19. The Customer Purchasing Journey explained
If we want to survive as business owners, we have to sell there is no way around it.If we want to survive as business owners, we have to sell there is no way around it.
Yes, sell, even if it’s scary, but think of it more as helping RESOLVE someone’s PROBLEM.
I don’t know how many people I have heard saying after they make a couple of posts that Online Marketing doesn’t work. It is a common misconception that if people see your offer they will immediately act on it.
Common! Put yourself in THEIR shoes. We see an offer online, but we rarely act on it the first time, am I right?
We tend to be hesitant at the beginning, is this person for real? Are they legitimate? Can I trust them?
Sometimes we will follow their businesses for a while until we DO make a purchasing decision. There are different factors that dictate how long we wait, for example, the price of what we are buying, who we are buying from (a large well-known company, a small entrepreneur we never heard about before).
Actually, this is not a random process it is called:
Customers’ Decision Journey.
Potential customers need to be “exposed” to your content, message, person, and offer a certain number of times before they seriously consider making a purchase.
Those moments in which they come in contact with your BRAND and you have access to influence how the potential client thinks about your Brand are called: TOUCHPOINTS.
Communication has changed. It used to be that a company would communicate about their business, their products and services and the potential customer would listen.
Not anymore, the role of the buyer is much more proactive.
Brands communicate, but the potential customer doesn’t always listen to what they have to say. They listen to what others have to say. There are a multitude of communication channels through which potential customers gain insight about the purchase they are considering and they value the opinion of those who have done it before.
The feedback goes beyond the actual product or service, it extends to the entire BRAND EXPERIENCE.
If you understand the Journey it is easier to focus the energy on those touchpoints that matter as our small entrepreneur’s resources are limited.
The customer decision journey has four main stages:
Initial consideration
here is where consumers with a particular problem start evaluating different options or brands to resolve their problem. This is where BRAND AWARENESS takes a key role. Is your business TOP OF MIND in your area of expertise? There is so much information and noise that consumers often have enough options available. Have they heard about you?. If they don’t know that you exist, if you don’t know that you are an option, you won’t even come into the “race”.
What is the customer's problem? Describe it. For example, doing exercise.
What are the main resources the buyers use to get information?
What’s the consequence if the buyer doesn’t take action?
Are there misconceptions regarding the purchase of your product or service?
2. Active evaluation
Depending on how high the price point is there will be more research done at this stage. It is not the same if you need to decide between two different soaps or two different car brands. Customers who are unhappy or dissatisfied with the products & services that they know about that could potentially resolve their problem, will go out to actively find others that might be more suitable. Clients actively search for recommendations, reviews and word of mouth. The influence comes from different channels like: internet, radio, television, friends and family, stores, forums, etc..
Is there one type of product service which resolves the problem? Or are there different categories? Let’s say I am looking for a hobby, do I just compare between art studios? Or do I consider dance studios against art studios?
What is the preferred or most common source of information for my potential buyer?
How significant/relevant are the pros & cons of my product and service for a buyer?
Which are the key criteria that will make them decide on my product/service?
3. The Purchase:
Just because a potential customer buys, we can’t consider this to be the end of the journey. We need to be very aware that at this point the customers will make their final decision regarding our product/service. It would be short-sighted to believe this is where it all ends.
How do buyers evaluate the options?
What are the key criteria about your offering that makes buyers decide for you and not the competition?
Who is the decision-maker? Are other influencers involved?
What other steps in the journey go beyond the act of purchase? For example guarantee, trial time, implementation?
4. Brand Experience / Loyalty:
the experience AFTER the purchase while the customer evaluates their degree of satisfaction is just as important. It is in this phase where our clients actually decide to recommend us or to warn others against using our products and services. We want to achieve loyalty, gain repeat customers, people who trust us, and who are raving customers that will recommend us to others. Remember that this type of touchpoints become of vital importance to gain other new customers.
“Whoever says that they don’t need Online Marketing because they are a Brick and Mortar business, doesn’t understand how the Customer Purchasing Journey works. Decisions are being made… often online, through reviews and recommendations.”
Hi! I’m Blanca!
I’m a Brand Photographer and Personal Branding Coach, helping female entrepreneurs to create a Personal Brand online that STANDS OUT.
I bring your vision to life, help you come up with one and take you by the hand into the online World if you need me to.