When running a business, you may be aware of the “buying cycle” – the process of which a prospective customer goes from being a potential lead to a loyal advocate of your brand.
But what are the four stages of this cycle – and how can you meet your target customers where they’re at during each section?
Awareness
This probably goes without saying, but the first step is to make sure that the customer is aware of your product and/or service.
Similar to the Attention step in the AIDA model, this is the stage where you need to be focusing on who your target audience is, so you can best tailor your campaign to reach your ideal clients.
By building a good understanding of exactly who it is you’re trying to reach, you can adapt your content – whether it’s a social media post, blog or newsletter campaign – to address your customer avatar’s pain points, desires and where they like to spend most of their time online.
Consideration
The second stage of the customer buying journey is where your prospective clients are actively researching the products and services you offer, and are weighing up their options.
This is where things get competitive, as you’ll need to ensure your business stands out. Tailoring your content to address potential customers in this step of the funnel can help drive them through to the decision – and ultimately buying – stage.
Decision
As you may have guessed, the third step in the buying journey is the decision stage – the step where the customer narrows down their options to make their final choice.
To help nudge consumers in the direction of purchasing, many businesses find offering incentives can be conducive. This can include implementing one or more of the following:
• Free trials
• Discounts
• Special offers
Retention & Advocacy
Last but not least is the final stage, which takes place once the customer has already committed to purchasing from you.
Just like any good relationship, you should be focusing on building a rapport with your audience. Once they’ve bought a product or used one of your services, their buying journey shouldn’t end there – you should be looking at how you can keep these consumers loyal to your brand, preventing them from casting their eyes elsewhere.
Some of these methods include offering:
• Personalised offers and communication
• Providing excellent customer service
• Loyalty programs
If you want quality content to help place you in front of your ideal audience, the team at Engage Web can help. Get in touch today to find out more.
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