The typical customer journey rarely follows a straight line and is certainly not a one-size-fits-all scenario. In fact, it could be argued that there is no such thing as a “typical” customer journey. Some customers will make the move from discovery to paying clients in a matter of moments. Others will take their time, drop in and out of the conversation, and be difficult to pin down. There will also be those inevitable tire kickers who take up all of your time and never make a purchase.
Even though we increasingly (or even exclusively) work in the digital arena, the customer journey is still an incredibly human story. Therefore, keeping track of your customers’ movements and hitting them with the right message at the right time is essential. As your business scales, this becomes impossible to perform manually. Therefore, automation has to be a significant consideration when figuring out how to maintain control over the entire customer journey.
What is the Customer Journey?
At emfluence, we spend a great deal of time analyzing and refining the customer journey. It can be a fairly complicated process, but understanding it is essential when figuring out how to make more meaningful connections with your audience.
Because the customer journey can be a convoluted story, it makes sense to break it down into easily digestible chunks.
The five stages of the customer journey are as follows:
1. Awareness
In this stage, the customer realizes they have a problem or need and becomes aware of your brand. They might come across your business through social media ads, blog posts, videos, or search engine results. Sometimes, they hear about you from friends or family. The goal here is to grab their attention and let them know you exist.
2. Consideration
Once customers know about your brand, they start exploring their options. They might visit your website, read reviews, compare products, or check out your emails. This is when they weigh the pros and cons of choosing you. Your job is to show them why your product or service is the best solution for their needs.
3. Convert (Purchase)
At this stage, the customer is ready to make a decision and buy. They’ll go to your checkout page, take advantage of any discounts, or reach out to customer support with questions. It’s essential to make the purchasing process simple and reassuring so they feel confident choosing your business.
4. Loyalty
After the customer makes a purchase, it’s time to keep them happy. You can do this by providing onboarding materials, offering excellent customer support, or rewarding their loyalty with special programs. This stage is all about building trust and encouraging them to come back for more.
5. Advocacy
When customers are delighted with your product or service, they naturally tell others about it. They might write reviews, share their experiences on social media, or recommend you to friends and family. This stage turns customers into advocates for your brand, helping you attract even more customers.
Two-Way Traffic
It’s important to remember that the customer journey isn’t a one-way street. Customers can and will jump back and forth from one stage to the other, occasionally missing out on individual stops.
Building Stronger Relationships
Marketing automation platforms, such as emfluence, help businesses deliver timely, relevant, and highly personalized (more engaging) marketing communications which can be tailored to every stage of the customer journey. By leveraging these tools, marketers can ensure each engagement resonates with their audience and encourages them to move seamlessly to the next step.
So, let’s explore each customer journey stage and examine how marketing automation can drive meaningful and effective interactions.
Introducing Your Brand
During the awareness stage, automation helps attract potential customers and introduce them to your brand. Personalized ads and emails can be automatically sent to segmented audiences based on their demographics or online behavior, ensuring they receive content that resonates with their interests. Automation also supports content delivery by sharing blog posts, videos, or eBooks with users who engage with your website or social media. Lead capture tools like pop-ups, landing pages, or chatbots further streamline the process of gathering contact information from visitors.
Keeping Those Leads Nice and Hot
In the consideration stage, automation nurtures leads by providing them with the information they need to evaluate their options. Drip campaigns send a series of targeted emails with product comparisons, case studies, or answers to frequently asked questions. Meanwhile, behavioral triggers ensure follow-up content is automatically delivered based on a prospect’s actions, such as downloading a guide or viewing pricing pages. Dynamic website content also plays a role by displaying personalized recommendations or information based on the user’s browsing history.
Buy Now!
As the customer moves into the convert stage, marketing automation facilitates a smooth transition to purchase. Automated reminders and special offers can re-engage users who abandon their carts, encouraging them to complete their purchases. Personalized discounts based on customer preferences or past behavior can make the offer more appealing.
Stick Around
In the loyalty stage, automation focuses on keeping customers engaged and satisfied. Onboarding sequences, delivered through automated emails or tutorials, help new customers understand and make the most of their purchases. Feedback requests can be sent at key moments to gauge satisfaction and collect insights for improvement. Loyalty programs are also easily managed with automation, tracking customer purchases and rewarding repeat business with personalized offers or points.
Tell Your Friends
Finally, during the advocacy stage, automation amplifies customer voices and encourages word-of-mouth marketing. Automated review and referral campaigns invite satisfied customers to share their experiences or recommend the brand to friends. Social sharing is made easy with thank-you emails that include prompts to post on social media. Advocates can also be rewarded with exclusive content, VIP discounts, or early access to new products, further strengthening their bond with the brand.
Learn More
To learn more about how emfluence can help you send the right message to the right person at the right time, based on your individual customers’ needs and their current position on the customer journey, schedule a demo of our platform or request a call-back from one of our marketing automation experts here expert@emfluence.com.
