The buyer’s journey is the process that buyers go through to become aware of, evaluate, and purchase a new product or service. It also involves an active research process that a person goes through before purchasing.
Keep in mind that people do not always go through all the stages of the buying process. For example, if a customer has been using your product for years, they typically do not start with awareness, but are in the use or retention phase by default.
However, it’s essential to know the different stages of this process because it lets you know where to focus your efforts. You would approach someone weighing their options differently than someone ready to buy immediately.
Let us take a look at each step.
Awareness
It is important to note that the customer has not yet decided. So they may not yet know that your product or service is the solution to their problem.
At this stage, customers recognize that they have a problem. They may also not be aware of their problem yet and want to find out what exactly the problem is first. After the customer realizes a problem, they will research and look for answers. That’s why this stage is crucial because your content needs to show up in search results during this phase and you need a strong SEO strategy to do that.
You should consider creating content such as educational blog posts, research articles, and guides to provide helpful information to your potential customers.
It’s simple: If they find something that helps them, they move on to the next step. If not, they’ll probably keep searching and gathering information until they find something worth pursuing or move on to another task.
Consideration
At this stage, the customer knows they have a problem and is now actively considering possible solutions. The buyer has moved from awareness to interest and is now trying to figure out which solution is right for him. They want to understand all available options or approaches and make sure they are making the right choice—not just for today but for the long term.
