What is the buyer's journey?
Put in simple terms, the buyer’s journey is the process of researching and making decisions that result in a purchase. However, from a business’ perspective, there is a lot more to it than this. In this blog post, we will reveal how you can create content that fits in with the buyer journey so that you can generate more leads and ultimately generate more profit in the end.
The different stages of the buyer’s journey
When making any sort of purchase, there are three stages that we all go through on this journey. Firstly, there is the awareness stage. This is the point whereby we realise that we have a problem and so we start to look for a solution to help with this. There is then the consideration stage. This is when we begin doing research and we compare different solutions. Finally, there is the decision phase. This is when we find something that solves our problem, whether it is a particular service or product.
Why should businesses care about the buyer journey?
It is imperative for businesses to make sure that the experience is optimized at every stage in the buyer journey if they want to turn interests into customers. This is imperative because it is all about delivering value. One of the main issues with traditional marketing is that it was not designed to assist people. It is all about shouting for attention. However, inbound marketing is about educating people and providing value, with the hope that they will then use this education to purchase from your business.
Ultimately, the buyer’s journey is what is going to help you sell your services and products. If you are able to generate content that helps your audience at every stage in their buying journey, you are going to have a great chance of creating engagement with your site and, subsequently, they could become a lead. You then have the opportunity to nurture this lead until they become a customer. You can continue to delight them so that they become a repeat customer and make referrals for your business as well.
Creating a buyer’s journey for your audience
Now that you know about the importance of the buyer’s journey, we are going to take a look at how you can create the right journey for your audience. This needs to begin with creating buyer personas. This is all about creating semi-fictional personas of your ideal customer. This is important because it will help you to really understand who your customers are. This is the only way you are going to be able to understand their problems and their needs, and consequently, the only way that you are going to be able to create a buyer;s journey that is really going to work for them.
Once you have done this, you then need to focus on each stage of the buyer;s journey. You need to think about what your goals are at each stage, and then you need to put a strategy in place regarding the content you are going to create and distribute in order to reach the goals that you have already outlined.
The awareness stage
So, let’s start with the awareness stage. At this phase, your goal is going to be to help the buyer to understand and define the problem that they are experiencing. There are a number of different content forms that are going to be useful here. For example, you can establish your brand as a credible and reliable source of information by using checklists, whitepapers, and blog posts.
The consideration stage
Next, you have the consideration stage. This is when buyer options are provided for relieving the problem that your audience is experiencing - i.e., the issue that you would have defined at the former stage. Again, there are a number of appropriate content types at this stage. This includes live webinars, product videos, and customer testimonials, which all may assist with helping the buyer to select a solution that is right for the issue they are experiencing. Of course, the hope here is that they are going to ultimately choose your product or service.
The decision stage
Finally, there is the decision phase. At this point, your aim is to persuade the potential buyer that your business is best placed to provide them with the solution that they need. The sort of content that will be effective here includes demos, free trials, and product factsheets. You are looking to create content that is going to persuade the individual in question that your brand is the right one for them.
It is important to recognise that the content suggestions that we have provided are just that - suggestions. The most appropriate content is ultimately going to depend on the buyer personas that you create. This is why it is important to make sure you spend enough time on creating buyer personas that are accurate and a true reflection of the sort of audience you are going to be targeting. Once you do this, it will make it a lot easier for you to determine and plan how you are going to create and distribute the right form of content at each stage in the buyer journey.
Don’t forget to continue to wow your customers once you have closed the deal
Hopefully, you now have a better understanding of the buyer's journey and why it is so important today. If you want to ensure that you have great conversion rates, it is necessary that you focus on delivering an exceptional buyer’s journey, which surpasses what your competition has to offer. Make sure you do not simply forget about your customers once the deal has closed, though. Loyal customers can deliver repeat business and new customers, and so you need to make sure you continue to delight customers even once they have completed the close stage of their buyer journey.