Align Your Marketing with the Buyer’s Journey

by Lynn Ventimiglia-Lobit

July 12, 2019

in Buyers Journey, Marketing, Sales & Marketing

No Comments

1888

Defining the Buyer’s Journey

According to HubSpot, the buyer’s journey is the active process buyers go through to become aware of, evaluate, and purchase a new product or service. This process is basically the same whether a person is making a personal purchase or buying a product or service on behalf of a business. Depending upon the industry, this process can range anywhere from less than a month to a year. The buyer’s journey has been defined in various ways with versions having few as three stages or as many as fifteen stages. We have mapped the buyer’s journey into five stages.

The Five Stages of the Buyer’s Journey

Stage One – Awareness

Before becoming a customer, each potential buyer begins their journey at the awareness stage. They realize they have a need or issue and are actively seeking a potential solution. According to the data in the United States Ecommerce Country Report, 88 percent of consumer pre-research their buys online before making a purchase either online or in-store. To attract these active searchers/potential buyers, it is critical to produce relevant content using some of the following touchpoints:

Social media ads/posts
TV/radio ads
Print/digital ads
Direct mail
Email
Billboards/digital displays
Press release
Influencer marketing

Stage Two – Consideration

At the consideration stage, the buyer is actually thinking about your product or service or your company in general. However, at this stage, usually a few of your competitors are also still in the running. They are trying to determine the best solution and instead of just being a visitor to your website, this potential buyer is now considered a lead. It is critical to set your offering apart from the competition by utilizing the following types of marketing deliverables:

White paper
Podcasts
Blog
Webinars
Online reviews

Stage Three – Purchase

At stage three, the buyer has decided to move forward and make a purchase. These buyers will only become closed leads if compelling marketing deliverables with a strong call-to-action is provided. The final nudge can be accomplished most effectively with:

Case study
Videos
Product literature
Free trials/software downloads

Stage Four – Retention

The retention stage means the buyer has been turned into a repeat customer. They may purchase the same product/service again or buy a new and/or different offering. At this stage, your buyer is demonstrating their brand loyalty. Your content must engage them and make them feel special in order to turn them into a customer for life. Below are a few marketing ideas that can help to achieve these goals:

Surveys
E-Newsletters
Special offers/coupons

Stage Five – Advocacy

The final stage, advocacy, demonstrates just how strongly the buyer believes in your solution. They are willing to recommend it to others. This is the final stage that every company hopes to achieve. As an advocate of your company, these customers are willing to engage in the following marketing activities:

Post a positive review on social media and/or a business directory (i.e. Yelp)
Provide a testimonial
Speak at events on your company’s behalf
Be the subject of a case study
Co-Author a press release

Need Help with Your Buyer’s Journey?

The buyer’s journey can seem like an arduous task, but it is critical to growing your customer base. The diamonddog Marketing team can work closely with your marketing department to map your buyer’s journey and create the various pieces of content required at each stage. As an extension of your marketing organization, we can help ensure those seeking solutions turn into lifelong customers. Contact us today at info@diamonddogmarketing.com.