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The buyer journey is a subject of great intrigue in marketing. No matter how technology or industries evolve, there are always specific steps that people go through before purchasing a product or service.
For this reason, customer journey analysis is a practical and effective endeavor for any business to undertake.
In this article, we’ll explore the various customer journey phases in the modern age, giving you everything you need to analyze and understand the buyer journey for your business.
The customer journey — or buyer journey — is the complete path of interactions between a customer and a brand, encompassing all touchpoints from initial discovery until the point of purchase.
Nowadays, customers don’t follow a predictable straight line. Omnichannel marketing enables customers and brands to meet across multiple platforms and devices.
For example, John may follow this path:
This example is just one of countless buyer journey paths that is possible today.
Studies indicate that people are willing to pay more for better customer experience. With that in mind, and competition being always on the rise, many companies continuously work to enhance their products and services.
Today, businesses aren’t limited to physical stores. Instead, consumers have the option of going online to do business with brands through their digital presence. The scope of the business has changed in response to a revolution in customer interactions.
The digital age is alive with fierce competition and rapidly changing consumer interests. It only takes a small misstep, and your business could lose a prospective customer to a competitor.
So, if businesses learn more about the customer journey, they can map their marketing funnel to it, which will facilitate more effective sales and marketing campaigns.
To understand how this works, we need to learn about the different customer journey phases.
While customers go through different paths, there are several distinct stages of the buyer journey. Let’s take a closer look at the customer journey phases.
A customer cannot be they have a pain point, and that they need a solution. At this stage, people will begin interacting with brands, casually perusing options online to see what is available in the market.
In the awareness phase, brands must be able to make a lasting first impression that prospects will remember. When brands do this successfully, people may return to their brand later in the journey.
Social media is excellent at this stage, as it enables brands to create mass brand awareness at a low cost.
In the next phase, consumers will evaluate brands, comparing viable options to create a shortlist of top solutions. Typically, people will consider the following factors:
The last one is particularly important now, as consumers trust feedback from other customers, friends, and family much more than the word of corporate brands.
During the consideration phase, prospects will try to identify the product or service that is the best fit solution. Ideally, it will add the most value and come at a minimal cost.
After all the research is done, prospects must make a decision. In the age we live in, people rely heavily on online content like social media, customer reviews, customer experience, and brand image in order to make their purchasing decisions.
Another factor is the user experience and engagement. A brand that offers a seamless omnichannel experience from one touchpoint to the next will have great success as their customer journey is much easier than a clunky, older setup from a company that has failed to embrace new technologies and go-to market strategies.
For high-end products, prospects may also want to talk directly with sales personnel or product experts. These interactions are critical and can make-or-break a deal.
The customer journey doesn’t end with the sale. In fact, the point of purchase may just be the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship for your business. If you focus on customer retention, you can generate repeat sales and higher profits at a much lower cost than if you focus more on acquiring new customers.
In the Retention stage, customers will assess their buying experience, the product itself, and its value to their life. With a high level of customer satisfaction, a brand can nurture strong relationships that drive continued business growth.
Finally, in the case of a highly-satisfied customer, people can reach the Advocacy phase of the customer journey. If they are genuinely enamored with the product or service, they may become loyal supporters of the brand.
So much so, that they will tell their friends and family about it, effectively becoming influencer or marketers use either of these brand and its products and services.
So, now that you know the fundamentals of the customer journey phases, we can look at ways of improving the user experience, at each phase so that prospects find the buyer journey easier and more enjoyable.
Developments in recent years have led this customer-centric (has no connection with the flow here. Have something for customer centricity prior to it) form of marketing to revolve around personalized content. Brands leverage data insights on buying patterns, on-site behaviors, and social listening tools to guide their content creation. When it’s done right, you can tailor blogs, emails, ads, and landing pages for small, defined subsections of your audience.
This emphasis on personalization and segmentation is crucial now, and you can employ it at each of the customer journey phases to great effect.
Here’s how:
In the awareness phase, a business must build credibility and visibility. You can try the following:
Prospects at this phase of the customer journey are open to new information, and targeted content will be the most appealing as it offers value that resonates at a personal level.
In the second stage, brands must prove their worth to get prospects to seriously consider their product or service as a potential solution worth buying. You can use personalization here through user case studies.
A spotlight focus on a relatable person, showing how the product or service changed their life for the better is a great marketing tactic. Another good idea is to partner with an influencer.
More often than not, an influencer can have more persuasive power than a brand itself, as consumers trust the word of influencers more, and will be open to trying brands and products recommended by their idols. You can read how to boost ROI with Influencer Marketing.
Lastly, you can distribute free samples or offer free trials of your service, ideally tailored to the specific needs of each prospect.
In the decision phase, brands can leverage customer reviews for maximum impact by posting good reviews on the company website, or listing them near each product.
An innovative way of taking customer reviews to the next level is to encourage past customers to send video reviews. Companies can use this user-generated content to promote their brand on social media and to influence prospects who are close to making a purchasing decision.
For technical products, you can implement personalization at this stage by arranging free consultancy calls from an expert. Prospects can discuss concerns and find out more about the product or service in relation to their specific needs.
In this scenario, it’s important that you have a knowledgeable sales team that is not only good at customer service but is also highly-trained with your product range.
It is observed that the probability of selling to an existing customer is 60-70%. The probability of selling to a new prospect is 5-20%.
Here are a few ideas to build customer retention with personalization:
Many companies miss out on more business because they don’t follow up with customers. Every sale is an opportunity for a new relationship. Therefore, companies should make sure they stay in touch with customers, as they can personalize future marketing and communications with all the information gained from the first sale.
The customer journey presents companies with a wealth of data and insights about each customer, and you can use it to enhance the level of personalization in your marketing campaigns continually. Whether it’s on email, social media, or paid ads, personalization has the power to turn first-time buyers into loyal brand advocates.
If you can funnel more people through other customer journey phases to this stage, you’re on the right track. At this point, customer satisfaction is so high that people are marketing for you.
So, how do you encourage people to do this?
You can use personalization to show people how valuable they are to your company. A great way of doing that is through loyalty reward programs that motivate people to spread the good word about your brand.
People are more likely to refer a brand to their friends and family if they know they will get something in return, such as a discount or free product. Another smart strategy to nurture brand advocates is to have them publish good reviews on social media, as strong social proof can sway many people online.
This is a customer-centric age. People are spoiled for choice, with competition so intense in every industry that brands can’t afford to ignore the needs and interests of the market. If they do, customers will simply go elsewhere to find a product or service.
Businesses must work hard to understand the customer journey so that they can devise marketing funnels that have user intent in mind at every phase. When you add personalization, you stand a much greater chance of engaging people — and converting them.
It doesn’t matter how many channels you operate on, whether it’s old school email or new-age social media videos, the customer journey is crucial to successful marketing.
How well do you understand your customers? What will you do in 2020 to offer a smooth and enjoyable customer journey?
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