Understanding which path your customer takes to purchase allows you to identify what to do at each stage so that that customer can go through the sales funnel very efficiently.
Each step has its approaches and challenges that need to be met. Below we will cover the characteristics of the steps required for your consumer’s journey.
Learning And Discovery
The first stage of the journey is when the customer discovers your brand and the solution you present. In general, at this time, the consumer is not necessarily looking for a product or solution, but topics related to their problem/pain – recognizing the first steps and options to solve them.
For this reason, at this stage, companies work with content marketing to deliver rich material to the customer. In other words, the brand works with content that teaches about a particular subject related to the problem it seeks to solve.
So, as the audience gets deeper into the topic by reading about all the content, they may want to close deals with your company. The contents of this step are in the removal of initial doubts about how to resolve issues related to the service and products it offers, as discussed.
With this, the persona (ideal customer) gets closer to the brand and acquires confidence in what it proposes due to the expertise in the subject and the values it presents. Each company will bring unique content that encompasses its audiences.
To get an idea of how the process will take place, imagine that a beverage distributor may have in its content marketing publications that meet:
- Retail dealers;
- Other distributors;
- Individual resellers;
- Final consumers.
Thus, the content produced should be directed to meet the different needs of each of these niches, addressing different strategies to attract consumers or even the benefits that a drink brings to the consumer. Some contents for this step are explanatory and educational videos on social networks or even blog posts.
Recognition
The second stage of the customer journey is when the customer recognizes that your solution answers their demand. In this sense, the marketing strategy needs to have more targeted content, more complete, and a more significant value to direct you to make contact.
An example of content by catapult revenue that can be delivered to the customer is e-books, “special” tips, and blog posts to meet this demand. That’s because these strategies and content will enable closer contact with the public.
Buying Decision
The purchase decision is the final step when the consumer receives the brand content itself. Here, the customer already becomes a prospect or a lead in the language of digital marketing. At this point, content may come with the company name and company history, specific products and services, customer comments, and, in some cases, mention of value.
This is when this lead is converted; the customer is deciding/performing the purchase process. In this case, strategies to understand the checkout process on the website are also crucial for the effective hiring of a service or purchase of the product.