Customer journey stages: 5 steps of the customer journey

How to use customer journey stages in online marketing?

Find out here what the different customer journey phases entail and how your company can adapt to them. Includes examples of touchpoints and content!

1. Awareness

In the awareness phase, people know they have a need or problem, but they don't know the solution (yet).

As a company, you want to be visible during this phase in any case. Attract attention. Create recognition. Build some trust. All without selling directly, because people are not ready for that at this stage.

Touchpoints

Your content in the awareness phase should primarily be informative. It should focus on the problems and needs of your target audience, rather than on your product or service. Consider the following touchpoints:

• online ads
• blogs with tips
• social media posts
• podcasts
• whitepapers/e-books (good for collecting b2b leads!)

2. Consideration

In the consideration phase, people know the solution to their problem or need. They know your company or brand from the previous touchpoints, but they are still necessarily convinced. They need to consider their options.

The focus in this phase is mainly on building trust. On informing and telling why your product or service is the best or most logical solution. So still not very sales-like.

Touchpoints

Ideally, content in the consideration phase communicates your added value or unique selling proposition. Examples of touchpoints include:

• product comparisons
• case studies
• reviews & testimonials
• demos
• FREE TRIALS
• and articles with 'how do I choose the right product/service'?

3. Purchase

In the purchase phase, people are about to make a purchase. They know what product or service they need, but often need that final push to actually buy it from you.

So in this phase you want to remove the last doubts and make the buying process as easy as possible.

Touchpoints

The content in this phase should convince the target group that you are the best choice (e.g. with temporary discounts or other promotions). Therefore, bet here on things like:

• retargeting campaigns
• emails with offers
• landing pages with a short overview of your USPs, reviews and a clear call-to-action

4. Service (usage)

The service phase begins immediately after the purchase, when customers actually start using your product or when you deliver the service. In this phase, your main priority is to ensure a positive experience … and, consequently, a satisfied customer.

As a company, you can, for example, offer support in using a product so that customers can get started quickly and immediately see or feel the value you provide.

Touchpoints

With smart content you can create more satisfied customers. Or more importantly: word-of-mouth advertising, repeat purchases and customer loyalty. You do this for example with the following touchpoints:

• onboarding emails
• instructional videos
• FAQs
• articles with checklists, roadmaps or tips

5. Loyalty

In the loyalty phase, you’re dealing with satisfied customers who are generally open to taking the next step. Think of repeat purchases, potential upgrades, or a bit of upselling.

Your main goal here is to focus on improving customer relationships, so you can turn those customers into true brand ambassadors. It sounds cliché (we know), but those types of customers are truly worth their weight in gold for your business.

Touchpoints

To bind those customers to your company/brand/product/service, you can focus on content and touchpoints like:

• access to content or a community
• exclusive deals
• loyalty programs with loyalty points, rewards or other customer benefits
• campaigns for upselling/upgrading
• automated emails

Tip: The loyalty phase is often underestimated, but it’s actually one of the most valuable stages of the customer journey. Repeat purchases take less time, money, and effort, and returning customers often spend more as well. It’s a win-win.

So be sure to think carefully about how you can continue to deliver value with your content here!

Choose the right channels for the right target group

We haven't actually talked about the channels on which you can best distribute your content. And there's a reason for that: every target group is on a different channel.

B2B companies, for example, benefit more from LinkedIn. You can sell HR software on this platform. But do you sell organic goat's wool socks? Then you might want to focus on Instagram or Facebook.

The same goes for video. Consumers often prefer watching a video on Youtube to signing up for a free webinar, training or workshop.

So see for each touchpoint what the ideal channel is for the content and your target audience.

Want to know more about customer journey phases?

Would you like to learn more about customer journey phases, touchpoints, and content? Or would you like to brainstorm about the customer journey your target audience takes? Feel free to contact us. We’d be happy to help.