Understanding your buyer’s journey is like using a GPS when you drive. It guides you turn by turn to make sure you don’t end up somewhere off the map.
It doesn’t matter if you’re selling something technical or fun — mapping out a journey helps you tailor your marketing efforts to guide potential customers from first interaction to lifelong relationships.
In our fast-paced commerce world, about 49% of companies say increasing customer acquisition is their primary objective this year, according to Hubspot.
You can also take all the information you get from your buyer’s journey and turn it into data to figure out how to best target your audience in the future, so let’s dive into what it is and how you can make this map work for you.
The Four Stages of the Buyer’s Journey
Let’s start with the obvious. What is a buyer’s journey? It’s a series of interactions a potential buyer has with a brand and how many steps it takes to make a purchase decision. It also includes the experience that your audience has during these steps.
Every stage in their journey needs to motivate them to make that final purchase to boost retention and improve customer interactions. However, people don’t like feeling pushed or rushed into deciding, so you need to address their pain points without appearing desperate (because that isn’t a good look for anyone).
The B2B buyer’s journey typically consists of four stages—each as important as the last:
- Awareness
- Consideration
- Decision
- Retention
Not every buyer goes through every stop in order — some potential customers will do these steps out of order, but overall, all of these actions help inform who’s coming along for the ride with your brand.
Create Your Customer Profiles — (Yes, More Than One)
To get started, you need to know who you’re selling to. Get down and dirty with your ideal customer profiles. Figure out their pain points, challenges, and goals. And let’s be honest — knowing these details isn’t just for kicks — it’s crucial to offering solutions that make their lives easier.
Whether it’s supply chain issues, tight budgets, or an overwhelming workload, managers must understand what keeps them up at night and what stands between them and their goals.
But don’t stop there.
Keep tabs on where your audience interacts with your brand. Are they on your website? Engage on social media? Read your emails? Feed the carrier pigeon you send over? Visit you at events? These points of information should inform a detailed content strategy, so you convey the message they need to hear in the places where they appear.
Create detailed profiles that cover everything from their professional background to their favorite breakfast food (because why not?). It might seem daunting, but with the right strategy, you can make mapping out a buyer’s journey easy as pie.
Awareness: Make —Them Aware of Their Problem
Okay, now let’s get into the first true step in the buyer’s journey — the awareness stage.
At this stage, your potential buyers are blissfully unaware of their problems or are just getting an inkling that something is amiss. This is where you swoop in and make them aware that a problem exists and that you can help.
It is very important to optimize your content for the channels your audience frequents. Whether they’re scrolling through Instagram during their lunch break or diving deep into LinkedIn articles while pretending to work, your content needs to pop up like a neon sign that says, “Hey, you’ve got a problem, and we can help fix it.” Use attention-grabbing content, snappy ads, or maybe a video or two.
Just remember not to get too sales-y yet. We meant what we said about sounding desperate. The main goal of this step is to educate, inform, and gently prod them to the next step. Your future customers are out there — they just don’t know it yet.
Consideration Stage – Time to Impress
By now, your customers know they have a problem and are starting to look for solutions. Our business school friends call this the Consideration stage. The trick is that those potential customers are looking at a lot of different solutions.
So, it’s time to prove you have the answer to their problem. Share case studies, white papers, and testimonials highlighting your track record.
Your mission here is to stand out from the crowd and prove you’re not just another contestant — you’re the grand prize. Real-life examples and glowing reviews can turn a hesitant prospect into a confident buyer.
Your audience will have questions and want answers (that’s okay, don’t worry). Make sure you have a solid FAQ page and that your customer service team is ready to tackle any question. Quick responses and helpful information can be the tipping point that makes them choose you over others.
You have a short window to impress— so lay on the charm.
Decision Stage — Sealing the Deal
Picture one of those old-time-y scales. Your name is on one side. The competition is on the other. It’s time to start adding weight to your side so it becomes obvious to the potential buyers that you’re it.
Pull out the stops now. Offer a free consultation. Hand out samples. Do what you can — short of doing free work — to prove your worth and make it easy to decide that you’ve got the magic. Point of order — this might mean getting your sales team additional resources to close the deal.
Any hiccups or friction here could be a deal-breaker, so streamline everything from payment options to confirmation emails.
Consider personalizing your interactions with potential buyers to show them they’re more than just another number. Tailored emails that say, “<first name>, we haven’t forgotten about you!” or “Is there anything we can help with, <first name>?” can go a long way.
You should know that potential customer by now, so adding a sense of urgency is another arrow to shoot. An email that starts, “<first name>, I remember you needed to [fill in the blank]. If that’s still a priority for you, the time to start is now.”
Loyalty Stage – Keeping the Love Alive
Woohooooooo. The contracts are signed, and you’re off and running. Let’s be clear about this — the party is not over. It’s time to keep the relationship growing.
Prove your worth by delivering as promised, providing exceptional customer service, and going the extra mile with strategic support. Roll out the red carpet and stay in regular contact with phone calls, newsletters, exclusive content, and events.
Oh, and don’t forget social media. Interact with your customers on their favorite platforms, comment on their posts, and share them when appropriate. Make them feel seen and appreciated in the public eye.
Combined, these efforts show your customers you’re committed for the long haul.
Micro-Moments – Capturing Attention in Seconds
Now that we’ve covered the four main stages of a buyer’s journey, let’s discuss ways to get potential customers interested in a heartbeat.
Let’s face it: we all endlessly scroll on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. Occasionally, we’ll see something interesting enough to look up online. These are called micro-moments.
A micro-moment? What the heck is that? It’s that half-a-second between the scroll and the thought, “I gotta look that up.” It is essential to be in the right place with the right message when your potential customer is reading, watching, or listening to something on their device.
Side note: most micro-interactions happen on mobile devices, so you better be ready to shine on those tiny screens.
What you show in those first few seconds can make or break your brand’s connection with consumers, and here’s why: attention spans are about as short as a 140-character tweet. So, you’ve got mere seconds to impress.
Micro-moments occur across four key areas:
- I-want-to-know moments: When potential customers seek information or research a topic
- I-want-to-go moments – When potential customers search for a local business or specific place
- I-want-to-do moments – When customers need guidance on completing a task
- I-want-to-buy moments – When consumers are ready to make buying decisions
Keep it short and sweet when considering strategies to catch potential customers’ attention. Snappy, bite-sized content that delivers quick answers or solutions. This could include how-to guides, instructional videos, or informative blog posts.
Visuals are your secret weapon. Use visuals to convey information quickly and make it easily digestible while people scroll through their feeds at warp speed. Bright colors, bold text, and captivating graphics will make them stop and stare—even if just for a moment.
Don’t sleep on local search optimization, either. A well-optimized Google Business Profile and positive customer reviews can improve local search visibility. Make it ridiculously easy for them to find you—and choose you.
Mapping the Path to Success
Mapping out the buyer’s journey is more than a one-time activity — it’s an evolving strategy that needs constant attention. You can’t just set it and forget it.
Detailing a map will lead straight to increased sales, customer satisfaction, and business growth, but ultimately, it’s all about creating a seamless experience for your customers at every stage.
Keep experimenting, analyzing, and improving. After all, the grand journey is not just about the destination — it’s about every step.
If you need help with this, give us a call.
