Many people do not merely purchase an item on an impulse; rather, they will investigate and deliberate prior to taking any decisive action. This is especially true for expensive items.
The buyer’s journey is the process a potential customer goes through when they become aware of a problem they have, consider solutions to that problem, and decide whether or not to purchase a product or service to solve that problem. Because consumers are more informed and empowered than ever, it’s important to deeply understand your buyer persona and their journey so you can create content that helps them along that path while positioning you as an authority in your space.
Understanding the Buyer’s Journey in Marketing
An individual usually starts their journey in an “unaware stage,” unless they make an impulse buy. This individual likely has the same demographics as your ideal client, but they don’t know about your product or that they need it.
Most people don’t start their buyer’s journey until they experience a trigger event or have pain that needs to be solved.
If someone wants to start a fitness journey, they may not decide to buy a gym membership right away. They may look online to learn more and make decisions as they go through the different stages of their buyer’s journey. Our job is to help them with that decision-making process. The buyer journey is often referred to as a funnel where prospects move from the Awareness top of funnel (TOFU) stage, to the Consideration middle of funnel (MOFU) stage, and then onto the Decision bottom of funnel (BO
Awareness Stage
The purpose of this stage is to increase brand recognition and website traffic.
At this point, potential customers may have just started their research and may not have found your product yet.
B2B buyers look at an average of three pieces of marketing content from a vendor before they purchase something, according to a survey. The content they consult most often includes ads, search engine results, social media posts, and emails. If this doesn’t convince you to be careful and intentional with your marketing messages at every opportunity, I don’t know what would.
The awareness stage is when the buyer is experiencing a problem or or has symptoms that causes them some sort of pain. Their goal is to alleviate it by looking for informational resources to more clearly understand, frame, and give a name to their problem.
A prospect might enter the following search query into a search engine: “How do I get stronger?” They are in the awareness stage and are not thinking about solutions or providers yet. However, they are trying to contextualize their problem. As a content marketer, you should show up in search engine results during these early stages in order to establish your authority and earn the trust of buyers who are just beginning their journey.
Consideration Stage
The consideration stage is when the buyer has a clear idea of their problem and is looking into different ways to solve it. They are committed to understanding all their options and weigh the pros and cons of each one.
An example of a search inquiry a prospect would make at the consideration stage is: “What are the pros and cons of going to a gym or hiring a personal trainer?” At the consideration stage, the prospect is not yet ready to buy, but they are starting to narrow down their options and are looking for more information on possible solutions. Your goal should be to educate them on the benefits of your product or service, as well as the disadvantages of your competitors.
This is considered the middle of the funnel and the goal of MoFu is to convince web visitors to become leads and generate profit for you. Once you have established a relationship with potential customers and earned their trust, you can then begin working to convert them into qualified leads.
The sales department should take the lead on this project, as they can help prospects further down the pipeline. By implementing several inbound marketing strategies, from insightful blog posts on your website to riveting LinkedIn captions, you can increase the number of deals you secure.
Decision Stage
After they have reached the decision stage, the buyer has decided on a strategy, method, or approach that they believe will work best. The goal now is to create a list of vendors who offer this solution, narrow it down to a few options, and make a final decision about which option to purchase.
A prospect who is at the decision stage of their buyer’s journey is likely to make a search inquiry such as “Planet Fitness vs. Gold’s Gym.” Now that they are ready to spend money, they will most likely go with a provider that they like, know, and trust, as long as that provider can meet their needs.
This it the bottom of the funnel (BOFU), or close to it, where those who make decisions are ready to buy.vYou should also provide enough information for the prospect so that they can make a wise decision.
Loyalty/Retain
This stage is usually not a part of a B2B marketing funnel, but it is still a very important moment in the buying journey. It is just as important to keep existing customers as it is to acquire new ones.
Wouldn’t it be easier to focus on upselling or cross-selling to customers who have already converted, rather than starting something from scratch?
Advocacy/Delight
Advocates are people who not only buy your products, but who also promote and praise your brand. They may have purchased from you multiple times and been very satisfied with the goods and/or customer service. In other words, they’re very enthusiastic about your brand and will talk about it positively to others. You may find them talking about you on social media or other places on the internet.
This begs the question, what content should you produce for each stage of the marketing funnel for B2B marketing and B2C marketing?
Why Creating Content for the Buyer’s Journey Is Important
As with any marketing area, it is essential to understand your audience. This includes understanding their thought processes, what sort of information they are looking for, and the path they take to find solutions. With this knowledge, you can begin creating a content strategy that aligns your content with the various stages of the buyer’s journey.
A disconnect is created between your business and your potential customers when you don’t completely understand your audience. For content marketers, this usually means you’re putting out content that your readers don’t relate to, which can cause you to lose them.
To avoid coming across as pushy, you’ll have to consider the stage of the journey your customer is at, how to meet them there, and what the best channels are to put your content in front of them. The internet has made it easier for marketers (and salespeople) to engage customers using content marketing at the various stages of their journey. Because of this, 60% of marketers consider content to be ‘very important’ or ‘extremely important’ to their overall strategy.
It can be difficult to create content that is appealing to the right people and is timely.
The first step in creating a content strategy is to identify the types of content you’ll need to reach your audience at each stage of the buyer’s journey. The marketing flywheel can help you determine what content to create.
Creating Content for Each Stage of the Buyer’s Journey
Your content must align with where your buyer is in their journey. For example, if you’re trying to attract someone who is unaware of your product, your content must be highly informative and focus on the problem your product solves. Creating content for your buyer persona means understanding where they are in their journey and then creating content that is specific to that stage.
This will help you plan your content so that it is relevant to each stage of the buyer’s journey, making the marketing process more efficient.
The first stage of solving a problem is becoming aware that there is a problem. People look for answers, resources, education, research data, opinions, and insight.
This is the stage where people are researching your product or service to see if it is a good fit for them.
The decision stage is the point at which people determine what steps they need to take in order to become customers.
There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to the buyer’s journey, as it varies greatly depending on the industry, business model, product, pricing, and audience. For example, B2C customers usually spend less time in the middle of the buyer’s journey than B2B customers, as the latter require more nurturing, engagement, and relationship development before making a purchase. A $50 pair of sneakers requires less convincing than a $10,000 business software investment.
Content Ideas for Each Stage of the Buyer’s Journey
Because different audiences have different needs, persona research is very important. By understanding the unique process that each audience goes through when making a purchase, you can create content that better meets their needs.
Top-Of-Funnel Content to Spark Awareness
Some ways that you can increase your exposure and awareness organically are through SEO and content marketing, video ads, PR outreach, and social media engagement on platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn. You can also generate exposure and awareness by creating user-generated content.
The focus of this type of content should be your knowledge and experience in your industry, commonly referred to as thought leadership content. The goal is to educate or inform your audience as though you were teaching them an introductory course.
Here is my suggestion for your awareness stage content:
- Blog articles
- Infographics
- Guest blog posts
- Bylines
- Podcasts
- Landing pages
- Homepages (websites)
- Videos
- Social media posts
Mid-Funnel Content to Grow Consideration
Conferences and tradeshows have always been important events in the world of B2B marketing. Now that these events have gone digital, webinars and online streaming are the dominant forces.
Google offers live streams for users (i.e., fellow experts) who are pre-registered or for those who watch them later on YouTube. Google also promotes online events via social media, search engines, and email.
My recommendations for consideration stage content includes:
- Influencer posts/customer profiles
- Industry reports / eBooks
- Interactive content (e.g. quiz)
- Live video
- A sheet overviewing your company
- Webinars
- Video
- Website feature pages
- Blog posts
Bottom-Of-Funnel Content to Drive Decision
The sales department is once again critical to the success of the business, responsible for promoting the company’s value and generating a return on investment. Motivate action by walking them through the process and share decision stage content such as the following:
- Competitive analysis
- Sales product page
- Case studies
- Help center articles
- A sheet overviewing specific features
- Pitch deck
- How-to tutorials
- Website FAQ page
- Website pricing page
Loyalty Phase to Ensure Engagement
Consumers who are loyal to a brand interact with it frequently and show trust in its products or services. B2B marketers can build relationships with their audience by engaging with them regularly, which may lead to increased brand loyalty and referral business.
Some content that can guarantee this is:
- White papers
- Social media
- Blog posts
- Podcasts
- Videos
- Email marketing
Advocacy/Retention
It’s a good sign for your business if you can turn your paying customers into fans who stick around. If you want to generate more leads, try posting product reviews on your social media channels. Prospects are more likely to go with a recommendation if they are considering doing business with a brand they do not recognize. So B2B marketers should get their customers involved in things like case studies and user-generated social media posts.
This can be achieved via:
- YouTube videos
- Community engagement
- Email marketing
- Social media
- White paper
- Podcast
Wrapping Up
You need to find new ways to engage with potential buyers at every stage of their journey. This is important to get a continuous flow of leads into your sales pipeline. Too much content on the internet and too many selling points in traditional marketing methods will turn prospects away.
Content marketing is a way of using multiple sources and formats to inform, educate, persuade, and entertain your audience. Optimizing how you combine different formats can help turn your leads into returning consumers, and strengthen your brand.