So, you’ve decided to learn more about what goes through a customer’s head before they become yours. That’s great. As a business owner, you should consider many things when trying to inspire new customers. One of these is the buyer’s journey and what happens in each stage to influence a prospective buyer. Today, we will break down each stage of the buyer’s journey and what you, a business owner, can do to help turn a prospect into a customer.
Let’s begin by answering the obvious question: what is the buyer’s journey? The buyer’s journey is a buyer’s path to purchase. In this path, a buyer goes through three stages to become aware of, consider and evaluate, and make a purchase decision about a new product or service. It is vital for you to be mindful of each stage and what the customer is actively doing in each step to best shape your efforts.
Let’s look at each stage closer and discuss some of the things you can do to attract new customers.
The Awareness Stage.
This is where the exciting adventure begins for both you and your potential customer. Here’s an easy way for you to think about it. At this point in the game, your potential customer is aware they have a problem that needs solving. However, they don’t know anything about the solution yet. The customer just knows that there’s a problem, and they have to look for an answer.
During the awareness stage, your focus should be to present your product to solve the customer’s problem efficiently. Create informational sales collateral to educate the buyer about the solution, but don’t be too salesy. If a customer isn’t sure about your product yet, they may be put off by a sales pitch.
The Consideration Stage.
Now we’re moving on to the second stage in the buyer’s journey. The customer is considering and analyzing all the potential solutions to their problem. The customer is committed to researching and finding out all they can about answering their problem to inform their ultimate decision.
As far as what you can do for this stage as a business, research to understand how your product compares with your competitors and how they might be perceived. If you have the information they’re seeking all in one place, it will help the buyer determine the right solution for their problem.
The Decision Stage.
Finally, we arrive at the last step in the buyer’s journey, where the customer makes their decision. After all the research and all the assistance they’ve received from the companies they were considering, it's time for the buyer to choose which solution is best.
For the last stage in the buyer’s journey, you should be prepared to handle any objections the buyer may have during the sales process by researching what could put them off. You should also make sure you provide the buyer with a unique sales proposition to set you apart from your competitors.
Business owners can ask themselves many other ideas and questions when determining the best action for becoming a part of the buyer’s journey; we have just listed a few of them. In addition, HubSpot has a complete list of ideas and examples for what goes into the buyer’s journey if you would like to learn more about it.
Understanding the buyer’s journey and what goes into the sales process for the customer is essential to acquiring new customers. You should evaluate how much stock you have put into it already. If you haven’t devoted any time to understanding and proactively taking part in the buyer’s journey, take this opportunity to figure out what you can do in the future.
