With technology innovations evolving at a rapid pace, the customer journey has evolved in step, with the ability to research, compare and contrast products and services ever more accessible. Following from last week’s blog, we’re taking a look at the decision and purchase phase of the customer journey.
Having done their homework, potential customers should be prepped and primed for you to reel them on in. For the most part, thanks to pre-purchase conditioning, they will reach the decision to purchase stage and need little encouragement to pull them over the line.
Once a potential customer has made the all important decision to purchase your product over a competitor, it’s crucial you eliminate any barrier to completing that transaction. Website load times, number of steps to buy and meeting consumer needs are amongst the top reasons that derail the immediate gratification potential customers are seeking from a purchase. 70% of users will shop elsewhere if the page load time is too slow, likewise 67% will switch companies if there are too many steps to purchase. Be a perfectionist and critically analyse your company’s buying process as it’s the tiny minute details that instill doubt and have the potential to cause lost sales.
From here, every point of contact is vital and you’ll really want to make your marketing work harder for you. Choosing the right channel is everything, and as per usual Google have come to the rescue with a nifty little tool to demonstrate which channels affect purchase decisions at various points along the customer journey. Our go-to favourites are detailed below!
Email
For a marketer, email is the best thing since sliced bread. Put your lifecycle marketing caps on for a moment and think – it gives you a direct path into subscribers inboxes. Don’t dismiss it. You need to go above and beyond a standard monthly newsletter. With such a competitive online marketplace, you need to up your game and utilise email marketing strategies that will nudge potential buyers towards a sale.
Newsletters are great for sharing your content and company updates but you can make campaigns more lucrative by setting up automation series. It involves a lot of initial planning and work however the long term results are very rewarding. Remember, it’s paramount to provide something of value for the audience rather than just highlighting product features. Show them how your product can make their life better by meeting their needs or solving their problems. Consider how much more inclined to buy they are going to be after receiving valuable content from you. Take a look at a few examples below:
Cart Abandonment – Remind web users they’ve forgotten about items in their cart. They may have been distracted during the checkout process so this is a simple way to recapture what would otherwise be lost sales.
Repurchase – Prompt customers to repurchase as they come towards the end of a product’s lifecycle. If they liked the product, this is an easy way to instigate repeat business.
Review – After a purchase, ask customers to leave feedback. Negative or positive, you can always learn from it. Offering an incentive to review will encourage more responses.
Exit Intent Popup
Using exit intent popups are another way to bridge the gap between abandoning your website and completing a purchase. Drive conversions using highly targeted campaigns, with incentives such as discount promotions, content upgrades, free samples or bonus ebooks, to name a few.
Remarketing
Remarketing is a great alternative for winning back lost ‘potential customers.’ Perhaps these users visited your site three times in the span of a week yet didn’t make a purchase. They’ve left for a reason. It could be anything from a simple distraction such as a phone call or they’ve found a better deal elsewhere. Using the Google Display Network, we can have advertisements follow people around the web, keeping your brand top of mind for the moment they are ready to purchase. A call to action and incentive will drive those conversions. By addressing the gap in the cycle, you can win back these lost leads and complete the customer journey.
On the whole, this phase is an essential component for converting audiences to customers and our tips are a surefire way to up that likelihood. Nail the user experience and customer journey for seamless buying process. Get in touch with the team to learn more!