Customer journey: learn how to structure the stages and sell more

Customer journey: learn how to structure the stages and sell more

Customer journey: learn how to structure the stages and sell more

Customer journey: learn how to structure the stages and sell more

The time when the moment of purchase decision-making was the central focus of marketing actions is long gone. However, it is important to keep in mind that consumer behavior has changed drastically and what used to work is no longer as effective.

In general, what we need to understand is that, nowadays, people no longer decide to buy a product/service suddenly, much less become loyal to a brand in the same way as before.

These decisions are made gradually throughout a process that many companies are unaware of, called customer journey. Read the text and find out how Digital marketing influence this process!

First of all, understand what the customer purchase journey is!

In brief, The customer purchase journey is the path taken by the consumer throughout their relationship with a company, that is, it is the customer's “story” with the brand, from their first contact to the long-awaited moment of purchase and, subsequently, after-sales.

And that's where the work of a digital marketing agency to improve a company's results. In practice, what happens is that professionals need to understand the pain points, doubts and needs of the target audience in order to outline a personalized strategy, according to the customer purchase journey map, which fills each phase of the journey, with the aim of attracting, educating and transforming consumers into engaged and loyal customers.

But you might be wondering: why is this really necessary? Well, the fact is that the modern consumer is no longer satisfied with just the product, but with the entire experience (customer experience) that is offered by the company. For this, the Content Marketing, for example, is very useful as a way of educating your person regarding your needs with your product or service.

Customer journey: learn how to structure the stages and sell more

But wait a minute. What do you mean by educate?

Well, in this case, it is to educate well in the true sense of the word. After all, nowadays, there is no point in bombarding your target audience with slogans, promotions and advertisements before providing the necessary knowledge for that solution to be recognized as useful and, often, necessary.

The companies that stand out today are those that have an educational role in the market, being willing to share valuable and interesting content that makes consumers discover and solve problems, which contributes to the brand becoming an authority in the area and building relationships for the future.

I already understand the importance of being present throughout the entire purchasing journey. But what are the stages and what can my company do to be present throughout them?

When it comes to the customer journey with a focus on Digital Marketing strategies in each one, the entire process is divided into four major stages so that you can design the customer journey.

  • Learning and discovery, which is when the consumer still doesn't quite understand that they have a problem and your company needs to help them find out;
  • Problem recognition, where potential customers already have knowledge about the problem, but are still looking for more specific information to solve it;
  • Solution consideration, is when the consumer already knows that the problem exists, already has enough information about the problem and is looking for ways to solve it;
  • Purchase decision, where potential customers are already analyzing the available solutions and can already be considered as sales opportunities. At this point they need to know that your company has the solution to solve their problem;
  • Loyalty,This is the stage in which sales opportunities finally become customers and maintain a relationship with the brand. This is the post-sales stage, where delivering a good product or service is essential for this consumer to become a propagator of your brand.

For each of these steps, there is a specific approach that should be used, both in communication and in marketing efforts. Check it out:

Customer journey: learn how to structure the stages and sell more

  • Learning and discovery

In this first phase, since the potential customer is often unaware that they have a problem, it is important to keep in mind that they will most likely not be looking for ready-made solutions. Therefore, during this stage, it is not the ideal time to talk about the brand or product, but rather to educate the persona so that they understand that they have a need and the company can be the solution. The topics are more comprehensive, top of the funnel, as we usually call it.

To achieve this, it is recommended to focus on publishing more educational and broad content, such as:

- Videos;

– Blog posts;

- Infographics;

– Ebooks;

– Publications in social networks;

- Between others!

  • problem recognition

This phase, as previously mentioned, is when the lead begins a process of recognizing the “symptoms” of a problem in their daily lives, but they still don’t know exactly what is causing them. There is already discomfort and a need, but nothing too deep.

for those who want do Digital Marketing in practice, this is a stage in which it is necessary to offer content that helps answer questions that the potential buyer may have.

At this stage, potential customers must be attracted to the company's communication channels (social media, blog, website, email, etc.), therefore, top-of-funnel content, i.e., attraction content, must be made available, such as:

– Articles;

– Webinars;

- Videos;

- Between others.

  • Solution consideration

In this second stage, your potential client has already gone through the process of discovering the problem and begins to shift their focus to finding a solution.

Even so, it is important to know that it is not yet time to talk shamelessly about your product or service, since, at this stage, your persona is not yet ready and still has many doubts that need to be resolved.

Therefore, the focus of your company's communication at this time should still be educating the target audience, but with more in-depth and complete materials, based on:

– Blog posts and YouTube videos;

– Ebooks;

– Webinars;

– Podcasts;

- Between others!

Considering that at this point, the lead is moving towards a solution, you can discreetly start showing that you have solutions to the lead's problems, but be careful that this is done amidst content that can truly help the lead.

Customer journey learn how to structure the stages and sell more

  • Buying decision

This point is very important. At this stage, your potential customer has already come a long way, discovering that they have a problem and learning more about it. At this point, your brand is already being recognized and has a certain relevance with your audience.

This is finally the time to reveal the details of your product or service and make it clear to your persona why your solution is best for solving that need.

This can be done from:

- Success stories;

– Sales cases;

– Customer testimonials;

- Between others!

To do this, it is important to have an open channel, whether on your website or on social media, for customers to post their opinions about your product and/or service and for you to use them to attract more consumers. This also helps maintain a good relationship with your persona and creates advocates for your brand!

  • Loyalty

If the entire process described above was carried out correctly, the biggest mistake your company can make is to “disappear” after the purchase is made. This attitude arouses distrust and causes all the relationship work to “go down the drain”.

When loyal, customers become, as previously mentioned, defenders of the brand and recommend it to friends and family, increasing the company's visibility and, over time, sales.

Therefore, maintain a strong relationship with your customers, whether through your blog or email marketing or even through social media. Share your company's news and continue to provide interesting and relevant content!

Offer complementary products or services to what they have already purchased and, if the purchase is recurring, help them remember when they need to buy again.

Now that you know how the customer journey works, we ask you: how does your company deal with this process?

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