To be effective, your marketing must not just reach your prospects; it has to align with the individual states of the buyer’s journey to influence them.
To properly align with the buyer’s journey, you also need to make sure you understand exactly what your buyer is going through.
How to understand the buyer’s journey
While there are clear differences between B2B and B2C marketing, the buyer journeys are actually quite similar, so instead of thinking in terms of heavy machinery for a construction project, think about it in terms of purchasing a vehicle, something you’ve most likely done before.
What was the process you went through to purchase a new car? How did you decide what you wanted, and how much time did you spend researching your options before visiting a dealership?
Your customers are going through the same journey right now, and you can draw on your past experience to align your marketing strategy with their present needs.
How to align marketing with the buyer’s journey
1. Awareness
Your car’s warranty has expired, and now you’re wondering whether it’s better to pay for the repairs that may be a recurring theme or to buy another car altogether. Your prospect is in the same mindset when they begin their own buyer’s journey. They want to know all of their options before deciding if or what they should purchase.
Blog posts, whitepapers and other types of long-form content are ideal for this stage because they contain a large amount of information and data that will help the prospect in their research.
Use paid Google search ads so your ad appears when users begin their journey with a search query. Advertising on social media and in industry publications also targets the right audience for your business.
2. Consideration
Now that it’s officially time for a new car, there’s a lot of options to go through. At this point, you’re looking into choices like make and model, new or used, vehicle size or better fuel efficiency. Your prospect is also researching all options for the equipment they are looking to purchase. They are focusing more on their own specific needs and may look into reviews of the equipment they are considering.
Information like case studies, product comparisons and digital demos of your products help show how you stack up against your competition. Offer reviews and customer testimonials on your website and share them in your marketing efforts to establish trust.
Continue using Google ads, this time with display ads that are served on websites your prospects may visit, such as review websites, and remarketing ads on social media based on previous browsing history to keep your brand top of mind as the prospect continues their search.
3. Decision
At this point in your car journey, you’ve picked out a couple of car dealerships you want to visit and some specific models you are looking to test drive. A decision is imminent and now is the time for you to be really impressed. Your prospects are also ready to purchase, but you’ll really need to stand out and demonstrate your value if you want to be the one they choose.
With buyers so close to a final decision, offer trial downloads and live demonstrations so they can experience and ask questions about your offerings in real time.
Continue your remarketing efforts but add stronger offers like discounts or free consultations to further incentivize prospects to convert. Use ads to display your most favorable reviews, especially if they are from thought leaders in your industry.
Conclusion
Understanding and aligning your marketing content and advertisements to the buyer’s journey is key when it comes to connecting with buyers. You have to know what they need and when they will need it to serve it at the right time and provide the best experience possible.
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