Have you ever thought of purchasing new brake oils for your car and started to search online for the nearest automobile shops close to you? From there you stumble on a website with different information regarding auto-care from a “DIY on how to service your car every six months” to “different coverage options for your car insurance”. To confirm their credibility, you check reviews and scan their website before you are convinced to give it a go. You send a message to customer service to place an order because your curiosity was satisfied. That is an example of a buyer’s journey.
The buyer’s journey is the series of steps a customer takes from problem recognition to solution exploration before finally making a purchase. This article will cover what a buyer’s journey is, why it’s important, an example of a B2B buyer’s journey vs. a B2C buyer’s journey, and how to position right for each stage of your buyer’s journey.
What is a buyer’s journey?
A buyer’s journey is the journey a prospect takes from first realizing a need or issue to ultimately choosing to make a purchase. It illustrates the process that occurs from the moment when your customer becomes aware of a particular need to look for solutions before settling on an option.
Importance of Understanding the Buyer’s Journey
Understanding the process involved before your buyer takes action plays an essential role in your sales pipeline. It gives you the advantage of meeting your audience at the point of their needs. Some of its importance are
Increased Conversion Rates
Recognizing your target audience and offering valuable information that addresses their pain points encourages them to make a purchase. Your chances of turning leads into customers rise when your strategy is tailored to providing an exceptional user experience.
Improved Customer Experience
Nothing beats the joy of a satisfied customer. They would keep coming back for more and even refer your product or service to others. By strategically planning your buyer’s journey to address their concerns at the right time, you enhance customer satisfaction and encourage more positive feedback from the customers you serve.
Data-Driven Insights
It provides you with insights on where to allocate your resources. With data at hand, you can effectively tailor your marketing efforts to create targeted and effective campaigns.
What are the four stages of a buyer’s journey?
The buyer’s journey stages are classified into four; Awareness, Consideration, Interest, and Action.
- Awareness: At this stage, your buyer is problem-aware. They are at that place where they realize that they have a need and require a solution. It’s at this point they look for answers from social media, search engines, etc. Your buyer is mostly carrying out research to find answers.
- Consideration: From the research conducted at the awareness stage, your buyers now have a clear picture of what they are looking for and with the knowledge at their disposal, they are considering their options before choosing the most valuable one.
- Interest: Here, they have narrowed their options and are considering important factors like reviews and testimonials to trust in the brand’s ability to deliver.
- Action: Finally, they have decided on their choice and a purchase is made.
B2B vs B2C Buyer’s Journey Examples
The buyer’s journey of a B2B(business-to-business) and a B2C(business-to-client) differs from each other and that is because there are key factors that differentiate the process of both.
A B2B buyer’s process involves multiple stakeholders which requires a longer, more complex decision-making process. These factors come into play in the purchase process.
Look at this case scenario.
“Rollbox is a manufacturing company that deals with the production and supply of wall paint. Due to the nature of their business, they are usually involved with daily transactions with suppliers and customers but every one of their financial expenses are recorded manually which is time-consuming and not reliable because of certain errors.
Their accountant, James starts to search for accounting software that they can use to automate invoices, employee payroll, and expense tracking and on his quest online finds Quickflow, a fintech company that offers integrated accounting solutions for ambitious businesses.
James conducts research and evaluates their website, considering factors such as cost, features, scalability, and integration capabilities focusing on how each of their solutions addresses their specific needs and challenges.
After careful consideration and comparison with other options, James decides that Quickflow’s comprehensive suite of features and user-friendly interface best align with Rollbox’s needs. He contacts Quickflow’s sales team to schedule a demo and discuss implementation details”.
B2C on the other hand involves the customer directly. The decision-making process is less formal and more influenced by personal preferences and emotions.
Look at this scenario;
“Angela is looking to get new headphones. She goes to Google and types “Where can I get quality headphones” and browses through the different retail stores with their product catalog. Although she bears in mind certain features like pricing and quality, she is also concerned about product reviews and testimonials to confirm if the brand is credible. After what seemed like minutes later, she finally decides on one that meets her budget while suiting the needs she is looking for in a headphone. After adding it to the cart, she inputs her card details and makes a purchase.
This different scenario shows the disparity of a buyer’s journey between a B2B and a B2C client.
How then can you create a strategy that meets your buyers at each stage of their journey irrespective of whether it’s a stakeholder that needs your service to make their operations better or an individual looking for a product based on personal interest?
This brings us to the next heading.
How to Tailor your marketing strategy for each buyer’s journey funnel
Planning for each stage of your buyer’s journey is essential to creating an exceptional user experience as this increases your brand engagement, builds trust, and increases the number of your conversions. Here’s how you can tailor your marketing strategy to each stage
- Awareness Stage: At this stage, your customers are just being problem aware, so you need to educate them on their problem and introduce your brand to them. Your goal here is to educate and engage them. Create informative and valuable blog posts, and social media content and optimize your website to rank for relevant keywords. Another thing to optimize for at this stage is to run display ads (Google ads, Facebook ads) to increase brand awareness.
- Consideration Stage: Your customers have already been accustomed to what their problem is and what your offerings are. The consideration stage positions your product or service as the ideal solution to your customer’s problem. In this funnel, you are showcasing how your product/service has helped other people and nurturing your leads with personalized email campaigns. Strategies here include interactive webinars or product demos, retargeting ads, and email marketing. This is what increases their level of trust in you.
- Interest Stage: Here, their curiosity has been piqued and they have narrowed their options to a selected few of which if your brand is amongst them, it’s a competition of who would win last. You have to persuade them till they make a purchase. At this stage, give them an irresistible offer. Share testimonials and positive reviews. Offer free product trials, and create a personalized sales pitch to follow-up at intervals. Your goal is to keep them engaged and sold out to your offerings.
- Action Stage: Finally, they have made their decision and chosen your brand. Cheers to that but the experience here also matters. Ensure your customer service is as smooth and seamless as possible. Even after they have bought your product, continue building the rapport you have started from the very beginning. Offer discounts and special promos, and include them on your latest updates and online forums. Foster a sense of belonging where they don’t just feel like customers but a part of your brand. This is how loyal customers are formed because of the intentionality of brands to nurture a strong sense of connection with their customers.
Conclusion
Your buyer’s journey is essential to creating targeted, personalized experiences for visitors coming across your brand for the first time. It’s all about understanding your audience, creating information that addresses their pain points, and providing an offer that they won’t be able to resist until they finally make a purchase. From the awareness stage to the action stage, it is important to tailor your strategy to meet them at each point. GrowthApp is an AI CRO tool that optimizes your buyer’s journey at each stage based on their behavior and identifies frictions that cause your audience to drop off in their purchase journey. It creates a tailored experience that keeps your audience hooked till they finally take a desired action.
