The Customer’s Journey
Buyers don’t want to be prospected, demoed, or closed. They simply want the information they are looking for online, and are willing to interact with the companies that give them this information. As small business owners, understanding the importance of the customer’s journey online can make the difference between making 1 sale and having a repeat customer.
The Customer’s Journey – A 3 Step Process
Throughout your customer’s journey, there are three key stages you need to be aware of.
1. Awareness Stage – The buyer realizes they have a problem or a need.
2. Consideration Stage – The buyer defines their problem and researches options to solve it.
3. Decision Stage – The buyer chooses a solution that best first their need.
Once you have identified these three stages you need to define your customer’s buyer journey. If you do not have an intimate understanding of how your buyer operates you will never get a better sense as to how you can improve their journey. With that in mind, let’s examine each stage closer.
The Awareness Stage
When a buyer is in the awareness stage, they are identifying challenges or opportunities that they would like to pursue. In the awareness stage, they are also deciding whether or not the goal or the challenge should be the priority. In order to understand how your customer behaves in this stage, ask yourself the following questions:
1. How is your buyer describing their goals or challenge?
2. How is your buyer educating themselves on these goals or challenges?
3. What are the consequences for the buyer if they do not take action?
4. Does your buyer have any common misconceptions about addressing their goal or challenge?
5. How does your buyer decide whether to prioritize their goal or challenge?
The Consideration Stage
When your buyer reaches the consideration stage, they have already identified the goal or challenge they are looking to address. Therefore while in the consideration stage they are evaluating different approaches or methods available to them to help pursue their goals or meet their challenges head-on. To better understand how your buyer operates in the consideration stage ask yourself these questions:
1. What categories of solutions are they investigating?
2. How is your buyer educating themselves on the various options available to them?
3. What pros and cons are your buyers developing when researching each category?
4. How is your buyer deciding which category is right for them?
The Decision Stage
In the decision stage, buyers have already decided on a solution to their goal or challenge. At this point, they are moving forward with the path they think is best. To better understand how your buyer behaves in the decision stage ask yourself these questions.
1. What criteria is your buyer using the evaluate the available options?
2. When a buyer is researching your business, what do they like about it compared to others? what concerns do they have with your business?
3. What people need to be involved in the decision-making process? How does each person affect the outcome of the decision?
4. Does your buyer expect to be able to try the offering before they purchase it?
5. Before purchasing the item, will a buyer need to make additional preparations before moving forward with the purchase?
Understanding the customer’s journey means being there for them in the moments that matter most
Buyers now live online with their smartphones rarely more than a few feet away from their hands. Key metrics in digital marketing such as search volume, video views, and downloads on apps continue to accelerate and evolve. In today’s world small business owners have the chance to take advantage of more audience signals than ever before and meet their customers wherever they are on their journey. Understand what is important to your customer, and provide them the information or products they need in the moments that matter most to them.
About MarketKeep
MarketKeep is a digital marketing agency for small businesses and start-ups based in Towson, Md. Our goal is to help small business owners plan, place, and optimize their digital marketing strategies. MarketKeep is proud to offer our clients the following services:
Website Design – As a website design company we build websites that represent you and your brand and instantly builds a connection with your customers online. To learn more about our website design capabilities please contact our website designers.
SEO Company – As a Maryland SEO Company, we partner with small businesses to help grow their organic presence online through on-page, off-page, and reputation management techniques. To learn more about our SEO services for small businesses please contact our SEO team.
Pay Per Click Experts – As your SEM Agency MarketKeep will plan, place, and optimize your SEM campaigns so that you are maximizing your SEM campaign. To learn more about our SEM Services please contact our SEM team.
Social Media Management – Tired of running your social media accounts on a daily basis? Not sure what to post? As your Social Media Marketing Assistants MarketKeep will plan, place, and optimize your social media strategies. To connect contact our Social Media Management Team today.
Local SEO – So many of us rely on our phones to find businesses and products that are close by. Don’t miss out on an opportunity to connect with customers in your backyard. As a Local SEO agency MarketKeep helps to position your business online to acquire Local SEO searches. Learn more by contacting our Local SEO Agency Team.