What does buyer’s journey mean?
The buyer’s journey is the process someone takes from first becoming aware of a brand to eventually making a purchase.
Someone rarely makes an immediate purchase the first time they see a new brand. They go through multiple stages of the buyer journey.
After a buyer gets a new brand on their radar, they go through the research and evaluation phase. Then they will often compare the brand with other options on the market. After information gathering and evaluation, the last stage in the journey is deciding to purchase.
Why is a buyer’s journey important?
When you understand your customers’ decision-making process, it’s easier to market to them. With carefully crafted messaging, you can meet them at the right point in their journey.
For example, if you are trying to encourage a customer to make a repeat purchase, you aren’t going to share a cold sales pitch with them. They know who you are and what they do; they need to be nudged in the right direction to buy from you again.
By the time a buyer reaches the point of sale, they’ve made the decision that they want to purchase. If you fully understand your buyer’s journey to get to the point of sale, you can gently encourage them at every step.
Understanding your buyer journey also helps you assess whether there’s a particular point where people change their minds. It can help you reevaluate your messaging to avoid churn in your sales funnel.
What are the main stages in a buyer journey?
There are three main stages in the customer buyer journey:
Awareness
The journey starts when customers realize they have a problem they need to solve and begin to research potential solutions. Your brand needs to appear as the right solution.
Get people aware of your brand by providing helpful information in the places they‘re looking for solutions. Your goal is to educate, not shove sales pitches down people’s throats.
Sometimes, people may not even realize they have a problem they need to solve. In this case, your advertising campaigns can highlight the pain points of doing something in the “traditional” way. You’ll show them that using your product makes it better.
Consideration
The buyer knows they need to find a solution to the problem they started researching.
Once a buyer is aware of your brand, they will start to consider whether or not you offer the best solution.
At this point in the buyer journey, you must highlight your pros and why you’re better than your competitors.
Decision
During the decision-making process, buyers will think of why they shouldn’t make a purchase. You need to address their concerns to help them over the final hurdle of purchasing.
Understand what may hold your customers back from making a purchase. Have customer support available to address anything that may hold them back. Add an FAQ section to your website that covers all queries and concerns.
At the decision stage, they may need a special offer such as a free trial or shipping and returns as final motivation to buy.
