Content without purpose is not content – it’s noise.

More often than not, the purpose of content is to fullfil a need. This could be the need of the author (to make money, to gain reputation), the need of the reader (to be more productive, to be entertained), or preferably both.

I’ve written elsewhere about personal/consumer needs, but what about the needs of a business? If the author is writing on behalf of a business, or the reader is researching on behalf of a business, a different set of needs apply.

Some people have started to classify business needs, but not comprehensively. The content strategist in me really wants to create a… Taxonomy! Ontology! Classification system! Thesaurus! Whatever ominous word you want to use for it, I’d like to make a list (yes, that’s a better word) of the basic needs of business.

As you can see, I’ve made a start on it (click the image below for a larger version), but would greatly appreciate your input. I’ve gone into too much detail in places; for example, under Productivity I start to list solutions rather than needs. I’m not sure yet whether this will be feasible or not for all needs, but it would be useful for shaping specific content purpose (i.e. content that discusses Dashboards or Analytics addresses a known business need).

Leave a comment and I’ll update the list accordingly.

• Business Needs
  • Financial
    • Product / Service
      • Skills / Staff
      • Tools
      • Raw Materials / Suppliers
      • Innovation / Future Potential
      • Competitive Position
    • Sales
      • Distribution
      • Processing
      • Servicing Customers
      • Lead Management
      • Selling
      • Marketing
      • Market Research
    • Management
      • Productivity
        • Dashboards
        • Analytics
        • Reporting
        • Mining / Trends
        • BPM
        • Operations / Logistics
      • Facilities / Location
      • Licensing / Software
      • IPR
      • HR
        • Training
        • Recruitment
        • Communication
  • Ethical
  • Legal
    • Health and Safety
    • Accounting
    • HR
  • Infrastructural
    • Furniture / Equipment
    • Office / Warehouse
    • Services / Utilities