In recent years, many things have changed with the advent of the digital universe, as well as the migration of professions, services, and businesses from offline to online. In this context, the consumer buying journey has also taken a ride and become part of the digital realm with e-commerce, social media, and virtual services. Thus, currently, the buying journey is a set of processes and research systems that consumers, or prospects, go through from the moment they desire to buy something, with incessant searches on the internet, until the moment they make the decision and complete the purchase on major brand websites.
Considering all the clients and Inbound Marketing actions that digital marketing professionals create daily, undoubtedly, the entire strategy designed to transform website visitors into leads, and leads into ROI revolves around the buying journey.
Thus, it is necessary to think about the stages that comprise this journey.
Learning and Discovery
Attention. This is the moment to spark the interest of your future customer! Therefore, we consider this the first stage of the process and, probably, the most important. If the relationship between readers and companies does not develop from here on, other stages will not occur.
Thus, it is important to understand that at this moment, the potential customer does not yet know they have a problem that needs a solution. Therefore, whoever can capture their attention first will certainly have the advantage. So, act strategically, develop the best actions, and spark their interest.
It is also here that the content developed to engage them should present problems and solutions to common challenges faced by the brand's target. This way, the offered themes are lighter, informative, curious, and generally address doubts, assisting prospects in their daily lives.
#KaizenTip: Attention, it is important for content producers to keep in mind that the content created for the first phase should relate to the readers' problems. This way, they will search on the search engine, Google, for solutions to their doubts. Therefore, it is strictly important that your content appears on the first page of the search engine; otherwise, it is possible that readers will click on the top-ranked positions, and your brand will be left out.
Problem Recognition
Stage two: Things start to make sense! Here, the lead comes into action, and digital marketing professionals begin to recognize the symptoms of a problem, but without identifying the cause. We already know there is a certain need, hence the search, but it still needs to be understood before it can be solved.
Within the actions of Inbound Marketing, this is the moment to gauge the temperature and create content that aligns with the customers' inquiries to gain some answers and use them as strategies in the sales funnel, as readers/customers need to be attracted to all of the brand's digital channels, whether they are the website, blog, or social media.
Thus, they will be identified as leads, and new top-of-funnel content can be effective. With quality content that the customer has access to, it is time to deliver rich content in exchange for personal data. This can be done through the delivery of e-books, for example. This tactic can be termed as a "trigger."
Now, with the lead identified and the return of these customers' data, the brand can already think about the third stage of the buying journey.
Solution Consideration
From here on, nothing is a secret anymore. Now, our customer is aware of their problem; however, they are still not sure if they want or need to make the purchase decision. This is where the importance of maintaining important information and good content to keep the relationship with this potential buyer comes into play. This strategy is called lead nurturing and should be part of the customer's buying journey.
Thus, when the prospect enters the third stage, they need to choose the solution for their needs and problems, understanding that by investing, they will gain significant advantages. This is a delicate phase of the Inbound Marketing process, where the customer is practically making the decision to purchase from the client's company.
This is also the moment for the company to signal its presence with email marketing tools. Once the lead has a certain relationship with your brand and is considering investing in it, receiving new information or additional triggers is more than expected. It is vital!
Moreover, take the opportunity to demonstrate authority in your market segment, proving that your company is better than the competition, gaining trust, credibility, and motivating the lead to move towards the last and decisive stage of the journey.
Purchase Decision
Congratulations. You made it! Your lead has come this far and is ready to invest in solving their needs. However, know that your competitors are after them even though they know they have already made the decision and chosen you.
Now, hurry up and act to make your sale. Here, the #KaizenTip is to offer something extra, something that no one else has, such as a technical visit, a test, a consultancy, a joint acquisition, something additional that makes them close their eyes, not look back, and purchase your product regardless of others that may arise.
But if, even so, the sale has not yet been made, now is the time to activate your sales team. With the information acquired from your leads, the salespeople should seek out the prospect to turn them into a customer.
Thus, with the sale made, #let's activate this lead again with furious post-sale and new #Inbound techniques?
After all, sales are CYCLES, and they open and close ALL THE TIME!