Understanding your customer’s purchasing journey is key to understanding how they engage with your brand. A purchase funnel is the path customers take when they decide to buy a product or a service. The purchase journey starts from the moment customers are considering buying a product or service and ends when they are ready to make a purchase. This blog will look at what your customer’s buyer’s journey looks like, the different stages they go through, and what you can do to create a better experience for your customers at each stage.
A Customer’s Purchasing Journey begins with Awareness
This is the first time that potential customers are exposed to a product or service. In this stage, they’re trying to find information on how the particular product or service can help them and who they should buy it from. If your business is the one providing them with these answers, consumers are more likely to be aware of your brand and what you offer. They will also trust you more.
Various marketing tools are employed in this stage, such as social media advertising, pay-per-click advertising, and “near me” search optimization to make it easier for consumers to find you. 82% of smartphone users conduct “near me” searches, and if your business doesn’t show up on these searches, consumers won’t know you exist and will just choose your competition.
Engagement
Considering that now customers know your brand and products exist, you have an excellent opportunity to turn the tables in your favour. Potential customers are actively researching and evaluating their options, and you need to convince them that you are the most suitable go-to option.
In this stage of the customer’s purchasing journey, it’s important to use marketing tools that will help educate, inform, and hold the attention of potential customers. This could include blog posts, infographics, social media posts, email marketing, video posts, and white papers about the products and services you offer. You’ll want to make sure your content is clear, concise, and easy to understand, as potential customers will be looking for information that will help them make a decision.
Your website also plays an important role in this stage. The more time consumers spend on your website, the more likely they are to purchase from you. Your website needs to be fast, relevant, and easy to navigate. If it takes them too long to find the information they’re looking for, or worse, they can’t find the information at all, they will move on from your website to that of a competitor.
Conversion
At the next stage in a customer’s purchasing journey, it is important to employ marketing tools that will help the customer make the final decision to buy from you. This could include things like product demonstrations, website order forms, live chat leads, online bookings, customer testimonials, and free trials. The goal is to provide the customer with enough information and touchpoints so that they can confidently make a decision in your favour.
Your customer’s purchasing journey includes Retention
Contrary to popular belief, a customer’s purchasing journey does not end with the purchase. You want to keep your customers coming back for more. Marketing tools employed in this stage to build trust and confidence in your brand include customer loyalty programs, testimonials, newsletters, review requests, and customer referrals. These tools can help keep customers engaged with your brand and encourage them to continue doing business with you.
If you want to optimize your marketing strategy to reach customers at every stage of the buyer’s journey, reach out to Mike Hamm Communications at (306) 203 – 3456.