So what exactly is the customer value journey?
I first heard the term ‘Customer Value Journey’ from Digital Marketer, and it succinctly captures the different stages involved in moving strangers to buyers and eventually to raving fans. It’s how you connect with new prospects, and converts them into loyal, repeat customers.
“The job of marketing is to move prospects and customers seamlessly and subtly through each phase of the Customer Value Journey.”
Digital Marketer
If you understand the customer value journey, you can build predictable leads and sales-generating system. And is that something that will make a tremendous difference in your business or brand? You bet!
So let’s dive into the 8 stages of the customer value journey as highlighted by Digital Marketer.
Stage 1: Get Them Aware
This is where they get to know about your brand, and your products and services. It’s always the starting point of any business transaction.
An example is when you see an ad about a product or service for the first time, maybe on your Facebook timeline or while doing a Google search for something.
Stage 2: You Engage With Your Prospects
This is where you converse with your prospects through some form of useful and relevant content. It’s about connecting with them and it’s something that will happen throughout the entire customer value journey.
A good example is a blog post full or an informative and interesting video on social media. Like this blog post that you’re reading right now.
Stage 3: Get Them To Subscribe
At this point, you get the prospect to give you their contact in exchange for some promise of free value. That way, they join your list and you are able to continue to reach you again and again down the value journey.
A good example is shown in the image below.
Stage 4: Convert Prospects To Buyers
At this stage, you get the prospects to make their first purchase. You move them from prospects to buyers/customers, by getting them to commit to an offer that cost them very little. This stage is not about making a profit from the sale but about customer acquisition. You will reap the benefits going forward.
See a good example of this being used here by Namecheap, a domain selling company.
Stage 5: Get Them Excited About Your Brand
This stage is about making sure the transaction in step 4 delivers an amazing experience for the buyers. You want to be sure they get the utmost value and feel very satisfied. That sets their mind in the proper state for the subsequent stages of the value journey.
A good example is when you buy a product and they send you follow-up emails with further instructions and helpful guides to help you make the most of purchase.
Stage 6: Make Them Repeat Buyers
This is where you move the buyers up the sales ladder by offering them add on products or services, and other upsells. It’s about getting repeat purchases from the buyers. This is where you can start making a profit from sales.
Here’s the key thing you should keep in mind: it is cheaper to get a one-time buyer to buy from you again than to acquire a new customer.
A good example is when after buying the lowest package, you are encouraged to upgrade to higher packages with more features and benefits.
Stage 7: Turn Your Buyers To Brand Advocates
This stage is about encouraging your happy and loyal customers to spread the word about your brand to people in their network. It’s about increasing awareness about your products as well as gaining credibility with a wider audience.
A good example is when you ask customers to leave reviews and testimonials about your products and services.
Stage 8: Make Them Promoters
The promotion stage is quite similar to the advocate stage, only that this one happens actively not passively. Most times, promoters do it for some form of reward, like affiliates who get commissions on sales they promote.
Putting It All Together…
To move prospects and customers from one stage of the customer value journey to the next, you do it intentionally by building marketing campaigns to achieve your purpose or goal at the different stages. And understand that it’s best to focus on one transition at a time, rather than rushing them through multiple stages at the same time.
At Barastreams, we will be glad to help work with you to implement the different stages for your business/brand. Let’s talk today.
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