31 Jul The Journey to Sales

When your customer interacts with your brand, she is actually taking a
journey with you. She’s taking a trip through a sales funnel — from awareness to interest to knowledge to conviction to action to loyalty and advocacy. As the marketing manager, you are the navigator of this journey. And you want this journey to be enjoyable so she’ll take this trip again and again.

IDENTIFY THE CUSTOMER
Most clients have multiple  types of customers or are trying to reach multiple markets. For instance, an apparel company may have (1) customers who buy direct, (2) distributors or clothing stores that sell their products and (3) private label customers. Each of these 3 customer types interacts with the company in a different way. So their journeys are all different.

MAP OUT THE JOURNEY
Create a map of each customer journey that identifies every point of contact between the customer and the company. For the consumer, this may begin with a Pay Per Click ad. If the consumer clicks the ad, she then visits a landing page on the website.  After learning more about the product, she may purchase the item online at which point she might receive a “Thank You for Your Order” message along with an expected delivery date. Once the product delivers, there may be a return which gives you another chance to interact with her. Every touch point you have with your customer is an opportunity to create a pleasant experience.

MAXIMIZE EVERY TOUCH POINT
Once you analyze every step of each customer’s journey, you’ll gain a lot of insight into their experiences, desires and frustrations. These insights will inspire you to revise your touch points and improve your messaging and provide a more positive experience for your customer. And that will lead to more sales.

MAKE THE SALE
At the end of the day, your customer experiences will either block or pave the road to sales. So spend a little time on the road with them and make sure it’s a pleasant trip.