The buying journey describes the stages that consumers go through to become aware of, evaluate, and purchase a new product or service. Generally speaking, this journey consists of three stages:
- Awareness
- Consideration
- Decision
Stages of the Buyer’s Journey
Awareness Stage – The Consumer realizes they have a problem
In the awareness stage of the buyer’s journey, the consumer has realized a want or need for a product and/or service. To understand more about what they are looking for, they are most likely asking for insight from friends, family, colleagues, peers, or associates, and entering search terms into a search engine (like Bing or Google). Most potential buyers in the awareness stage are seeking information to answer questions or to resolve their pain points.
With 72% of buyers turning to Google for information, this is where an effective search engine marketing strategy plays a very important role.
The objective for creating content at this stage is to create an association between your brand and a current or future need. The content you produce and promote to the audience should help the consumer identify their problem(s) and recognize their needs. Your intention should be to lay the foundation of product knowledge prior to the ‘hard-sell’. This ensures that when the time comes to close the deal, things run a lot smoother.
Comparison Stage – The Consumer defines their problem and researches options to solve it
Once the consumer has clearly defined the goal or challenge, and a commitment to address it has been made, the consideration phase is where buyers evaluate the different methods that are available to them. The consideration stage is all about deepening the association made between the brand and a customer’s need(s) identified during the awareness stage.
As your buyers get further into their research, they will begin to understand which criteria do and do not meet their needs. At this point, buyers will begin to eliminate vendors who do not meet their expectations, thereby narrowing their focus to just a few competing providers. The next phase of their research has them diving even deeper into each company’s specific offerings, to see how each provider can address their particular pain points.
70% of consumers return to Google at least two to three times during the course of their research.
Pardot State of Demand Generation Report
Be aware that at this key stage your potential customer is likely looking into your competitors as well. Use case studies, pricing guides, product demos, webinars, FAQs to highlight what makes your offering better than the rest. The content you produce and promote to the audience should help them evaluate their options by comparing and differentiating products and providers.
Decision Stage – The Consumer chooses a solution
At this point in the purchasing journey, with the research and background work completed, the consumer has a strategy in place to address their pain point, and are ready to make a final decision on a specific product or service. Now, the buyer will begin to consider the pricing, capabilities, features, and benefits of individual vendors. In a B2B setting, this is where the decision-makers get involved.
70% of the buyer’s journey is complete before a buyer even reaches out to sales.
SiriusDecisions
Once arriving at this point, the buyer is likely to spend significant time researching documentation, data, vendor reviews, and other materials, to add credence to their decision. Customer reviews are of great importance during the decision stage.
97% of people say they rely on peer recommendations and ratings/reviews during this stage of their buying journey.
Spiceworks
The content you create and promote to the audience should resolve any concerns the consumer has, and reinforce their decision to buy. Vendor and product comparisons, case studies, and free trials are appealing to consumers at this stage of their buying journey.
Summary
Do not assume that buyers will follow these stages in a linear path. The buyer’s journey will be staggered and could be repeated quite often.
Each consumer has their own set of priorities, worries, and pressures that will influence their decisions throughout the three stages of their purchasing journey. For example, some potential users of the product want maximum performance, some want good technical support, some want the lowest price, and some want countless other things.
To address the needs of different consumers, at different stages in their buying journey, you must produce specialized content to satisfy each of these information seekers. When you can identify your audience, where they are in their buying process, and what information they might need at a certain time, you can deliver relevant content to your prospects when they want it, the way they want it. With this nurturing approach you will succeed in advancing your targeted consumer audience through each stage of the buying journey.
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