registration page prior to enabling search.
If CRM or eCommerce systems are integrated into this process, the user journey from an initial website visit with limited access to ‘freemium’ content to a fully-fledged subscriber should be a seamless one without the need for either sales personnel or account managers to manually grant access to these new users.
This flexibility creates fluidity between these integrated platforms, allowing publishers to test different content delivery processes and decide on the most suitable one for their business needs.
SSO access
As users move between these two interconnected platforms, there must be an integrated, unified identification tool ensuring users are securely and seamlessly travelling between the two sites.
Single sign-on (SSO) is a user authentication service that enables customers to access related, yet still independent web applications using just one set of login credentials and allows for frictionless navigation across an organisation’s digital offering. If a publisher has more than one website, or already uses a CRM system as the single point of customer truth, then SSO is recommended.
Tom Gibbs, Director of Operations at Publish Interactive expands on this point: “SSO ensures ease of access, whilst Publish Interactive’s extensive suite of APIs allow publishers to create, manage, market and provision content through specialist CRMs, marketing automation platforms and CMS”.
The key benefits of integration:
- Branding continuity across all online assets
- Cross and upsell opportunities within the platform
- A seamless user journey across websites
- A platform for premium content
- Quick and simple functionality for new content
- Offers a phased development approach
Examples of Publish Interactive’s API integrations
| INTEGRATION WITH | OBJECTIVE | ILLUSTRATIVE BENEFITS | EXAMPLE 3RD PARTY INTEGRATION |
|---|---|---|---|
| EDITORIAL & RESEARCH | |||
| Survey data | Display survey data & charts alongside textual analysis. | Diversify content offering | Marketsight |
| Content Management System | Easily manage, access, & publish web-based content. | Streamline the authoring, production and editorial workflow | Kentico |
| MANAGEMENT/IT | |||
| Login systems | Provide a seamless user journey between different platforms. | Enhance the user experience | Okta |
| Analytics Dashboards | Track content usage. | Understand subscriber usage Data-driven planning of future publications | Google Analytics |
| MARKETING & SALES | |||
| eCommerce | Allow customers to make purchases of reports or datasets without having to contact a salesperson or account manager. | Increase new business opportunities | Wordpress |
| CRM system | Enable sales & account management teams to manage customer access. | Manage subscriber licensing Work on upsell / cross sell opportunities | Hubspot Salesforce |
| Marketing | Automate marketing operations & connect with existing marketing site. | Promote published content Drive new business opportunities | Marketo |
