Master the three stages of the customer journey – awareness, consideration, and decision – and create content that meets your customers’ needs at every step to turn browsers into buyers
How often have you woken up in the morning and immediately decided to buy something? Probably never. That’s because making a purchase is rarely impulsive – it’s a process. From the moment a need arises to the second you click the ‘Buy Now’ button, your journey as a buyer follows a series of deliberate steps. This predictable progression is known as the ‘customer journey’; understanding it is key to successful sales and marketing.
There are three stages of the customer journey which lead to the sale. These are awareness, consideration and decision. Post-sale, loyalty and advocacy are also included, but these are not the focus of this article.
You can use the customer journey to your advantage if you are trying to improve or increase sales. If you understand the problems your potential customers face and the questions they are likely to ask at each stage, you can provide relevant content to nudge them further toward a sale.
Customers begin their sales journey when they become aware of a problem or need. As they seek to understand it better, they use search terms like "what," "where," "how," "who," and "why."
Create content that answers your customers’ questions. Focus on informing and educating rather than selling. Blog posts work well at this stage, as they help build your authority as a trusted resource or expert in the industry.
Top tip: Use Google’s autocomplete feature to discover what people are searching for. Type a relevant term using what, where, how, who or why as the basis of your search and let the drop-down list of popular searches inspire your next blog post!
Here is an example from the We Make Media blog: Why is responsive web design important? This article educates readers on the significance of responsive web design, helping them recognise potential issues with their current website.
Once customers understand their problem, they will start looking for a solution. This is a process of comparing and considering different options. They will use search terms like best, types, review, which, service, and solution.
Free guides, eBooks or explainer videos can be useful content to offer to help clarify the options.
Top tip. While your content should be written to serve your customers’ needs and not be too sales-orientated or pushy, it should always have a clear path to purchase. Include a link to your booking page, sales page or contact page so customers know what steps to take when they are ready.
Example: 10 things to do before designing a new website. This piece offers actionable steps for businesses contemplating a website redesign, aiding them in evaluating their options.
With the research complete and options compared, our customer is ready to make a decision! All other things considered, the small detail often makes the difference here. Helpful content will convince customers that your product or service is what they are looking for. This may include testimonials, case studies, demo videos, reviews, or frequently asked questions.
At this stage, they may seek incentives to buy from one business over another, using search terms such as ‘special offer’ and ‘discount code’. They could be searching for brand names. Make it easy for them to buy, book, or make an appointment. Limited-time offers, or one-click checkout processes can make a big difference.
For example, the We Make Media web design page showcases services and makes it easy for customers to take action, with clear calls to book a consultation or request a quote.
Content marketing is one of the most important tools for creating, honing, and converting the customer journey into a sale. Your content will allow potential customers to learn about your brand story, what you do, who you do it for, how you do it differently, and why they should choose you over the competition.
The content you create for each stage of the customer journey should be useful, educational, and informative. It should provide everything a potential customer needs to clarify their situation and organically help them make decisions that move them further down the purchase pathway.
The content should be designed to serve your audience rather than sell. It shouldn’t be pushy or try to make the sale regardless of whether the person is ready to buy. The content should meet them where they are right now and fulfil their needs. Anything too sales-focused will be counterproductive and put potential buyers off.
If you’re looking to embrace content marketing as part of your wider digital marketing strategy, perhaps we can help. We Make Media is a Devon-based company and we’ve been helping small businesses grow in the West Country since 2010. If you need a content strategy for your business, we would be happy to discuss what you’re looking for and how we can help. Book your free discovery call.
Jeff Cooper. 5 January 2025
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