A Buyer's Journey: Motivating The Online Consumer by Elise Peek
Have you ever walked into a store..
only to be immediately approached by an enthusiastic employee, eager to help you? Maybe they follow you around the store and ask you too many questions; urging you to check out new products. So, you awkwardly reiterate that you are just looking. If you are anything like me, you would probably be a little annoyed. But what if the circumstances were a bit different? Maybe you scoped out the products in advance. And when you walked into the store, you are ready to make a purchase. In this situation, you are looking for a proactive employee who can help you buy quickly. The difference here is that each customer is clearly in a different phase of the buyer’s journey.
The associate in the first scenario didn’t understand how to create the right kind of buying experience based on the customer’s first-time needs.
Most first-time buyers don’t want to be sold. They have a desire to consider their options and initiate the purchase on their own.
Today, nearly 67% of a customer’s buying journey happens online; even when a customer is making a physical purchase locally. Businesses who plan a clear online journey can create a better experience for customers and therefore more predictably and strategically lead a customer to make a purchase. The buyer’s journey is based on a list of sequential phases that each customer must consistently move through before making a buying decision: (1) Awareness, (2) Exploration, (3) Consideration, (4) Urgency, and (5) Purchase.
A recent study from the Aberdeen Group found that companies with a strategy that takes into account the buyer’s journey on average experience an 18X faster buying cycle and 3.5X increase in revenue from customer referrals.
A recent article from the Harvard Business Review emphasized the importance of building trust into the buyer’s journey before proactively promoting an exchange.
'Consumer behavior research suggests that trust is essential to forming an intention to purchase. When trust is high, people are much more likely to take risks and engage in trade.’ A buyer’s journey automatically requires businesses to proactively plan a way to build trust into their interactions before an offer is ever made. Here are four recommendations you can use to craft an effective buyer’s journey for your business:
Social Media Marketing
It’s not necessary to post on every platform. In the awareness stage, you’ll want to rely on the daily habits customers already have so that they naturally stumble upon your product. Select only the platforms where your customers are visiting frequently. The goal is not to create a new habit or convince a new audience, but instead to stand out where customers are already looking.
Give Them Clarity
If your customers find your business from an ad or a social media platform, get clear on where you want them to go next. Where can they learn more? It might, be email or a website, but don’t overwhelm them with too many options. For example, it’s unnecessary to send your potential customer to like your Facebook Page if it’s not designed to move them closer to a purchase.
Images & Video
During the exploratory phase, use high quality images and videos professionally produced with music. Highlight stories of emotional transformation that occurred after using a product. Video is crucial because images are processed 90% faster than written words and value can be communicated within seconds of viewing a video.
Test & Optimize
Take time to test each phase of the process. Each customer should be moved through the phases as efficiently as possible. Avoid overwhelming customers with too many choices or unnecessary content. Test out events and offers to see which ones trigger a quicker shift from the consideration phase to the urgency phase, and finally to make a purchase.
Hi, I’m Elise!
Elise is the Co-Owner & Chief Disruptor for the Digital Disruptors. She is a speaker, trainer, and marketing strategist who specializes in helping small businesses navigate the world of digital marketing. She is also a coffee connoisseur, a lover of automation, and you can find her writing in her blog The Digital Buzzer.