Content marketing is a powerful way to reach and engage your ideal audience to convey who you are, what you offer, and how your offering resolves their pain or need.
But your ideal customer doesn’t make a purchase without first going through their own unique buyer’s journey. When becoming aware of their problems, considering various solutions to those problems, and deciding to make a purchase to fulfill their needs, your customers interact with many different brands. Those interactions are called “touchpoints.”
Every touchpoint is an opportunity for you to strengthen the customer-brand relationship. Your content strategy must include plans to provide helpful resources to your audience, through your touchpoints, at the right time.
What this article covers:
What is the awareness stage of a buyer’s journey?
What tools do I use in the consideration stage of a buyer’s journey?
How do I convert a lead to a customer?
How do I build loyal customers?
What is the Awareness Stage of a Buyer’s Journey?
In the awareness stage, a person is aware of their problem but doesn’t have a solution to solve it. Typically, this person will search online to learn more about their pain point. This is your opportunity to connect them with content such as blog posts or videos that help them better understand their need and offer answers or solutions to their problem.
In your online content, include common search queries your customers use to increase the likelihood of being found by potential customers. Your goal here is for people to think “your brand = their potential solution.”
What Tools Do I use in The Consideration Stage of a Buyer’s Journey?
Now that your prospective customer has better defined their problem, they enter the stage of “consideration” where they research options to solve their problems. They’re not trying to decide on the best option just yet, but they gather information to eliminate options they don’t resonate with or trust. During the consideration stage of your customer’s buyer’s journey, educate consumers on your products and services while building confidence, showcasing quality and expertise, and highlighting the differentiators that make your business the best choice for their purchase.
Utilizing tools such as email marketing, blogs, video, retargeting advertisements, and social media will help you engage your ideal audience. Providing meaningful information will help move them through their vetting process to determine if your offerings are a right fit for their needs.
How Do I Convert a Lead to a Customer?
Your potential customer has gone through their vetting process to narrow down their list of brands from which to purchase and has moved into the “decision” stage of their buyer’s journey. Your goal here is to give them solid reasons for why they should choose your brand over the competition. Now is a great time to use case studies, whitepapers, demos, warranties, and customer reviews of how others experienced and benefited from your product or service.
Utilizing tools such as email marketing, retargeting ads, live chat, and a user-friendly website will keep your brand and information top-of-mind while the customer makes their final purchase decision.
How Do I Build Loyal Customers?
The customer’s buyer’s journey doesn’t end at the purchase. Conversion to a loyal customer is the ultimate goal in marketing. You want these customers who have bought from you once to become loyal customers who will purchase again and eventually become brand advocates. Now is the time to sure up your operational customer touchpoints such as customer service and support, return policy, billing process, loyalty programs, or VIP rewards program. If you are B2B, consider what your client onboarding process looks like and where you can streamline processes or improve the experience. Additional touchpoints that can help build loyal customers are follow-up letters, automatic rewards, and offering an easy online support such as a ticket submission request.
The goals are to make your customers feel valued and to make doing business with you easy and enjoyable.
To see a customer’s buyer’s journey and touchpoint map in action, click here.
