Successful communication campaigns say the right thing to the right people at the right time. Although that sounds obvious, too often it is not well practised. And saying the right thing at the right time is not that simple when a prospect is travelling the buyers journey.
For instance, a message telling a prospect who does not yet understand their problem, that if they buy your product today they will receive a 50% discount, is pointless. That prospect has not yet explored the options and is not yet ready to buy. Your campaign mechanism was efficient, and you reached the prospect. But you reached that prospect with the wrong message or reached the prospect at the wrong time. Ultimately your message (and your money) was wasted.
Put yourself in a similar position. Do you buy a product only because it has a good price. No, you buy a product because it is likely to provide a solution to a problem you recognise, and it must be a researched, reputable product or service that is offered at a competitive price.
This article looks at the buyer journey and explores the touchpoints the prospect may experience with your product or service. If you intimately understand your prospect and the journey they are travelling, you have put yourself in a position to ensure that your campaign does say the right thing, at the right time and is likely to be most successful.
Business Success is driven by the Customer Experience.
The truth is that business success is not driven by the unique product, or the innovative business model, or the dynamic leadership of the CEO, or the marketing strategy, or the efficiency of the factory, or the superior distribution process. That is all part of success but ultimately success is driven by the customer and that customer’s perceptions.
The implication is for the small business owner looking to embark on a marketing strategy to grow, consolidate, or define the business, the most important consideration is to intimately know the customer. And, remembering that those customer perceptions drive their buying behaviour, to understand those perceptions. It is essential to understand that those perceptions change at every stage of the purchasing process.
In marketing terms, this is known as the buyer’s journey. That journey is characterized by distinct touchpoints, touchpoints being interactions the prospect has with the brand, product or service. The goal of the marketing campaign is to get the prospect to say “yes” at every touchpoint and move on with your brand in the buyers journey up to that point where you ask him or her to buy, to become a customer. After that point the customer that has had a valuable experience might start to talk positively about that experience and share that with their network. They start to become an advocate.
If at any point along that buyer’s journey, that prospect says “no” and seeks other solutions to his problem, you lose them and they never become a customer of yours.
Phases to the buyer’s journey
There are 5 phases to the buyer’s journey.
- Awareness: The prospect becomes aware of their problem and identifies your product or service can solve it. Here you need to provide valuable content that addresses their pain points and offers solutions. Typically, the prospect finds information on social media platforms, reading content and search engine optimization is key.
- Consideration: Now the prospect is in research mode, they will consider different options or solutions. Here offer detailed product information, customer reviews, and case studies to help buyers make informed decisions. More direct communication channels grow in importance in this phase. Email marketing, website, and live chat or chatbots that provide immediate answers to customer questions are important.
- Decision: At a point, the prospect will decide which is the best solution for them and will buy and become a customer. To support this provide compelling offers, incentives, or guarantees to encourage the buyer to choose your product or service. Even more direct methods are important. That might be sales calls, sales demonstrations or free trials and demos may get the decision moving in your favour.
- Retention: During this phase, the customer will use your product. If they find value, they might return and repurchase. If they do not find value, they will not. And here offer excellent customer service, loyalty programs, and additional resources to keep customers satisfied and engaged. Key is to maintain personalised contact with the customer and customer relationship management (CRM) software, loyalty programs and community forums all play a part.
- Advocacy: If that prospect becomes a satisfied customer, they will recommend you to others in their network. That will benefit you to other prospects in the consideration/decision phases of their buyers journey.
Encourage customer reviews, testimonials, and social media sharing to promote your brand through word-of-mouth. Social media plays a role in this phase, as do customer reviews and referral programs.
As previously stated, at each phase of that journey, the prospect will experience different touch points. More importantly at each stage your marketing message needs to reflect what the customer is looking to hear, not what you are wanting to say.
The Prospect Persona
It’s crucial that you, the marketer, envisage that prospect with total clarity. That will include demographic data such as name, age, gender, habits, status, and dislikes, location, income, occupation, education, and family status. It will also include psychographic data such as values, lifestyle choices, personality traits, motivations, goals, concerns and anxieties. Key to include are behaviours such as buying habits, usage patterns, decision-making processes, communication preferences and online behaviour. A deep insight will also include goals and challenges. It is essential to remember that Personas are not real people, but rather fictional representations based on research and data.
For some, that is a description written in words. For others, it might be a visual representation. It does not matter which you prefer but make sure you know the persona and measure your buyer journey, the touchpoints and communication messages against that.
Conclusion:
For every marketer, it’s crucial to “see” your prospect and know his or her thinking at each step along that buyer’s journey.
Then, you can evaluate your marketing message and make sure you’re saying the right thing at the right time and keeping that prospect in the journey to a point where the prospect becomes a customer and hopefully an advocate for your business.
Communication success will only come when you intimately know your prospect at every touch point and reach out with the right message at the right time.
About Garth Sutherland
Garth Sutherland boasts a wealth of marketing expertise spanning over two decades, showcasing his prowess at a senior level with major brands across South Africa and the GCC. His impact on the marketing landscape has been enduring.
Having steered prominent brands in South Africa and successfully establishing multinational and local start-ups in Saudi Arabia, Dubai, and the GCC, Garth’s journey epitomizes a dynamic fusion of science, teaching, and experiential learning.
Trained as a scientist and educator, he honed his craft under the guidance of mentors with a traditional FMCG background.
As a natural integrator, Garth brings a distinctive approach to his work—aligning the essence of the brand, the strengths of its people, and the nuances of the environment to optimize brand positioning, success, and profitability.
His impressive track record speaks for itself, with a pivotal role in guiding numerous brands to achieve their full potential.
If you’re eager to discover how Garth can elevate your small business to new heights, connect with him via LinkedIn or drop a message at garth@smallbusinessmarketing.co.za
Alternatively, you can reach him directly at +27 81 265 5803.
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