A crucial part of effective digital marketing is understanding the customer journey. Purchases of products or services are no longer linear in nature. Today’s consumers value and engage with brands through various media platforms on different levels. From the first moment that a consumer becomes aware of you to spreading the word about you to begin the cycle again—the customer journey presents both challenges and opportunities.
The most common five-step model consists of Awareness, Consideration, Purchase, Retention, and Advocacy. What do these five steps mean and how can you use your digital marketing to convert?
Stage 1: Awareness
Awareness is the first stage of the customer journey. This is the point at which a consumer becomes familiar with a business through digital marketing, digital advertising, organic social media, or word-of-mouth.
To make a memorable first impression it’s crucial to populate your online platforms with great content. The importance of social media and having a consistent online identity shouldn’t be understated. Whether it’s blog posts on your website, professional-looking videos and assets, or keeping your social channels populated, these all contribute to how people perceive you.
From there, there are steps you can take to help people find you among a sea of other businesses online. The first is to have a solid SEO strategy for your great content—a winning combination for online visibility. Initially, this does require a lot of time and resources but once you get the balance right, great SEO will help you to rank higher in Google’s Search Engine Results Pages (better known as SERPs).
Boosting your social media engagement can also be a great way to introduce more people to your business. Leveraging your social platforms to interact with followers and sharing content will help to increase your brand awareness.
Overall, the best way to generate awareness for your brand is to be personable, engage, and make sharing easy (regarding both content and reviews).
Stage 2: Consideration
The second step of the customer journey is consideration. This is when a consumer begins to consider purchasing something from you and may even research the business. They realise your product or service has the potential to solve a problem they have.
During this stage, potential customers are evaluating their options, comparing you to your competitors. Your goal during this delicate stage is to harness digital marketing to position your brand as the right choice. This can help to imbue a sense of trust and credibility. Interestingly, 87% of customers will actively avoid buying from brands they don’t trust.
From here, digital marketing techniques such as email marketing, remarketing and targeted advertising can all help. Emails are a great way to provide additional information and value. Remarketing allows brands to target people with personalised advertising. This keeps your business on people’s minds and reconnects you to audiences who have previously engaged.
If you have positive customer reviews or testimonials, share these on your website and in your social media content strategy. These will also help to influence people’s opinions of you and the effectiveness of your product or service before the next stage.
Providing educational content can also help people to decide what they want. If you can create case studies, in-depth guides, or product demonstrations, this can also help the buyer to make informed decisions.
Adding simple, interactive content to your website can also be a great way to demonstrate your product or service’s value. For example, this could look like online quizzes, savings calculators, virtual consultations, or free, no-obligation quote function.
Stage 3: Purchase
If you’ve made it to Stage 3 then you have successfully completed both Stages 1 and 2. This is when the consumer becomes a customer and decides to purchase your product or service.
They have chosen you over your competitors and it would be wise to prompt them to leave a review or testimonial of their experience. This is both for a learning benefit and to assist those in Stage 2 of the customer journey undergoing consideration.
Using clear Calls-To-Action (CTAs), streamlining your checkout, or invoicing process and even offering discounts or other incentives can all help to solidify this stage.
Stage 4: Retention
The journey doesn’t end at purchasing. In fact, the post-purchase stage is referred to as the Retention stage. This is because you now want to seek out repeat purchasing and customer loyalty. In fact, over 50% of customers will switch to a competitor after a single, unsatisfactory customer experience.
If customers run into any obstacles or challenges, ensure contacting your business is easy. Offer multiple ways for people to contact you whether it’s a telephone call, live chat, or other simple method. Meet them with excellent customer service and this will assist you with the final stage.
Stage 5: Advocacy
Advocacy is the final stage of the customer journey. This is the moment a customer who has made the journey decides to post about, share, or spread the word. Unfortunately, this may happen whether they’ve had a positive or negative experience.
It is worth keeping in mind that consumers are more likely to trust word-of-mouth. 92% of customers trust positive reviews from friends and family while 88% also trust online reviews written by strangers.
Ongoing digital marketing efforts are vital to achieving this final stage. Continue remarketing, advertising campaigns, sending email newsletters with updates, and engaging with customers.
This will help to foster loyalty, encourage repeat business, and turn your customers into advocates of your brand. And so, the customer journey begins again with someone new.
Digital Marketing and The Customer Journey
Different customer journeys will work for different businesses and sectors. As a digital marketing agency, we are familiar with them all. The above five-step method of Awareness, Consideration, Purchase, Retention and Advocacy is the most commonly used.
Digital marketing will play a crucial role in helping your business to get this right. You can create personalised experiences that help customers feel valued which will in turn drive engagement, build trust and lead to further conversion. In the world of digital marketing, mastering the art of the customer journey from awareness to advocacy is key to achieving sustainable growth.
At DCA PR, our experienced team offers Digital Marketing services such as digital advertising, pay-per-click (PPC), SEO and keyword research, integrated campaigns, email marketing and much more. Visit our Services page to find out how we can help you with all your digital marketing needs.
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