Walking Your Prospects Through the Buyer Journey
Companies that prioritize nurturing their prospective customers generate 50% more leads that are ready to close the sale, according to a recent study.
It’s easy for brands to get lost in a saturated marketplace. But focusing less on sales and more on enhancing the overall buyer journey and customer experience can help achieve increased retention, long-term brand growth, and ultimately, continued sales success.
The road to the sale
The buyer journey typically consists of five stages: awareness, consideration, decision, retention and advocacy. And what you say to your potential customers — and how you say it — largely depends on where they are in their particular journey.
Effective buyer journey mapping enables you to best tailor your marketing strategies to meet customer needs at each stage. By understanding their motivations, preferences and behaviors you can create personalized experiences that drive engagement and loyalty — and keep them moving through the sales funnel.
Buyer journey mapping is a strategic process that involves thinking like a customer and analyzing the steps they take from initial awareness to post-purchase engagement. Who are they? What are they searching for? What do they need from our brand to make a purchase decision?
Through mapping, you can identify key touch points, pain points and opportunities for improvement throughout the customer experience.
By continuously refining and optimizing the buyer journey through data-driven insights and customer feedback, you can see what marketing tactics work best to win over customers.
Print and digital: Better together
In today’s digital age, a significant portion of the buyer journey takes place online. From researching products and services to reading reviews and comparing prices, consumers rely heavily on digital platforms to guide their purchasing decisions.
Social media, search engines and e-commerce websites play a crucial role in shaping consumer behavior throughout the journey. You may leverage content marketing, social media advertising and email campaigns to engage with customers on these channels at every stage.
That said, it’s easy to discount the value of print marketing. Moreover, it’s also a mistake.
Today’s direct mail, for example, is data-driven and highly personalized. It engages prospects with its tangible, physical presence and easily integrates with digital channels. And with today’s printing technology, implementing an omnichannel strategy is faster and more accessible than ever. For example, digitally-driven direct mail can offer you the ability and speed to send highly personalized, intent-driven programmatic direct mail to convert website visitors, retain customers and even reactivate lapsed buyers.
For an omnichannel approach to be successful, it’s important to:
- Understand your customers. What are their challenges, preferences and behaviors? Use this data to inform your strategy.
- Be consistent. Your brand messaging and aesthetics should be consistent across all channels, creating a unified brand experience.
- Share customer data across channels. For example, if a customer adds a product to their cart on your website, they should be able to view this same cart from your mobile app.
By providing valuable and relevant content across the channel spectrum, brands can much more effectively influence consumer perceptions and drive conversions.
>>Related: Get More Conversions with an Omnichannel Customer Journey and Programmatic Direct Mail<<
Optimizing marketing efforts
Awareness. During the first stage of the buyer journey, consumers become aware of a need or problem that they want to solve. They may be activity researching products or casually checking out recommendations from social ads that their attract attention. Is your product the answer?
- Introduce them to your solutions and how they can benefit. This could be in the form of blog posts, social media ads or educational videos. Reaching buyers at the awareness stage lays the foundation for building brand recognition, trust and long-term loyalty.
- You may also consider strategies like implementing trigger programs to capture buyer information, like a free downloadable look book in exchange for an email address. With this new data in hand, you can best personalize their experience as they continue on the road to a purchase.
Consideration. Once consumers have identified their need and are actively seeking solutions, they enter the consideration stage of their journey. As they’re evaluating different options and weighing the pros and cons of each, you can favorably influence the decision-making process with targeted content that highlights the unique selling points of their products or services.
- Effective tactics include case studies, testimonials or product demonstrations that showcase the value of your offerings in real-world scenarios. By providing social proof and demonstrating how your products have helped other customers, you can build trust and credibility with potential buyers. Keep in mind that, as buyers are comparing your product to others in the market, user reviews and testimonials, therefore, can be particularly powerful tools.
- Strategies for the consideration phase often include personalized retargeting. For example, you may use digital retargeting ads and quick-turnaround direct mail retargeting postcards to reach buyers who have already shown interest. Similarly, if a buyer downloads a product comparison guide for a high-end sofa, you should, in turn, follow up with additional resources to reinforce the benefits of your product, such as dovetail joints or coil spring versus web suspension.
Decision. As consumers move through the buyer journey and reach the decision stage, they’re approaching decision-making time. Focus on a seamless buying experience that encourages them to click the purchase button. This may involve offering product demonstrations, limited-time promotions or discounts to incentivize purchase decisions.
- By streamlining the buying process and making it easy for consumers to complete their transactions, you can increase conversion rates and drive sales. Additionally, providing excellent customer service can help to reassure consumers and address any concerns they may have prior to making a purchase. At this stage, it is crucial to provide content that’s supportive. For example, prompt responses to buyer inquiries, user-friendly order tracking capabilities and hassle-free returns can impact customer satisfaction.
Retention. After a customer makes a purchase, it’s essential to maintain a strong connection and continue providing value. This is your chance to engage and retain customers for the long haul. By analyzing customer data and feedback, you can best customize your communications to continue satisfying their specific needs. Try a mix of approaches and communication channels — like a personalized email, follow-up postcards or a survey to collect valuable intel to make improvements for next time.
- Consider combining your approaches by sending a follow-up postcard with a QR code to access a survey. Or using programmatic direct mail, you can send a thank-you postcard immediately after a purchase. You may even include an offer for a future purchase as part of your direct mail marketing campaign.
- Another idea: Establish a customer loyalty program to show your appreciation for their trust in your brand. You may reward them with points toward a free purchase, products samples or exclusive early access to new products. There are so many ways to show them they’re valued.
Advocacy. Creating brand advocates doesn’t happen overnight. It requires consistent effort and a customer-first mindset. Lucky for us, word-of-mouth marketing is hotter than ever! Today’s customers are drawn to social media to talk about the products and brands they love (and those they don’t). So, give them something to talk about! Ensure your buyers have the tools and resources they need to actively promote your brand and products through Facebook posts, Tik Tok videos and customer reviews.
- Do you have a social media page they can tag? Or a unique hashtag they can include their posts?
- Make it easy for them to share their experiences with your brand. Furthermore, once they do, be sure to follow up with a thank you note; this will not only show your appreciation but also help strengthen your relationships with those customers.
B2C vs. B2B buyer journeys
Depending on your audience, your communication strategy will differ slightly across the buyer journey. B2B purchases are typically more complex, engaging additional decision-makers and a longer sales cycle. In this buyer journey, there are multiple stakeholders, each with their own preferences and considerations. In addition, the journey is typically longer and, consequently, requires more intensive research and thorough evaluation during the consideration phase.
The B2B buyer may spend more time researching potential solutions, comparing different vendors, and evaluating the potential return on investment. This decision-making process often involves technical specifications, pricing comparisons and even product demos or trials.
B2C purchases are usually quicker, driven by emotions and individual preferences. Your challenge is to understand these triggers and cater to them effectively. Offering personalized product recommendations, sending timely deals and providing easy check-outs can all enhance their buying experience.
Both journeys share a common thread — the importance of building strong relationships. Moreover, a cohesive omnichannel strategy across channels not only provides value but also effectively nurtures your prospects at every stage.
The journey never ends: Fostering long-term relationships
Remember, each stage of the buyer journey is a unique opportunity to reach and engage with your customers. Ultimately, you want to earn their loyalty, so they continue an ongoing relationship with your brand. Take the time to review each touchpoint through the lens of the customer, and guide them at every pitstop of their journey.