Before you make the action of buying something, there are certain things you must have gone through that finally lead to the purchase of the product. Maybe you had to find out about the problem and also had to discover which product to buy. This is what is known as the buyer’s journey.
What is buyer’s journey?
According to Hubspot, the buyer’s journey is ‘the path to purchase’
A buyer’s journey is simply the path your prospective customers take before making a purchase.
The buyer’s journey is very important for your brand, especially when using content marketing strategy. In fact, it helps you know what kind of content to put out there to help your prospects come to you.
Before creating your buyer journey, it’s very important to have crafted your brand message and have created a buyer persona. These will guide you and make it easier to create a path to purchase for your prospects.
There are 3 main stages of the buyer’s journey
The Awareness stage
In this stage of the buyer’s journey, the buyer has a problem, one they might be aware of or not.
It could also be that the buyer just discovered your product as a solution and so they are aware of it.
With the awareness stage, your prospects are not ready to buy from you just yet. They are still learning about their problems and the way forward.
When creating content for this stage, you want to educate the buyer about their problems or if it’s the case of your product, you want to educate them more about your product and how it can solve their problem.
For instance, Ngozi observes some white stuff on her face. What does she do next? She probably would google what the problem is or she could ask a friend.
She could also stumble upon a social media post that addresses her concerns even without her searching. Or maybe get to know about a product she realized could help her.
So let’s say she browses what this white stuff on her face is and while at it, she came across an article titled ‘causes of white flakes on your face’.
Because of this article she now knows this white stuff are called skin flakes and it is due to dryness of the skin.
Here’s another way it could go.
Let’s assume Ngozi didn’t google. Perhaps she even forgot to research about it and she stumbled upon an Instagram post that talks about dryness of the face. Now she’s informed and knows the cause.
Ngozi has successfully gone through the first stage of the buyer’s journey, which is the awareness stage and will therefore proceed to the next stage—consideration stage.
Examples of the kind of content to share in this stage are educational articles, ebooks, guides, reports etc.
The consideration stage
In this stage, the buyer already knows what the problem is and is looking for a solution. They are exploring options to solving this problem and wondering which one is best for them.
When creating content, you want to show them ways to can solve their problems.
Still on the example of Ngozi, she now knows her face problem is due to dryness of the skin. So she’s thinking, what are her options? What is the solution to this? What is the best solution for her?
She could further browse stuff like ‘solution or remedies for a dry face’ and realize that she has the options of moisturizing daily, exfoliating, getting a cleanser, using a humidifier or taking medication. She could also consult with a dermatologist to properly diagnose the problem and give her a solution specific to her need.
Here, Ngozi is in the consideration stage and is trying to find which one to choose.
Examples of the kind of content to share in this stage are comparison articles, expert articles, webinars, etc.
The decision/closing stage
This is the last stage of the buyer’s journey. Here, the buyer has to make a choice on what solution best suits them. They know which one to pick based on their research or how they feel.
Now they are checking the possible brands they can patronize for the solution they want.
Still on Ngozi’s case, she has decided to go with looking for a moisturizer for her face and this is based on certain factors she has considered.
Perhaps, she realizes she can’t afford a dermatologist so that’s out of the way. She also realizes she wants something simple she can do and exfoliating can take a bit of time.
After a lot of consideration, she eventually settles for a moisturizer she could use daily.
Now Ngozi knows she wants a moisturizer. The question is, what moisturizer should she get? Which brand should she buy from?
This is the true decision stage.
As a business owner, you might want to show Ngozi why your moisturizer is best suited for her. Here, you need to minimize the hesitations and objections of your prospective customers so they feel like your product is the best choice they can make.
People simply want to feel happy and satisfied with their choice, give them that satisfaction.
This is also where your unique value proposition comes in. What makes your brand a better option for Ngozi? Why should she choose you?
When it comes to content, as a business owner, you might want to put out content like reasons to choose XYZ moisturizer, how your moisturizer works, reviews of your product, user stories, case studies, product comparisons, free trials/calls etc.
The aim is to convince the customer that buying from you is the best choice they can make. To do that, you have to show them and settle any objections they might have about using your product/service.
You have a customer when you’ve made a sale and you have to keep them by serving and nurturing them.
Remember, any content you dish out should do at least one of the 3:
- Educate/inform
- Inspire
- Entertain
When it comes to the stages of the buyer’s journey, you have to find a way to sell your product without sounding salesy.
With the decision stage, you can come out directly stating why your product is the best choice but with the awareness stage and sometimes consideration stage, it might not be as direct but you can subtly and creatively present your product as the best choice.
Above all, make sure your content has real value. It’s first about your audience before your product and you need your prospects to see you care about them and not just trying selling to them something. That way, they get to trust you.
Be intentional.