Article provided by Rekisa eCommerce Solutions
Consider this: Have you ever questioned how your customers find their way to your store?
If you haven’t, then you’re likely missing the mark.
Customers don’t stumble upon your online store by mere chance, ready to make purchases. Their path to buying involves various stages, which can vary significantly across different industries. Grasping this journey is essential for effectively attracting, captivating, and retaining customers at a professional level.
If your aim is to enhance the likelihood of turning visitors into devoted customers, it’s crucial to comprehend the customer journey, its mechanics, and how to enhance it.
Within this extensive piece, we’ll delve into all aspects of refining the customer journey in e-commerce, covering everything from customer journey mapping to analytics and every facet in between.
What is a customer journey?
The customer journey, also known as the buyer’s journey, encompasses a customer’s progression from initial awareness to eventual purchase and beyond. It encapsulates the complete process that a customer undergoes while engaging with your brand, including becoming familiar with your brand, exploring your website, researching your products, completing a purchase, and post-purchase interactions like customer service.
In essence, a buyer’s journey comprises the steps a customer takes before making a purchase decision. Consider the last time you bought something. You likely followed a process akin to this:
- Upon recognising a problem and seeking a solution, you enter the awareness stage of the customer journey.
- Next, as you delve into researching potential solutions, you transition into the consideration stage, where you weigh your options and explore alternatives.
- Finally, as you narrow down your choices and seek the best source to make a purchase, you progress to the decision stage of the journey.
This is the original conception of the buyer’s journey, as outlined in 1978. Initially, it was a straightforward idea where customers entered at the awareness stage and exited at the decision stage. The journey was presumed to be linear, with customers progressing in a direct trajectory from one stage to the next.
What are the customer journey stages?
You might wonder why the modern buyer’s journey differs significantly from the one described earlier.
With the world’s knowledge readily available to them, your customers have little incentive to adhere to the linear journey outlined previously. They can initiate the purchasing process, take several weeks to contemplate a solution, and ultimately opt not to make a purchase— a scenario many of us can relate to.
While the three distinct stages — awareness, consideration, and decision (or purchase) — remain present in this journey, customers navigate through them in a staggered, non-linear manner. Your buyers may begin searching for a solution, peruse some Amazon reviews, and then abruptly halt halfway due to being sidetracked by a new email or TikTok notification.
Moreover, you might be aware that selling to a current customer is more cost-effective than acquiring a new one. Hence, it would be unwise to overlook customer retention in your buyer’s journey.
Although each customer journey is distinct, there are typical stages that the majority of modern customers experience. These stages encompass awareness, consideration, purchase, retention, and advocacy:
- During the awareness stage, customers acquaint themselves with your brand and products.
- In the consideration stage, they assess your offerings and juxtapose them with alternatives.
- In the purchase stage, they finalize their buying decision.
- Throughout the retention stage, they engage in repeat purchases and interact with your brand.
- In the advocacy stage, they endorse your brand to others and evolve into loyal supporters.
Comprehending the customer’s path is essential for every online business as it enables you to pinpoint areas for enhancing the customer’s journey. Through refining this journey, you can enhance customer contentment, strengthen loyalty, and ultimately boost sales.
Example of a buyer’s journey
Imagine you operate an internet-based shop specializing in laptop sales. Your primary audience consists of budget-conscious consumers who prefer conducting thorough research before making a purchase.
A visitor arrives at your website after searching “new Windows laptops” on Google. Upon arrival, they encounter a blog article discussing the latest laptop releases.
Utilizing the information from the blog post, they compile a roster of various laptops available from various manufacturers. With Dell being a familiar name, they opt to narrow down their search to Dell laptops. They input “new Dell Windows laptops” into their browser and discover a selection of Dell laptop models. After assessing their prices, they identify the Dell model that best suits their needs.
After settling on a choice, they seek validation. Their subsequent search involves looking for “Dell [model] laptop reviews.” This search leads them to your blog, where they stumble upon a comprehensive review.
Ultimately, convinced that they’ve found the ideal laptop, they aim to secure the best deal for it. They proceed to search for “Dell [model] laptop coupon codes” to uncover potential discounts or promotions.
Upon discovering a coupon code, they proceed to look for “purchase Dell [model] laptop online.” Your website appears among the search results, and they immediately recognize your brand name due to previous positive interactions. As a result of the strong brand equity you’ve established, they opt to make a purchase from your site, resulting in a successful sale.
Once you’ve obtained a customer, the aim is to retain them. This involves reaching out via email after a few weeks to inquire about their experience and provide supplementary tips for maximizing their laptop usage. This approach fosters customer satisfaction and may lead to potential advocacy through positive word-of-mouth recommendations.
The efforts don’t cease there; the goal is to transform your customer into a devoted enthusiast. This entails ongoing nurturing of the relationship through tailored emails and exclusive incentives for repeat transactions. By delivering an exceptional customer experience, you convert a solitary purchaser into a dedicated advocate for your brand.
As evident, the customer journey extends beyond mere transactions; it revolves around fostering favourable engagements and establishing enduring connections with your clientele.
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