The Customer Journey is nothing more than the different stages a customer goes through before making a purchase and how the customer makes use of the services or products.
Identify, understand and adjust the contact points and the stages of the rCustomer journeys can help you develop more effective marketing plans and build stronger relationships with your customers and create better content for your prospects.
Why should you do the customer journey?
Performing the Customer Journey Map can be a very valuable tool for you to recognise at what stage one of your customers is at, so that you can offer them what they need.
For example, depending on the stage of the buying process you are in, companies may show you one type of content or another.
If you are already a customer, then they will show you products of interest that complement what you have already bought.
When you contact the company, they can save your preference history in order to serve you better the next time.
But if you have never joined and you are not yet a customer, then they will show you the benefits of joining or target you with a more specific offer based on whether you are close to the purchase stage. That's recognising and leveraging the Customer Journey.
The four stages of the customer journey
There is no correct or exact way to describe a customer journey, but rather, it all depends on your business model. However, there are four generic stages that work for most businesses.
1. Discovery
Before a customer can be acquired, the prospect must be aware that he has a problem he needs to solve. But he does not know what the most appropriate solution is. At this stage the customer conducts research, but this research is done on a non-commercial basis.
2. Consideration
The customer, aware of his need, is attentive in the search for possible solutions to his problem. At this stage, the search becomes more in-depth, as the prospect begins to probe or search for a more commercial purpose. At this stage, the buyer compares 2 to 3 solutions.
3. Buy
This is the moment when customers decide to buy, whether it is an in-store purchase or clicking the "buy" button on your website. It wraps up the whole process itself.
The determinants of purchase can be many, including impulse, trust, the attitude of your customer service team (either in person or over the phone), the presentation of your products, online reviews or comments made by people who know your product or service.
4. Post purchase and retention
The purchase is not the end of the journey. After the first purchase, the journey is just beginning.
Ideally, you want to maintain the relationship with the customer so that there will be another possible purchase. That is why this phase is vital. This includes customer service, dealing with questions and complaints and providing additional products or services that your customers may want.
In a flat way, these are the 4 stages of the customer journey. You should study each stage in depth, in order to make a plan of attack.
If you are part of a large company and are exploring the possibility of a more robust marketing plan that includes the development of a costumer journey, contact an expert and click here , we will help you analyse whether this type of plan can be effective for your company.
