Your Future Customers May Not Be Ready To Buy, Right Now.
Whenever I talk to a business owner about content marketing and inbound marketing methodologies, one of my favorite topics is “The Buyers Journey” and how it relates to being discovered online, lead generation and increasing revenue all while decreasing cost of customer acquisition (COCA).
There are 3 stages in a buyer’s journey, and they are:
- The Awareness Stage
- The Consideration Stage
- The Decision Stage
In almost all cases, a prospective buyer/customer will fall into one of the above stages. Let’s talk about each one in a bit more detail.
The Awareness Stage
- In this stage, a prospect has just realized they have a potential problem, and they are experiencing a particular “symptom” to a problem.
- From here, they may go to a search engine and research 3rd party information around identifying these symptoms.
Example of what buyer may be thinking: “My water heater will not start, what's wrong with it?"
Obviously, this person is clearly not ready to buy; they are just trying to figure out what the solution is to their problem.
The Consideration Stage
- In this stage, a buyer has clearly defined and given a name to the problem.
- They are committed to researching and understanding all of the available solutions and methods to solving this challenge.
Continued example of what buyer may be thinking: “Looks like the pilot light will not start. What are my options to get it to work? Is this something I can do on my own?”
The Decision Stage
- In this stage, a prospective buyer has a solution to their challenge clearly defined, and now they know what they want.
- They are researching supporting documentation, data, endorsements or recommendations to make a final decision on where they should buy from and do business with.
Final example of what buyer may be thinking: “I have tried to re-start the pilot light, but it is still not working. Who can fix this for me, and how much will it cost? Who can I trust to do this properly”
Within these 3 stages, a prospective buyer can enter at any point. From being symptomatic, to knowing exactly what they want, and that is why it is important for you to be aware of each stage, and offer helpful content for each one of them.
Types of Content for Each Buyer's Journey Stage
The Awareness Stage
- Research reports
- eBooks / guides
- Editorial content
- Expert content
- White papers
- Educational content
- And more
The Consideration Stage
- Comparison white papers
- Expert guides
- Live Interactions
- Video or Podcasts
- And more…
The Decision Stage:
- Vendor comparisons
- Product comparisons
- Case Studies
- Free Trials Product Literature
- Live Demos
- And more…
The above are just general ideas of the types of content you can offer in each stage. But, you will want to plan your content based on your business and your buyers anticipated needs.
Understanding your buyers journey is a must when it comes to planning your content marketing strategy.
I hope this quick outline helps you understand and define your content ideas for your prospective buyers.
Until next time
Doc
