Every one of us is a buyer at a certain point of our lives. Well, most of the time, we are either purchasing toilet paper, makeup, kitchen essentials or probably a snack while out with friends. A lot of things go through an individual’s mind before they make a purchase and become a customer.

It all begins from realizing that they have a need, or a problem which needs resolution. Each buyer’s journey consists of unique opportunities for you to show why you can satiate their needs. Your job as a business owner is to figure out and understand the touch points that will encourage your audience to make a purchase from your brand, and not from your competition. 

What is Buyer’s Journey?

In layman’s terms, Buyer’s journey are the steps an individual takes to solve their problem. It leads to the purchase of a service or product. Here is a simple example to help you understand buyer’s journey a bit better:

You need to buy a new laptop, since the old one does not have much space. You go online, and research for the laptops with most memory. Google will suggest you HP, Apple or Samsung laptops. You will go to the official website of each brand, or go to Amazon to find the best option for yourself. Finally, you find the perfect laptop and make the purchase. 

Conventionally, customer journey includes five steps:

Awareness

During this step, the customer becomes aware of a problem. Thus, he begins to look for information that will help them understand their problem and its solution in a much clearer way. For instance, you realize that your cell phone has a glitch, and the battery time has reduced to one-fourth. You have two options: either you can get the current one fixed or buy a new cell-phone.

Consideration

After the user have discovered their problem and solutions, they evaluate available options in the market to solve that problem. You might use your laptop, ask friends and find out the available options for getting your phone fixed. You will also measure the cost and benefits of purchasing a new phone, against getting the current one fixed. 

Decision

At this stage, the user decides which brand to choose for making their purchase. The decision could be based on several factor such as price range, availability, delivery time, delivery charges, quality, and reviews among others. You have decided to purchase a new phone. Since, you are loyal to the same brand, perhaps you might want to take a different approach. Shift from iOS to Android. You will go to Samsung website, or perhaps Huawei and check all the options. And decide the model, and type of cell phone you want to buy. 

Purchase

Finally, the user buys the product in this stage. For instance, after you have selected the phone you like, you will add it to the cart, provide the required details and finally make a purchase.

Retention

At this stage, the buyer decides on their experience with the business. Whether the product was worth the money, has it shown desirable results, etc? If you have bought a Samsung smart phone, you will assess whether it was worth 500 USD. Does it offer value for money? Or just hae

How to Create a Customer Journey Map for Your Business?

The idea of a customer journey, as propounded in the example above, is quite simple. However, mapping it out could be daunting. Many a time, a customer might not follow those steps religiously, and might get off track. There can be a lot of back and forth as well. Here is what you can do to keep them on track:

Create the Buyer Persona 

You need to create a buyer persona for your customers. Every customer has different priorities and needs. However, their goal is the same: to resolve their problem through a purchase. The buyer persona will depict your target audience and help you empathize with them. 

Focus on a Particular, well Defined Persona

Do not focus on a hodge-podge of customers. Do not try to attract everyone at the same time. Focus on a single type of customer and identify the path they follow to make a purchase from you. If you include multifarious customers, their buyer journey can confuse you and prevent you from mapping out a well-defined buyer’s journey. 

Determine Your Touch Points

Touch points refer to the various ways a customer interacts with your business. It could include your website (live chats, landing pages, blogs and other content), social media handles, paid ads, emails, and third party reviews. You can even use Google Analytics to find out your traffic sources and backlinks. 

Understand how these touch points help the buyer reach your website and leave after a purchase. For instance, you can respond to people’s comments on Facebook or Twitter. If someone leaves a negative review, get in touch with them, help them resolve the problem. 

Conclusion

Mapping out buyer’s journey is not a piece of cake. However, it should not intimidate you as the steps required to map out the buyer’s journey is almost ends in the same way: making a purchase. Your goal should be to keep the customers directed towards your brand. This is why, creating a buyer’s persona can help you get intimate with your customers and help them figure out the pros you have to offer as compared to your competitor. Afterwards, discover and understand your touch points, and how you can use those to your advantage. Be active on social media, go through reviews and answer queries. This way, customers would know that you are committed to satisfying their needs in a wholesome way.