3 Phases of the Buyer’s Journey

The buyer’s journey is perhaps one of the most important facets in the technique of successful marketing. The general process of this journey is illustrated in three simple steps: Awareness, Consideration, and Decision. Understanding this customer lifecycle is critical in increasing your sales and driving up customer satisfaction.

The seller is trying to get the buyer from Step 1 to Step 3 in a quick and decisive manner. 

Let’s start by focusing on Step 1: Awareness. At the beginning of your buyer’s journey, you must identify need in the client. They have just discovered a certain need that your company may be able to resolve and are grappling with the question of whether or not they truly need your product. Once they decide that they might, there is roughly a 70% chance that they will turn to Google to search for educational material, customer reviews, and testimonials. Ensure these types of resources are readily available on your website. As your potential buyers get deeper into their research process, they begin to understand which companies appeal most to them (you and your immediate competition). You should focus on establishing your company as credible without a heavy sales pitch so that they begin to trust the information you’re providing them with. Building a few simple nurturing lead campaigns for buyers who provide their information via a form completion is a good place to start.

Step 2: Buyer’s consideration. This part of the buyer’s journey begins with the client returning back to their research process on Google. This time, however, they will be looking to see which companies best appeal to their specific pain points. They will then begin doing in-depth comparisons of the companies they are most attracted to. Buyers will then begin reaching out to the companies’ sales reps to pursue their questions further and then comes the final step in the process…

Step 3: Decision time. If your buyer decided your company outshone the rest, they will make a purchase. However, the buyer’s journey doesn’t stop there. You must make sure your buyer is satisfied with your product because it is 6-7 times more costly to attract a new customer than it is to retain one. If all goes well they can then provide you with valuable testimonials that will then push the cycle further on new buyer’s journeys.