Crafting Materials for the Customer Progression

In the world of marketing, understanding the buyer's journey is crucial for successful personalised messaging and razor-focused campaigns. This data-driven strategy tool, popularised by HubSpot, defines your best-fit buyer and helps you reach them at every stage of the funnel.

The Buyer's Journey: A Map of Behavioural Scenarios

The buyer's journey is a map of behavioural scenarios fueled by data. It is defined as the process buyers go through to become aware of, consider, and evaluate, and decide to purchase a new product or service. The journey is divided into three main stages: Awareness, Consideration, and Decision.

The Awareness Stage (TOFU)

At the Awareness stage, customers search for topics related to a challenge, goal, or opportunity to educate themselves. Content such as inspirational/emotional blog posts, ebook offers, opt-ins, tutorial videos, helpful social media posts, and free online courses/certifications can help reach people at this stage.

The Consideration Stage (MOFU)

In the Consideration stage, customers are armed with clearly defined goals and are ready to address them head-on. Personalized engagement via email/calls/messaging, webinars, guides, live chats, whitepapers, and blog posts that offer a specific solution are effective at this stage.

The Decision Stage (BOFU)

The Decision stage is when customers are ready to commit and are weighing their options before making a purchase. Calls-to-action, trial offers, demos, downloads, case studies, and product-focused content are effective at this stage.

Creating Ideal Customer Profiles (ICPs)

An ideal customer profile (ICP) is a strategy tool that clearly defines your best-fit buyer. A buyer persona, a fictional character vignette that represents a specific category of your audience, can help you create effective ICPs. A buyer persona checklist often includes a name, occupation, goals, challenges, demographics, brands, social media, and a summary.

Aligning the Buyer's Journey with Branding Strategy

Mapping out the buyer's journey ensures that it aligns with the branding strategy and outreach jives with the values and presentation of the brand. The order, types, and number of stages in a buyer's journey vary based on specific goals, campaigns, products, services, or customer types.

The Power of Content Marketing

Content marketing can help reach people at any stage of the funnel. HubSpot recommends leaning into SEO optimized, high-value written content, such as blog posts, ebooks, reports, and white papers filled with original research.

Maximising ROI through the Buyer's Journey

Mapping out the buyer's journey helps in discovering gaps in the sales cycle and finding where to concentrate efforts to maximise ROI. Variations of the buyer's journey can show up at any stage within the foundational funnel.

Despite the importance of the buyer's journey, 65 percent of B2B marketers are confused about which types of content are most effective. However, 88 percent of B2B marketers are using custom content to engage with customers at various stages in their marketing funnels. By understanding and implementing the buyer's journey, businesses can improve their marketing efforts and achieve more successful personalised messaging and razor-focused campaigns.