Your buyer’s journey is a journey shared

The Buyer's Journey Is A Journey Shared

The most valuable context you can present to your customer is the shared journey.

Consider for a moment how you book hotels and restaurants. How you decide on places to explore at the weekend. You seek the shared journey.

When you last purchased a book from Amazon. How valuable were the reviews of other readers to your purchase? Did you spend more time reading the product description or the reviews of others. People who had shared the same ‘shall I buy?’ quandary you now face.

It’s why TripAdvisor exists.

The shared journey is vital to your own sales process.

It provides reassurance – I’m not going out on a whim buying this am I?

It provides perspective – If these people enjoyed it then surely I will too?

It’s why the smarter travel companies allow you to filter by ‘couples’, ‘business travellers’,’city breaks’ or ‘lone travellers’. You get closer to the shared journey.

The purpose of your marketing is to show your customer that you know who they are, where they are and where they’re trying to get to.

The journey doesn’t end with the purchase. For your buyer, that can be the beginning. So many marketers misinterpret the buyer’s journey. So many marketers are happy for their part in the journey to end when the till rings. It’s a missed opportunity.

Who do you have access to that shares the journey your website visit is on?

Recruitment consultants. You will build trust when you move beyond simply presenting a job description. Who within your client’s company is ready to talk about what it’s like to work there? Share the video. Share the journey.

Agencies. You make things happen. Which of your current clients is ready to share how you led the making process with authority and confidence? Share the story. Share the journey.

Retailers. You sell things. Which of your customers will share their story of what they bought and how that purchase made them feel? Share their story. Share the journey.

For startup businesses. The founders journey often aligns with the buyer’s journey. Didn’t you start your business to solve a problem you experienced yourself? The founder’s story is valuable. Take Hugh & Crye as one example. They’ve built their business around the frustration of finding shirts for athletic and slim built men. A shared frustration. A shared journey.

Building a product for your audience - the shared journey

 

‘We found ourselves with fabric ballooning down our sides and shoulder hems sagging way below our armpits. Because we couldn’t find dress shirts that fit for a price that made sense, we set out to create some. ‘

The journey is shared. You take comfort knowing that a product is created with you in mind. As marketers we’re still too busy completing the tasks sharing our own ‘buy this’ perspective to begin to understand how our products fit within the context of our customer’s own lives.

For Hugh & Crye the problem they solve is baked into each step of the buyer’s journey. Don’t know your size? Not a problem. We know your shape and here’s validation. One of the biggest objections to buying clothes online is the ill-fitting product. Hugh & Crye’s website overcomes that objection and gives you confidence that what you’re buying is right for you. It’s a huge differentiator. And yet, isn’t it an obvious hurdle to leap over?

Consider the service you offer or the product you sell

Who has overcome the obstacles that you are ignoring and that are currently losing you sales? The obstacles that deter people from buying from you. Their journey is front row and centre to your marketing. It’s validation and trust wrapped up into one.

Consider the testimonials that are nested away under the ‘about us’ on your website’s navigation. Enormously powerful words that oftentimes describe what you do far better than you ever could. When you’re struggling to present your unique value proposition what can you extract from those testimonials? How can you unleash those short sharp sentences and build them into the fabric of your website?

What can you be doing to incentivise more people to talk to you about the journey they’re on? The journey that you impacted upon?

This is why the journey doesn’t end when the product is dispatched or the service is completed. This is the value of having an email strategy of value to your end customer.

Consider the purchases you’ve made yourself over the last month. How many retailers have reached out to you to see how you’re getting along? Very very few. Still, we don’t value the relationship that we could be nurturing post-sale.

Look how UK retailer Hobbycraft embrace their buyer’s journey

Great marketing from hobbycraft - uk retailer

At the footer of each product they stock they present the opportunity to share what their customers have made. They’re using an integration provided by Olapic that allows you to share the buyer’s journey beyond the purchase. How valuable is that to the decision making process of your customer? Other people making things that you could be making too.

You have the opportunity to involve your customers within your own marketing. It’s not difficult. It’s not expensive. It just requires a shift in mindset. From what you sell to what you help people create and how you make people feel once your product is in their hands.

Show your people that they’re not isolated in the decisions that they make (or are about to make). That’s the job of the modern marketer. Be part of the journey. Share the journey.


Written By:
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Ian Rhodes

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First employee of an ecommerce startup back in 1998. I've been using building and growing ecommerce brands ever since (including my own). Get weekly growth lessons from my own work delivered to your inbox below.

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