The traditional consumer journey has evolved dramatically over the years with eCommerce fundamentally changing the way consumers purchase products.
While we have often heard the phrase that consumer is king it's truer now more than ever.With brands competing to win larger customer shares consumers can make a choice from thousands of brands for similar products.
Around20 to 30 years back the consumer journey would start by either identifying a need or seeing anadon billboards newspapers radio and or TV. Consumers would learn about the products and go to purchase it in store. However it isno longer a single journey but rather anamalgamationof many small journeys that lead to a purchase.
The consumer journey is a detailed representation of the consumer buying process which are the steps customers take on their way to making a purchase. It sets out all every interaction they have with your brand - from awareness to research and even advocacy.
In the world of eCommerce the consumer journey includes all the digital touchpoints that your brand has with a customer. These could take place across websites social media online marketplaces search engines apps or other channels as shoppers use their desktop mobile or other smart device.
Creating a customer journey map allows businesses to understand the experiences and needs of their target audience. These insights also empower marketers to target consumers with tailored content and remove any barriers to conversion.
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The Moment of Truth (MoT) was a concept introduced by Jan Carlzon in 1981 and later modified by P&G.
The first moment of truth is when the customer is looking at the product whether in-store or online and the secondMoTis when the customer buys the product and uses it.
The third Moment of Truth is similar to advocacy when consumer share whether they liked the product ornot.
Google coined the termZero Moment of Truth of (ZMOT)with the internet being widely accessible consumersincreasingly begin to research products before purchasing them. It is based onthefindingsfrom a studythat showed that 50% of shoppers researched the product on search engines 38% compared the prices and review and 31% read the online recommendations.
The brand is responsible to give the consumers the right information at the right time using the different channels that consumer interact with.If content is the kingcontext is the queen.
This is also of key importance for strategic planning and attributing budgets based on the best performing channels.
Consumers may discover the brands through various channels whether it be a search display network social media or in-store.The search for products conducted via voice search smartphones and or via desktops.
Consumers will closely check the reviews and ratings before buying products online and the purchase itself can be through different channels including in-store from marketplaces or from the online shop. Modern day consumers evenwantvarious options when it comes to delivery of the product.This is why omni-channel marketing for brands is so important.
Today citizens across the UK and parts of Europe have access to an average of nine connected devices. In the US the average household has a total of 22 connected devices. With a world of content at our fingertips the customer journey has evolved and expanded significantly bringing new channels pathways and advertising opportunities into the mix.
The consumer journey begins with the awareness stage so you need to make it easy for people to find your brand's products.
Traditionally consumers first became aware of a product from advertisements or PR presented through television radio newspapers and magazines. Then they could buy it in-store after consulting with friends family or store clerks.
With the rise of the internet the way consumers hear about research and buy products has changed completely. There are many more channels to discover and research products including search engines social media and review sites to name just a few. There are more ways to purchase products online too.
The modern consumer journey is less linear than the traditional consumer journey of the pre-digital age. Customers are now much more likely to discover new brands during the research or consideration stage of their journey.
For example someone who considers buying an Apple iPhone may discover a whole host of alternatives while researching on Google Amazon or a tech blog.
In the past consumers would usually narrow down their options at this stage of the journey but now there are many more digital paths to purchase that influence conversion.
Another unique feature of the digital consumer journey is that communications now go both ways. With just a couple of clicks consumers can find the answer to any question about your industry brand or products. They can also read or share reviews ratings and FAQs on websites social media or marketplace listings.
Shoppers are more proactive than ever before and this has influenced each step of the digital consumer journey:
At this early stage consumers have a need but they may not even realize it yet. They are not actively looking for a product but are still receptive to advertisements.
Studies show that most consumers choose brands that they know or like. That's why building your brand's awareness among consumers continues to be such an important eCommerce trend in 2023.
You can use videos blogs FAQs social media content and OTT ads to capture consumers' attention at this stage in the journey. You can also use tracking pixels newsletter sign ups and social media to stay front of mind with them until they are ready to convert.
In the traditional customer journey this where billboards and large scale above-the-line advertising campaigns would have been the strategy.
At this point in the journey consumers know they need a product or solution and the vast majority of them turn to the internet to do their research.
A recent Google Consumer Insights report showed that 66% of shoppers do initial product research on Google while 63% use Amazon for research. Another survey suggests that 42% of shoppers use social media as well.
At this point you need to let people know how your product can help using case studies testimonials reviews product comparisons demos and fine-tuned product listings. Consider the digital shelf as your virtual store front - it needs to show off your product in all its glory!
Conversion is one of the most challenging stages in the modern customer journey with shopping cart abandonment rate at an eye watering 59.2% to 79.8%. In terms of impact on revenue this equates to$18 billion annually.
You need to ensure you make the digital path to purchase as smooth and seamless as possible to avoid losing customers at this late stage.
Think about the different payment options you provide the layout and copy of your checkout page and how easy you make it for customers to sail through the process.
Many digital shoppers are more comfortable buying products on marketplaces such as Amazon than a direct to consumer store. By providing the option for consumers to purchase wherever they like a Where to Buy solution can help boost brands' success as the conversion stage in the customer journey.
In the digital consumer journey engagement continues after shoppers have made a purchase.
In the advocacy stage shoppers may share their experience of your product by posting user generated content online. This can include reviews ratings product questions pictures and more. If you've provided a first-class journey you will see the pay off as your happy customers will help you to convert more buyers.
Research shows that post-purchase consumers are receptive to ads for complementary products too. Depending on what you're selling you could dramatically increase the customer lifetime value of your buyers.
A customer journey map is a visual representation of each step a consumer takes to become a customer.
It provides marketers with a deeper understanding of the mindset and experiences of shoppers. This in turn allows them to easily identify pain points and barriers to conversion which need to be addressed.
Even if your brand already has a great customer journey in place mapping it all out will prevent oversights that could impact your customers. Research shows that a third of consumers will look elsewhere after just one bad experience so it's important to ensure every touchpoint is optimized. The consumer journey map provides a strategic way to do this.
As the consumer journey becomes increasingly complicated the importance of mapping it out increases. It is a convenient way to communicate the complex digital interactions that take place. Here are the positive outcomes that come from doing this.
Breaking down the customer journey step by step allows you to make sure that every element of your marketing campaigns contribute to your ultimate goals and eCommerce KPIs.
With an overarching view of the customer journey it's easier to spot what needs improvement. You can also use your analytics tools to identify where consumers bounce or churn. Then you can make adjustments which should lead to better customer experience and more success for your brand.
All companies want to provide a great customer experience. But the larger a brand becomes the more difficult it is to craft coherent messages and experiences across all touchpoints.
However customer journey maps help keep everyone on the same page. Sharing them beyond the marketing team with customer service agents sales teams in-store reps and new hires will create cohesion across all touchpoints
These maps can help build a customer-focused culture throughout a company. You can even go as far as mapping post-purchase support strategies.
With in-depth insights into the consumer journey marketers can carefully implement a logical sequence of messages. They can also improve their targeting and personalization for each persona too.
This is likely to attract more relevant clicks and improve conversion rates resulting in a better return on your advertising and eCommerce marketing investments.
Creating a customer journey map is pretty straightforward. But it can take a lot of time especially when gathering insights from your target audience.
To begin you need to set out your brand's key buyer personas. The first map you create will trace the journey of a typical shopper. But you'll need to create additional maps for each persona to accurately reflect the diverse behaviour of your customers.
Conducting interviews and surveys can help you understand the needs and desires that drive their behaviour.
You also need to choose the key action that you want visitors to perform on your site. Do you want them to buy something download a brochure or fill out a form? From here you can map out the journey each individual persona takes to reach this point.
From your store and social media through to your advertising and influencer marketing campaigns list out every possible way a consumer can interact with your brand.
To get started Google Analytics highlights popular landing pages traffic sources and common customer journeys. You should also note which pages have the highest bounce rates.
If you conduct customer surveys make sure to ask how they discovered your brand. You can also ask about their experience with different touchpoints like your online store and support desk. This helps highlight areas of the journey that need to be updated.
The precise layout of your map will depend on your unique goals strategy and values. Most brands will base their maps around touchpoints and consumer actions. But some brands will create maps based on popular organic keywords or specific campaigns.
But each map is always divided into the four stages of the consumer journey outlined above: awareness consideration conversion and advocacy. Once you've mapped out each journey walk through each step yourself to ensure it's an accurate representation of what actually happens. Once you've finished tools like LucidChart Visual Paradigm and Gliffy make it easy to map out the customer journey in an on-brand and visually attractive way.
So you may be wondering howyour brand can adapt to the modern consumer? Here are some pointers that brand marketers should adhere to in 2021.
New pathways and online channels in the modern consumer journey make tracking and analytics more complex. But the detailed data available today also means marketers can reach prospects with carefully tailored messages at critical moments in the digital customer journey.
For example when someone who is ready to make a purchase searches 'football boots' on Amazon Adidas can present them with a sponsored ad.
On Google when someone searches 'Buy protein powder' they'll see a series of relevant ads along with lots of organic search results. If someone reads Braun's blog post on 'How to cut your hair' they can then be retargeted with ads for the brand's hair clippers.
Ensure that you haveyour brand's presence onmultiplechannels such as website marketplaces and social mediaand outline the different objectives these channels are going to solve for.Your brand strategy should befocusedon exploring and improving the retail footprint.
Consider whether it is vital for you to have presence at a retailer level or not. For example Bose decided to closeall ofitsstores inJapanUS EuropeandAustralia. Theywill now sell onlineand viaretailers onlyin an effort toadapt to the change in consumer needs.It is not always necessary to have a physical presence especially if a brand has very strong brand awareness in the market already.
Being familiar with the consumer journey allows marketers to identify which touchpoints are most important and where there are problems that may prevent conversion. It helps you to make informed decisions which boost performance while also improving marketing ROI.
On top of this monitoring the customer journey has been shown to improve overall business performance. After all you can't optimize what you don't know!
As the digital consumer journey evolves it can be difficult to keep track of every online interaction. Website analytics and UTM tracking certainly helps but ChannelSight's Where to Buy solutions provides an unprecedented level of product and basket level data. With this data you can learn from every sale and streamline every path to purchase. Book a demowith our team of experts to learn more.
