Breaking Down The Five Customer Journey Stages

Ezekiel Nicholas ArifaloEzekiel Nicholas Arifalo May 11, 2023
Breaking Down The Five Customer Journey Stages

At first glance, the customer journey may seem simple — you offer a product or service and people buy it. But if you’ve ever sold or marketed anything before, especially on a commercial scale, you know there is a lot more to the process.

For one, no two customers are alike. Also, customer needs and expectations change over time, so even if you’ve got a tried and tested sales strategy in place, it will eventually need reevaluating to ensure that the business is delivering value at every customer journey stage.

Understanding the cardinal customer journey stages can help businesses get the right message across to their audience and smoothly move customers through that journey — from initial interaction to post-sale

Source: qualtrics.com


What is the customer journey?

Sometimes called the buyer’s journey, the customer journey, refers to the various touchpoints a customer goes through before, during, and after making a purchase. It encapsulates all the interactions a person goes through with a brand from the moment they identify their need until they acquire the product or service to satisfy it.

This process can be as short as a few minutes, such as when we feel hungry and immediately go online to order food delivery. It can also be a lengthy process lasting weeks or even months, such as when we want to purchase high-cost items like a car or a house.

In any case, understanding the customer journey stages is essential for developing effective sales and marketing strategies. By mapping out the various stages of the customer journey and identifying pain points and opportunities for improvement, businesses can create targeted campaigns that resonate with their customers.

With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at each stage of the customer journey and explore strategies for creating effective campaigns that drive results.

Customer journey stage 1: Awareness 

As the name suggests, the awareness stage is the stage where a customer becomes aware of the product or service that the business offers.

Maybe they came across an ad on social media or did a Google search and the business popped up among the search results, or perhaps they heard about it from a friend. Either way, their interest has been piqued so they start to gather information about it.

Source: donnajoyusher.com

Whether for a small startup or a large multinational corporation, the awareness stage is essential for success. The reason is simple — customers cannot purchase from a business they don’t know exists.

This stage is critical for establishing brand recognition and attracting potential customers. It’s also important for differentiating a business from its competitors. The more familiarity people have with a particular brand, the more likely they are to choose that brand over its competitors when making purchasing decisions.

What channels can be used to create awareness?

For brands, the primary goal of the awareness stage is to stand out and immediately establish who they are and what they do. This means putting out their message across the right channels. Of course, the “right channel” will depend on the type of business and what they offer.

For example, a B2B business offering financial services will likely use Linkedin, email marketing, and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) campaigns to spread awareness about their brand. On the other hand, a B2C business selling beauty products may utilize Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising, Instagram/Snapchat posts, and influencer marketing for its brand awareness efforts.

Best tips for effective awareness campaigns

Being the first stage of the customer journey, the awareness stage should be about creating an emotional connection with potential buyers by clearly identifying their pain points and offering them a personalized experience from the get-go.

To that end, here are a few proven tips to keep in mind when executing an effective brand awareness campaign.

  • Define your target audience — Your target audience is simply the people who are most likely to benefit from what your brand is offering.
  • Craft tailored marketing and sales messages — This requires a clear understanding of what problems the business solves and how well the market is motivated to find a solution.
  • Use attention-grabbing visuals — The idea is to make people pause their scrolling long enough to notice your message. The content itself needs to be engaging and memorable so it’s easy for people to recognize your brand the next time they come across it.
  • Create a consistent brand experience across all channels — Whether interacting with prospects offline or online, the brand experience and standard of service must be consistent. This helps establish brand recognition and build trust.

Customer journey stage 2: Consideration 

The consideration stage of the customer journey is where potential customers are considering whether to purchase a product or service.

Here, customers are aware of your brand and have identified a need or problem that it can solve. As such, they’re actively researching and evaluating their options. They’re also comparing your offerings to those of your competitors.

The consideration phase is critical to the buyer’s journey because this is when a potential customer is most likely to be at their most focused. It’s therefore important to provide all the necessary information to impress the prospective buyer and encourage them down the sales funnel.

What resources should you provide to customers in the consideration stage?

This stage is all about showing prospects why they should buy from you. There are a number of ways to do this, but one of the most important is to have a well-designed business website. Around 39% of online users judge a business based on its website while around 50% say they will go to a business’s competitor if they have poor user experience with a business website.

Other relevant resources for prospects in the consideration stage include simplified product descriptions, informational blog posts, instructional videos, comparisons, and case studies.

How to execute effective consideration campaigns

When creating effective campaigns for the consideration stage, it’s important to focus on providing potential customers with the information they need to make an informed decision. Here are a few tips for creating effective campaigns in the consideration phase:

  • Create high-quality content — This means providing valuable insights and information about the product or service. The content should highlight the benefits to the customer and explain why they’re better off buying from you than your competitors.
  • Offer free trials or demos — Offering a free trial or demo is a great way to give potential buyers a taste of what you have to offer. This can help to convince them to make a purchase, as they will have already experienced first-hand the value of your product or service.
  • Utilize social proof — Customer reviews and testimonials are a powerful tool in the consideration stage, as it helps to build trust and credibility with potential customers. According to a recent survey, 95% of consumers read online reviews before they shop, so if you don’t have a strong presence in the consideration stage, you risk losing potential customers to your competitors.
  • Retargeting campaigns — Set up retargeting ads to remind prospects of your offerings and encourage them to make a purchase.

Customer journey stage 3: Decision 

The decision stage of the customer journey is where potential buyers have completed their research and are ready to make a purchase decision. Here, customers have narrowed down their options and are looking for the best product or service that meets their needs. Basically, it’s where a prospect converts into a paying customer.

For brands, the decision stage represents the last opportunity in the customer’s journey to encourage a purchase. As such, the primary focus should be on providing a seamless purchase experience. This means removing all the barriers in the buying process.

One of the best ways to do this is to streamline the checkout process. For example, e-Commerce stores can greatly benefit from implementing a one-click ordering system for a more convenient shopping experience. Around 97% of online shoppers are more likely to abandon their cart at checkout if the process is tedious.

Other crucial measures for encouraging customer purchase include simplifying the payment process, usually through multiple payment options, and making it easy for the customer to obtain the product or service through reliable delivery services.

Marketing strategies for the decision stage

To create effective campaigns for the decision phase, it’s important to focus on removing any doubts that the customer might have about the purchase, as well as reiterating the value of the product or service. Here are a few tips for creating effective campaigns in the decision stage:

  • Offer incentives — Incentives such as discounts or free shipping are a great way to encourage potential customers to make a purchase.
  • Create a sense of urgency — Limited-time offers can help create a sense of urgency and encourage customers to take action.
  • Provide clear calls-to-action (CTAs) — Provide clear CTAs throughout your website and marketing materials. This makes it easier for potential customers to take the next step and make a purchase.
  • Offer personalized recommendations — A great example is Amazon’s “Frequently Bought Together” and “Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought” features. These personalized recommendations can help encourage customers to make additional online purchases.

Customer journey stage 4: Retention 

The retention stage of the customer journey is where businesses focus on retaining and nurturing their existing customers. At this stage, businesses aim to build strong relationships with their customers to encourage repeat business and create loyal customers.

The importance of the retention stage cannot be overstated. For one, it is generally more cost-effective to retain customers than to acquire new customers since they don’t have to go through the customer journey stages from scratch.

There’s also a higher profit potential. According to research by Bain & Company, increasing customer retention rates by just 5% can increase a company’s profits by up to 95%. Additionally, loyal customers are more likely to refer others to your business, resulting in increased customer acquisition.

How to drive customer retention 

Source: smartinsights.com

Even though the retention stage occurs in the post-sale phase of the customer’s journey, the best way to drive retention is by delivering an unrivalled customer experience during the previous stages.

All those customer interactions leading to the actual sale will play a key role in determining whether the buyer will become a repeat customer or just another customer churn statistic.

That being said, brands can further improve their customer retention efforts by frequently engaging with customers via email, social media, or other relevant channels. The goal here is to keep your brand at the top of the customer’s mind so they immediately think of your business the next time they need a solution that your product provides.

Having a robust after-sales service is key. For example, resources like user guides and FAQs help provide additional value to the customer’s experience and improve their overall engagement with your brand. It’s also important to have a responsive customer support system. This can help foster brand loyalty because it tells customers that you genuinely care about their well-being and are not just concerned with making a sale.

Lastly, offering loyalty rewards, such as discounts, free products, or exclusive offers can be a great way to incentivize existing customers to buy from you again and again. For example, beauty company Sephora offers a simple, yet effective customer loyalty rewards program called Beauty Insider. This program has helped generate up to 80% of Sephora’s annual sales.

Customer journey stage 5: Advocacy 

The advocacy stage is the final stage of the customer journey. This is where businesses aim to convert their loyal customers into advocates. A brand advocate is an existing customer who is so satisfied with their experience with a business that they wholeheartedly recommend it to others. This can be through word-of-mouth, online reviews, unboxing videos, or guest blogs.

The benefits of having brand advocates are numerous. First, there’s a much higher degree of trust. According to Nielsen, 92% of consumers trust word-of-mouth recommendations from family and friends over all other forms of advertising.

Second, businesses with high customer advocacy ratings grow revenue 5.7 times faster than their competitors with low ratings, according to this Forbes study.

And third, brand advocates can significantly complement a business’s marketing efforts. Picture hundreds or thousands of happy customers personally recommending your brand to respective networks. That considerably broadens the reach of your marketing message and helps widen the leads flow down the sales funnel.

Getting the most from your advocacy campaign

True customer loyalty and advocacy can only come from a place of trust, which in turn, only come from consistently meeting customer expectations.

Of course, achieving this is always easier said than done — what’s important is to provide a personalized approach to customer service. This breeds a sense of familiarity that helps brands build strong relationships with their customers and provide exceptional customer experiences.

With that said, here are some proven tips for creating effective campaigns in the advocacy stage:

  • Encourage customers to share their experiences — Positive customer feedback can be a powerful tool for attracting new customers and building trust.
  • Offer incentives for referrals — Referral incentives are a great way to drive customer engagement and increase brand awareness. For example, Tesla’s referral program offers reward credits per referral, which can be redeemed for solar roofs, solar panels, wall connectors, adapters, and more.
  • Highlight customer satisfaction stories — Sharing stories of your satisfied customers and how your business helped them achieve their goals is a great way to encourage brand advocacy.
  • Adopt a customer-first approach — Everyone involved in the customer journey stages from the sales representative to the customer support team must be customer-centric. It’s also important to be able to adapt to evolving customer needs and expectations. For instance, Salesforce reports that around 88% of today’s customers expect companies to accelerate digital initiatives in light of the COVID pandemic.


Bringing it all together 

The best way to create a cohesive campaign that includes all aspects of the customer journey stages is through customer journey mapping. This is simply a visual representation or timeline of the various engagements that a customer will have with your brand throughout the customer journey.

Your customer journey map doesn’t have to be fancy. The important thing is to be able to get an overview of the customer experience with clearly defined touchpoints, customer actions, pain points, and solutions at every stage.

Customer Journey Map Sample Template | Source: canva.com

Mapping the customer journey can help provide valuable insight into how to provide the best value for your customers at each specific stage. These insights will undoubtedly prove useful when formulating your marketing strategy and sales process.

Conclusion 

Understanding what goes on in each of the five customer journey stages helps paint a clearer picture of what customers think, feel, and do when interacting with your brand. When you’re able to see things from the customer’s point of view, you’re better equipped to provide an exceptional experience — from awareness to advocacy.

Latest Posts