Before customers start their buying journey, they’re in ‘business as usual’ mode, not realising they might have unmet needs. They are simply unaware of the solutions that exist to solve their challenges. At this point, a business must boost its visibility to stand out in the market, enhance branding to build brand recognition and engage actively with tailored content. Adopting these approaches ensures you grab the attention of your target audience and firmly establish visibility and engagement.

Call to Action

At this stage, potential buyers become aware of their needs and start looking for information. Engage potential buyers with content that sets them off on their journey with your business positioned as a thought leader. By moulding your marketing approach around the buyer journey, you will ensure you are relevant and enabling journey progression.

During the research stage, buyers seek credible information and are looking for insights to help them decide on the right approach to take. A seamless web experience and targeted content will enable them to gather valuable insights, informing and refining their decision. The website experience needs to be clear, providing information on what’s available to the potential buyer. Showcase expertise in the field to enhance brand credibility, and create engaging and informative content to drive lead generation and progression.

It’s important that at the stakeholder engagement phase of the journey, you support buyers with their internal discussions (as businesses or consumers), ensuring they can present an approach that works while completing the internal requirement gathering. Providing information that facilitates these discussions is key to success. This is where brand positioning, supporting marketing content, and informative web pages play crucial roles.

At this point, B2B buyers need to justify the cost of adopting your service, solution or product to address their challenges. However, in essence the same applies in the world of B2C where the buyer weighs up affordability and the merit of investing. Buyers often seek advice or, in the B2B world, create requests for proposals (RFPs). Your website and marketing approach should help potential buyers craft a solid business case that demonstrates the benefits, value, and return on investment when opting for your product or service.

During the consideration phase, buyers explore potential providers to evaluate their offer. They assess various products, solutions or services against their own needs and objectives. Building trust is essential at this point. By showing reliability, being transparent, and comprehensively understanding their challenges, you’ll not only make a memorable impact but also set your offering apart. This is your opportunity to stand out by crafting authentic and persuasive narratives that resonate with your target market audience.

Here, buyers evaluate the suitability of the solution or service against their specific requirements, focusing heavily on capability and trust. This involves engaging with product demos and team collaboration, leading to an initial proposal, and building strong relationships. It is crucial to have a clear and straightforward sales process, along with sales enablement support, to deliver the best sales pitch that assists the buyer in making a decision.

Reaching the ‘buy’ stage marks a significant milestone in the buyer’s journey, transitioning the buyer into a valued customer. This stage marks the beginning of a new journey. Provide a smooth onboarding experience that is consistent with your brand and messaging. Then, move to build out their next journey path. This could include providing valuable content, offering ongoing support, or creating targeted campaigns to maximise customer retention and explore upsell/cross-sell avenues.