Building a loyal customer base is essential to growing and maintaining a successful business. Loyal customers will always choose your brand over any others.
They will do this based on their experience of your products, customer service and the unique qualities that set your business apart.
The Buyer Journey
The route a prospective buyer takes from addressing a problem to finding the solution is known as the buyer journey. It can be broken down into three stages:
Awareness:
When a potential customer recognizes a problem they want resolved it is known as the Awareness stage.
You should reflect on the sort of questions they will be asking, and why your business can provide the answers.
It is also valuable to remember that the potential buyer may not have clearly defined needs. Good customer service will respond to this and help clarify and inform.
Consideration:
During this stage the potential buyer has defined their problem and is committed to finding a solution to it. They will want to know the possible answers to their issue and consider the best opportunity.
It is likely that they have discovered your brand as the best candidate for delivering a solution to their issue.
Decision:
At the decision stage the potential buyer has decided on a solution. At this point you should aim to make the final part of the process seamless and assured.
This is another stage where user experience is vital. This is just as true in a physical store as it is online.
For example, a customer service vendor with relevant retail information and sales technology at their fingertips can deliver a positive end result for both customer and business.
Generating Brand Loyalty
At the culmination of the buyer journey the aim should be to retain the customer’s loyalty.
Studies have shown that loyal customers are more likely to spend more and visit more regularly. Finding new customers is also important for business, but it will cost more in terms of marketing for the projected returns.
Looking after your customers is essential. It is the most cost-effective way of ensuring a good profitability and return on investment.
Streamlining the buyer journey
Making the entire buying process as convenient as possible is crucial in building loyalty. By producing an effective path through the various stages, it will be more likely that a customer will return.
It should be noted that the buyer journey does not always adhere to a traditional linear progression.
The buyer might be applying various methods to the different stages of their journey. This makes it vital to be flexible and able to respond to all of their enquiries.
Key to making the process more efficient is the utilization of methods to streamline the buyer journey.
Here are some tips on how to do this:
- Consider using prepared scripts to improve communication with the customer at the various stages of their journey. This will ensure that they are properly informed and confident in the process.
- All of the information that your business holds about a customer can be integrated into a CRM system, making it quicker to respond to their inquiries.
- By knowing exactly where a potential buyer is in their journey, you can offer them the most relevant information they need to make a decision. Combining your sales and marketing teams will bring about a more effective experience for everyone involved.
A proactive business always puts the buyer journey at the heart of their operations. By streamlining the route that customers take to finding the best solution to their enquiries, you will develop a profitable business relationship.
