What is the buyer’s journey?

The term "buyer's journey" describes the research process that a lead, or potential buyer, goes through before becoming a customer. There are three distinct stages in the journey: the awareness stage, the consideration stage, and the decision stage. As marketers, we always want to try to cater our messaging and strategies to prospects based on their place within the buyer’s journey.

How do these stages influence content?

You want to be sure that you have adequate content onsite for each stage of the buyer’s journey. Whether you are sending content to prospects individually, posting regularly to a blog, or using an automated system, journey-driven content will ensure that you’re providing people with the right message at the right time.

Breaking down the journey:

Awareness Stage
In the awareness stage, your prospect is beginning to experience symptoms of a problem or opportunity. Someone in this stage is doing research to try to understand, and give a name to, their problem.

Content in this stage should be purely educational. Your goal is to help someone understand their problem through content such as eBooks, whitepapers, blogs, or educational guides. Since you are the expert, educating someone in the awareness stage should be fun and easy!

Consideration Stage
In the consideration stage, your prospect has clearly defined their problem/opportunity, and they are actively researching solutions. During this time, they are assessing all of the potential methods and approaches.

Content in this stage should focus on your company’s unique solution and process. Your goal is to help someone get to know your company through webinars, free samples, branded material, and case studies. This is the perfect time to highlight any competitive advantages and to start thinking promotionally.

Decision Stage
In the decision stage, your prospect has decided on their preferred method or solution. At this point, they are evaluating vendors.

Content in this stage should focus answer the question, “why should I buy this from you?”. In this stage, your goal is to help your buyer overcome any specific objections or concerns that they might have about buying from your company. You can do this through free trials, demos, consultations, and coupons.

Make It Searchable

According to Salesforce, 72% of people in the consideration phase will turn to Google to find the answer for their particular pain point. Make sure that your content aligns with what people will actually be searching for online. For example, if you want to reach people who want PPC management services, write a blog with the title, “Does PPC really work?”. Not only does that title align with your prospect’s search query, but it allows you to build trust by directly acknowledging their potential concerns or objections.

To learn more about onsite content or online lead generation, contact us today.