From there, you’ll click a few links, read a few articles, and watch some videos. You might even talk to a friend or two before finally settling on the right product to try out or purchase. Show
See what's going on? You, the buyer, are already on a journey to make a purchase or decide not to for reasons you’ll discover along your research process. This entire journey is what marketers and salespeople call the buyer’s journey. Before we go too deep into this topic, let's start with a proper definition… What is the Buyer's Journey?The buyer's journey is the decision-making process prospects navigate when they decide to make a purchase. It applies for purchase decisions of all sizes; whether you’re looking for the perfect pillow or want to replace the CRM for a global company, you’ll navigate through the buyer’s journey. Some people call it "the sales funnel," because it often starts with many potential buyers at the top (awareness), narrows down to fewer people who are considering your product or service (interest), and then finally reaches the bottom of the funnel with those who are ready to buy (decision.) It's important to understand this journey because it helps you create relevant content that speaks to your buyer at each stage of their buying process. But of course, the buyer's journey doesn't always look like a perfectly neat sales funnel. In reality, it's often more like a winding road with lots of detours, U-turns, and sometimes dead ends. Now that we've got a general understanding of the buyer's journey, let's take a more in-depth look at how it has changed over time. How the Buyer's Journey Has Changed in Recent YearsHere are three of the biggest changes we've seen in the buyer's journey over the last few years—starting with the most important change of all... 1. The Internet Has Given Buyers More Control Than EverThanks to technology and the internet, buyers have more power than ever before. A recent survey by Demand Gen Report found buyers rank (1) conducting anonymous research on potential solutions and (2) developing an informal list of potential vendors as their top two priorities after identifying a business need. So customers can easily find information on products and services without even speaking to a salesperson. Sometimes they even make their final decision before making that first contact. Which means you can no longer rely on traditional marketing and selling techniques to bring customers in. You'll have to work harder to reach them and earn their trust. For instance, you need to be active on social media, regularly providing valuable content that helps potential buyers make informed buying decisions. You should create educational resources on your website and optimize them using SEO (search engine optimization) so buyers can find those when they search on Google, Bing, and other search engines. And you'll need to do all that for free; that's the cost to earning their trust (remember: they're in control now—and they'll only do business with businesses and people they trust). 2. Nearly Every Sale Requires Multiple TouchpointsThe average buyer interacts with a company multiple times before they make a purchase decision. Some of these touchpoints include online ads, social media posts, search engine results, blog articles, and even company reviews. Each of those points is an opportunity for you to build trust with potential buyers and guide them further down their purchase journey. For example, if you're sending cold emails to fifty people, you might get one or two responses—and that may be good enough for you. But there's an opportunity to get better results; if you're sending those emails to people who already visited your website, read or viewed your content, and built some level of familiarity or trust with your business, you're likely to get more responses and conversions (sales). Side note: if you're doing cold calling, here's a sales cadence you can use to create multiple touchpoints with potential customers: It's all about providing value at each stage of the buyer's journey and building trust so they'll eventually do business with you. It's also important to ensure each touchpoint is consistent with your brand, using the same colors, fonts, logos, and messaging across all channels. Buyers will instantly recognize your brand no matter where they interact with you, and they'll be more likely to do business with you as a result. 3. Social Media Now Allow Buyers To Interact With Each OtherAnother big change we've seen in the buyer's journey is the way social media has changed buyer-to-buyer interactions. Potential buyers often reach out to their network of friends and followers for recommendations on products and services. In fact, social media is about the third most-used channel for product discovery among 18- to 54-year-old buyers. Think of the last time you made a purchase—whether it was a new house/apartment, a piece of furniture, or even just a new pair of shoes. Your first point of research may have been Google (or another search engine), but chances are good that you asked your friends, family, or social media followers for input before making your final buying decision. 4. Buyers Are Big On Mobile NowRight now, more than half (58.99%) of all web traffic worldwide comes from mobile devices. And that number is only going to increase in the years to come as more and more people get smartphones and mobile internet access. For businesses and sales reps, this means that if you're not designing your website and the customer journey for mobile users, you're likely going to lose out on a lot of business. For instance, if your website takes too long to load on a mobile device, potential buyers are likely to click away and go to a competitor's site. Or if they're not able to easily navigate your website on a smaller screen, they’re going to have a hard time finding the information they need—and again, they'll likely go to a competitor. So, if you want to stay ahead of the curve, it's important to make sure "mobile-friendliness" is a top priority for your business. 3 Stages Of The Buyer JourneyHere are the three stages of the buyer's journey, and what they look like today: 1. Awareness StageWhen buyers are in the awareness stage, they've recognized they have a problem or need to take action on something, but they don't know how to solve it yet. So they’re doing research on potential solutions to help them solve their challenge or grab the opportunity they've identified. They want to learn as much as possible about their options, but they’re not yet ready to buy anything just yet. A good example is someone who’s just realized they need to increase sales for their business. They know they need to do something, but they know little about the options available to them. So they research with a Google search like “best ways to increase sales." They’ll get search results with different options (like cold emails, content marketing, ads, etc) and eventually narrow down their choices to a few that look promising. Challenges Buyers Face in the Awareness StageHere are three significant challenges buyers face during the awareness stage:
What Sellers Can Do During the Awareness StageHere are three important things sellers can do to help buyers during the awareness stage:
2. Consideration StageAt this stage, buyers have a pretty good understanding of their problem or opportunity and they’re considering potential solutions. For instance, someone who wants a better way to manage their sales contacts and customer data knows they need CRM software. They’re now considering whether they need software for it or if they can just use a spreadsheet. They may also be considering whether to buy a CRM system that’s specific to their industry or one that’s more general. Challenges Buyers Face in the Consideration StageMajor challenges they face here include:
What Sellers Can Do During the Consideration StageHere are a couple of ways to help buyers during the consideration stage:
3. Decision StageAt this point, buyers have decided which solution they want to use and they’re ready to buy. Now, they need to decide which exact product or service they want and how to complete the purchase. For example, someone decided they want to buy a CRM tool and wants to decide which brand to buy from. They’ll compare pricing, features, and reviews before they make their final purchase decision. Challenges Buyers Face in the Decision StageThe challenges buyers face at this stage include:
What Sellers Can Do During the Decision StageThere are a few things sellers can do to help buyers during the decision stage: 1) Provide detailed info about your product and how it stacks up against the competition. Make sure you’re providing unbiased information and let buyers know what factors they should consider when making their decision. For example, Close creates pieces of content that compare different CRMs: 2) Help them understand the features and benefits of your product, and how it can solve their specific problem or help them take advantage of their opportunity. Also, use case studies and customer testimonials to build trust and show you’re a credible source. 3) Provide easy sales support and be available to answer questions they have and help them make the best decision for their needs. How to Map Your Buyer Journey in 5 StepsNow that we’ve gone over the buyer journey, let’s take a look at how to map it out for your business. Here's a quick overview of the steps you need to take: 1. Create Clear Buyer PersonasThe first step is to create a buyer persona. A buyer persona or ideal customer profile is a semi-fictional character that represents your ideal buyer. This persona is based on market research and real data about your existing customers. It looks something like this: Creating this buyer persona will help you understand your buyer’s needs, wants, and pain points. Once you have a clear buyer persona, you can start mapping out their buyer journey. If you’re not sure how to create a buyer persona, here’s a helpful guide we've written on the topic: How to Create an Ideal Customer Profile for B2B Leads (ICP Guide). And once you have a clear buyer persona, you can start mapping out their buyer journey for each stage we covered earlier: awareness, consideration, and decision. GET YOUR IDEAL CUSTOMER PROFILE TEMPLATES → 2. Align Your Marketing Strategy for Better Inbound LeadsThe next step is to align your marketing and sales strategies with the buyer’s journey. This means using inbound marketing strategies to create content for each stage of the buyer's journey. For example, if you want to generate awareness for your product, you would develop a content marketing strategy that includes creating blog content, social media posts, or even podcasts and webinars that speak deeply to the challenges your target customers need your product or service to solve. While you're it, you get the chance to position your product or service as the solution to their problem. 3. Identify Roadblocks at Each Stage of their JourneyThe buyer’s journey can be long and complicated. And along the way, there will be roadblocks. It’s important to identify these roadblocks so you can address them and help your target audience move past it to the next stage. Some common roadblocks include:
Once you’ve identified these roadblocks, create relevant content or buyer journeys that help your buyer overcome them. 4. Build a Sales Funnel that Adapts to the Buyer JourneyYour sales funnel should be adapted to the buyer’s journey. This means creating a logical sales process for each stage of the buyer’s journey and providing the types of content or support your buyer needs at each stage. For example, if someone is in the awareness stage, they might need top-of-the-funnel educational content like informational blog posts, whitepapers, or eBooks. If they’re in the decision stage, they might need things like product demos or free trials. By having a sales funnel that’s adapted to the buyer’s journey, you can make sure your buyer is getting the right information at the right time, which will help them move smoothly through each stage until they’re ready to buy. 5. Create a Well-Rounded Customer ExperienceThe buyer’s journey doesn’t end when they make a purchase. In fact, that’s when the real journey begins. It’s important to create a well-rounded customer experience that keeps your buyer happy and engaged even after they’ve made a purchase. This could include things like the following:
By creating a positive customer experience, you can increase customer retention rates and turn your buyer into a lifelong customer, and advocate for your business. Know Your Buyer's Journey And Align With ItIn the modern era, buyers are no longer passive consumers. They’re active participants in their buying journey, doing extensive research at each of the different stages to find the best possible solution to their problem. As a seller, it’s important to understand the buyer’s journey and what it looks like today. By understanding the buyer’s journey, you can better align your sales and marketing efforts to address the needs of your buyer and their buying process. What is the role during the awareness stage of the buyer's journey?Awareness Stage: The buyer becomes aware that they have a problem. Consideration Stage: The buyer defines their problem and considers options to solve it. Decision Stage: The buyer evaluates and decides on the right provider to administer the solution.
What is your role during the awareness stage of the buyer's journey quizlet?The awareness stage is when your prospect is experiencing and expressing symptoms of a problem or opportunity. They're doing educational research to more clearly understand, frame, and give a name to their problem.
What does a customer need to be aware of during the awareness stage?Customer Awareness refers to the degree your potential customer is aware of their problems, pain points, possible solutions, your product, and how you can solve their problems. Put simply, If the customer doesn't know they have a problem, they won't buy your product.
What is your role during the consideration stage?The consideration stage is known as the phase of the buyer's journey where you offer this target audience (who you have helped identify their problem) with information that considers your product or service as a viable resolution option to this problem.
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