Before customers start their buying journey, they’re in ‘business as usual’ mode, not realising they might have unmet needs. They are simply unaware of the solutions that exist to solve their challenges. At this point, it’s crucial for a business to:

• Boost visibility to stand out in the market
• Enhance branding to build brand recognition
• Engage actively with the use of tailored content

Adopting these approaches ensures you grab their attention and firmly establish visibility and engagement at the earliest stage of their buyer journey. The earlier you engage, the more likely they are to stay with you through their journey.

Call to Action

At this stage, potential buyers become aware of their needs and start looking for information. Engage potential buyers with content that guides them towards the solutions they need. Your business must be positioned as a thought leader. By building your content around the buyer journey, you will ensure you are relevant and enabling journey progression.

During the research stage, buyers seek credible information and are looking for insights to help them decide on a potential solution for their business. A seamless web experience and strong, reliable branding will enable them to gather valuable insights, informing and refining their decision.

• Website experience needs to be clear and easy, providing information on what’s available and how a business can support the potential buyer.
• Showcase expertise in the field to enhance brand credibility.
• Create engaging and informative content to drive lead generation and progression

It’s important that at the stakeholder engagement phase of the journey, you support buyers with their internal discussions, ensuring they can present an approach that works while completing the internal requirement gathering. Providing information that facilitates these discussions is key to success. This is where brand credibility, supporting marketing content, and informative web pages play crucial roles.

At this point, buyers need to justify the cost of adopting your service or solution to address their challenges. They often seek advice or create requests for proposals (RFPs). Your website and marketing content should help potential buyers craft a solid business case that demonstrates the benefits, value, and return on investment when opting for your product or service.

For example, you can provide case studies, ROI calculators, or data-driven reports that highlight the positive outcomes of using your solutions.

During the ‘consideration’ phase, buyers explore potential providers to evaluate their abilities. They assess various solutions or services against their organisation’s unique needs and objectives. Building trust is essential at this point. By showing reliability, being transparent, and comprehensively understanding their challenges, you’ll not only make a memorable impact but also set your offering apart. This is your opportunity to stand out!At EC, we help clients build this trust by crafting authentic and persuasive narratives that resonate with their target audiences.

Here, buyers evaluate the suitability of the solution or service against their specific needs, focusing heavily on trust and capability. This involves engaging with product demos and team collaboration, leading to an initial proposal, and building strong relationships. It’s vital that the solution or service not only meets but surpasses expectations to ensure a smooth transaction and confirm the purchase decision. Excelling in these areas boosts buyer confidence and smooths the path to purchase. Having a clear and straightforward sales process and supporting sales enablement to provide the best sales pitch that helps the buyer make a decision is crucial.

At EC, we focus on developing long-term customer relationships, going beyond simply closing a sale.

Reaching the ‘buy’ stage marks a significant milestone in the buyer’s journey, transitioning the buyer into a valued customer. This stage marks the beginning of a new journey.

Provide a smooth onboarding experience that is consistent with your brand and messaging. Then move to build out their next journey path. This could include providing valuable content, offering ongoing support, or developing targeted campaigns for repeat purchases.