Many marketers talk about the customer journey. If you want to sell a product or a service, you need to know the process it takes. Below you will read seven customer journey stages that apply to almost every business.
What Is The Customer Journey?
The customer journey is all the steps that a customer needs to take before deciding to buy something. We can recognize these steps or stages if we observe the behavior of consumers.
The online world has made these stages more obvious, but they apply to traditional businesses. However, people tend to visit stores and businesses when they are in the late customer journey stages. So, traditional businesses don’t have to know about them, but it would help them make better strategic decisions.
Internet marketers have to know about the customer journey because people visit their websites and social media accounts for various reasons. In many cases, they just need information. Providing content with the right information is a part of their marketing strategy and one stage of the customer journey.
Also, the time of the customer journey varies for each case. It can take a few days if a person needs something as soon as possible. For example, if you figure out that your car has a problem, you search on Google for available services in your area and call them. This is a quick customer journey.
However, the customer journey can take weeks or months for some industries. If you sell home renovation services, your customers will take a lot of time to research and contact you. They will get ideas, do their research, check relevant posts on social media and YouTube, compare prices, etc.
7 Customer Journey Stages
1. Awareness
The first stage is awareness. It means that a potential customer needs to learn your business. The internet allows different methods to reach your target audience. But people that just discover your business online are not ready to buy any products yet.
They find you from search engines, social media posts, videos, advertisements, press releases, etc. The first step is to be online and available on different platforms. You can create profiles on social media, build a blog, and start a YouTube channel. You don’t have to be on every platform but consider where you can better target your audience.
People can discover your business both with paid ads and organic reach. For example, paid ads will allow you to boost your social media post to reach more people or set ads to get more followers. Organic reach is for people that you reach with content, comments, shares, and similar methods.
2. Trust
When people find a social media profile on a topic they like, they will evaluate the profile first. They have access to millions of accounts and don’t follow every person or brand that they find. First, they will check your profiles or your website to decide whether they will follow you or not. If you have a website, you can also turn them into subscribers.
You want to get more followers and subscribers because this is how they will get your updates. In this stage, it is important to share helpful content and add value. You can’t move to the next stages if you don’t build trust with your target audience.
A common mistake of many internet marketers is that they expect to make sales at this stage. They send promotions and offers right away, which is not always the best strategy. For example, a social media follower must see many posts and take some time to trust you.
If you have a website, the best way to get subscribers is by giving something of value for free in exchange for an email address. It can be a free ebook, a case study, a report, etc. Your freebie needs to worth their email address and their time to read it.
Each business is different, so we can’t say how much it will take to build trust with your customers. In some cases, people will need to see your content for months before contacting you or making a sale.
It does not mean that you don’t promote anything on this stage, but you shouldn’t overpromote. Adding a link on social media profiles or a call to action on your site can be enough. However, publishing promotional posts without adding value will not bring results.
3. Compare
Many potential customers follow many brands in the same niche and have multiple options. You should expect that your followers will compare your offers with other alternatives. If you have done a good job in the previous stage, you can make sales even if you don’t have the best offer in the market.
However, you can consider your competition, the budget of your audience, and your online presence. For example, a part of the comparison is to check reviews and what other people say about your business. You should be managing your reviews, adjusting your prices, and providing a good offer.
4. Purchase
In this stage, your potential customers have decided to buy your product. They can complete the transaction on your sales page or come to your store.
Of course, there are things that can go wrong at this stage. For example, 69.80% of buyers abandon their shopping cart. It can happen for different reasons, like complicated processes or distractions. Your goal is to make this process as easy as possible to reduce the cart abandonment rate.
You can also set some retargeting ads for people that abandon their carts on your website. These ads have a high conversion rate because your target audience has already made the buying decision. You just need a business account on Facebook or a Google Ads account and then add a piece of code on your site to start a re-targeting campaign.
5. Use
Your customers buy a product because they have some specific expectations. They want to solve a problem or leverage the product.
The first part of this stage is to use it. If the product is too complicated, has difficult instructions, or does not work as expected, you will have problems. 30% of the products ordered online are returned, and the customer gets a refund.
The simplest solution is to give easy-to-read and follow instructions on how to use the product. You can create a short guide with images and text, videos that show how it works, and have great customer service. If your customer service helps your customers, you will get fewer returns.
The only way to meet the expectations of the customer is by offering a great product. You also need to avoid any unrealistic claims on your sales page. If the customer gets what you promise, they will come back for more products in the future. A returning customer can keep buying products for years from a specific business.
6. Partners & Referrals
Happy customers can bring more customers to your business. Many people suggest products and services to friends, family members, and colleagues. These people don’t have to go through all the customer stages because they already trust the person who suggested your business.
You can get the maximum from this stage by encouraging your customers to take action. Many companies have referral programs where people that suggest your business can get a free product or a discount. In some cases, referral programs give a percentage of their earnings.
Referral and affiliate programs are popular on the internet. Many people look for ways to earn extra money and join these types of programs. They share a link to people that they know and get credit for a sale when someone buys a product.
Lastly, you can ask existing customers to test new products or new features. They have more chances to give honest feedback and be happy to get a free sample.
7. Shares & Social Proof
Some customers will share their opinion about your products without expecting anything in return. Their opinion can be positive or negative, depending on their experience. Many people read reviews and search for other people’s opinions when they compare prices and products. Existing customers have a major impact on other people.
There are many places where people can leave reviews. There are big review sites like Yelp that include different types of business. Google My Business is also important for local businesses. Then there are many review sites that focus on specific niches like fashion, home improvement or tech.
The best approach is to encourage reviews. If many people talk about your products, you can get more attention. In most cases, you can reply to their reviews. You can thank them if they leave a positive review or help them when they have a negative experience. The follow up is important.
The last option of this stage is to post images and videos from testimonials. You can request that they say a few words about their experience and send you the video. Testimonials can build trust faster and increase conversions.
These seven customer journey stages are common and apply to most businesses, whether they use them intentionally or not. Your customers must discover your business and build trust before moving on to the next steps including making the purchase. You can build trust by helping them online.
