In part 3 of the Campaign Planning series, you will learn how to use different types of campaigns for each step of the buyer’s journey to reach your marketing objectives.
The next phase in the Campaign Planning series dives into the different types of campaigns your company can develop for each phase of the buyer’s journey. Having a solid plan in place with specific objectives should make this phase go smoothly.
For most B2B companies, you may have up to five different stages of the buyer’s journey. So what exactly should your business be implementing at each stage to increase sales, grow, and build brand awareness? Glad you asked because in this article we’re going to discuss:
- How to describe each of the stages of the buyer’s journey and what it means to your business.
- Tactics to use at each stage to drive more customer conversions.
The Buyer’s Journey
What are the stages of the buyer’s journey and what do they mean to your company?
Use each phase of the buyer’s journey to engage with customers.
At its core, the buyer’s journey is how customers become aware of, evaluate, and finally, decide on which product or service to purchase. Although it may look different from industry to industry, this phased process is how most B2B companies find the best product or service to meet their needs. Let’s take a closer look at what these stages are, and ways to engage with prospective customers.
Awareness Stage
At this stage, your prospect is aware of their pain points and is looking for a company that can deliver a solution to solve them. At this stage, your business really needs to think like a buyer and try to understand how they would describe their goals and challenges. What do they need to know in order to decide this pain point is a priority and is it worthwhile to invest in finding a solution? At this point, you want to make prospective buyers aware of your solutions. Helpful content you can make available to them on your website or social media accounts at this phase might include things like:
- Product tear sheets
- Industry reports
- Educational blog posts
- White papers/Thought leadership pieces
- Social media posts targeting specific products/services
Consideration Stage
At the consideration stage, prospects have decided that their need is a priority, and are considering their options when it comes to providers that could potentially fulfill that need. At this point, they will consider the different approaches/solutions providers may use to best address their pain points. At this point, it’s important to think about what kinds of solutions your prospects might investigate, what are the pros and cons, and how will they know that your solution is the right one for them? Consider developing your content to speak directly to the answers to these questions. At this stage, the content that can be most effective can include:
- Webinars
- Podcasts
- Case studies
- Demonstrations
- Expert guides
- How-to manuals
Decision Stage
This is the stage where the buyer will make a decision and transition into being a customer. They have evaluated their options and have chosen a company whose product best suits them. At this stage, include content to help your buyer finalize their decision. Ask yourself what do they like about your product or service versus the competition, do they have any concerns, and what criteria do your buyers use to evaluate your product or service? Ways to get this kind of information to them includes:
- Price comparisons
- Free trials
- References and testimonials
- Use cases/Prototypes
Retention
If you’re offering B2B solutions, you’ll want to ensure that your customer stays with your company for longer. In order to work on retaining a customer at this stage, focus on content that will either provide additional value to the relationship or provide feedback to your organization that can be acted on in the future. This may include:
- Customer satisfaction surveys
- Product training
- FAQs
- Online help
Advocacy
This phase focuses on those customers that really use, and like, your product or service. Tap into the power of that advocacy to gain new customers by featuring:
- Testimonials
- Reviews
- Customer interviews
- Referral programs
Marketing Campaign Ideas for Each Stage of the Buyer’s Journey
Run the right kind of campaign to reach your goals
What your overall goal is for your marketing campaign will determine which path you choose, and what types of tactics you employ to reach what you’re aiming for. For an awareness campaign, your goal is to increase engagement and get your brand out there. In order to do that, you could run a traditional media campaign coupled with use of social media to get your brand in front of potential customers. Once you drive traffic to your site, consider offering prospects a contest, or give them access to industry reports, analyses, or other educational information.
If your company’s goal is to get more leads, your consideration campaign should include re-engagement, targeting personas, competitive drips, and boosting subscriptions to your blog. When you’re ready to generate those leads into sales at the decision phase, your business should focus on a case study campaign, assigning leads to sales reps, and re-engaging with potential customers with abandoned carts.
If your company is a B2B business, you’ll definitely want to invest in running retention and advocacy campaigns after you acquire a customer. Retention campaigns can utilize tactics such as upselling, success/engagement campaigns, and including relevant special offers. Turn those customers who are pleased with your product or service into advocates by asking for reviews and using targeted re-engagement.
Throughout the cycle of the buyer’s journey, there are specific campaigns you can turn to in order to reach your goals. By engaging with prospects and assisting them along their journey, you will not only convert leads to sales, but you might just make customers for life!
If you’d like more information on how to best utilize these different kinds of campaigns and see your company grow, contact Company Expert.
