A B2B customer journey outlines the steps needed to push along your customer in their shopping journey (and your marketing funnel). It is very important to have a guide or framework.
Typically, a customer journey map includes discovery, considerations, decision and retention
Discovery
Your customers are just beginning to understand what your brand is about. They did a light search and have come across your brand and products. They have a problem that needs to be resolved but they may not be sure on how to resolve it.
They probably found you because you had content that is keyword driven or you applied SEO to your site. This is where articles, infographics and viral videos are needed on your site. This is the “look at me” step. Make sure that your site is easy to navigate so products they are looking for are easy to find and that it is visually appealing.
Consideration
They are now aware that there are solutions to the problem they are facing and that your brand offers one. What they don’t know is that your brand provides the best solution to their problems. This is where you move from the “look at me” step to “I am the best one for you and here’s why” step. Business customers rely on facts and figures. This is where the following can tilt the scale in your favor:
- Whitepapers
- Webinars
- E-newsletters
- Reports
- eBooks
These tools are an inexpensive way to display your authority in your industry while highlighting your products. Business customers appreciate the extra effort and time you save them from additional research.
Decision
They know about your solution and think you are the best option, but they need one last little shove over the line to buy your product. And this is where many sales are lost. There are several things that you can do to help ensure a purchase is finalized. Offer in-person events, ROI calculators, demos and testimonials.
