The Internet is a space where the competition for attention is extremely high among companies. Without going any deeper, several studies show that the search for constant stimuli shortens our concentration skills, which average 5 seconds. This means that the chances of losing the interest of potential customers throughout the buying process are very high, and we must reduce them in order to maintain a level of conversion aligned with our expectations.
The most important thing is to clearly define your business objectives, paying particular attention to those of your marketing strategy; the two must be aligned. Define KPIs and use deadlines and resource allocation to schedule each action that leads us to achieve a goal, which will allow us to break down and design specific strategies for brand awareness, customer acquisition, and nurturing along the way.
How can we stand out and be the chosen one in a deeply digital consumption paradigm? How can we make ourselves visible so that the user doesn’t keep browsing in search of something better? Knowing our audience is essential to accelerating the buying decision process.
Anatomy of the potential customer: how to get to know your public.
This does not mean knowing the customer personally, with name and surname, but rather their needs, tastes, preferences, and behaviors. Today’s digital tools are a necessary ally to gather information that allow us to decipher our audience.
Through CRM Salesforce (SF) we can study the behavior of each user who visits our website; if we get them to leave their information by luring them with a newsletter subscription or downloading content (guides, infographics, dossiers) it is an important touchpoint in our relationship with them. We already have data that allows us to integrate them into our database and to carry out personalized communications: Content Marketing with a key segmentation to continue awakening their interest.
Creating one or more Buyer Persona (BP) profiles is also important. But our experience tells us that the BP must be an active document that constantly adapts to the observation of the consumer’s buying decision process that we perform through SF and Marketing Cloud, your digital marketing cloud platform. Marketing Cloud allows us to apply Marketing Automation techniques to perform multichannel and centralized communication: email, social networks, SMS, telephone.
The key is to launch the perfect message through the right channel and at the right time. And for that we must know what the buying decision process is and how it is divided:
Phases of the user’s purchase decision process.
Awareness of their needs: the first step is the consumer’s awareness of a need to be met. This is where the spark that starts the buying process is ignited.
Search for information: the second step is to look for a solution. This research phase is carried out through different channels, from digital sources to trustworthy word-of-mouth with friends and family. Analyzing the consumption habits of your Buyer Persona and their communication channels is important to propose useful sales strategies.
Evaluation of alternatives: after the research, it is time to consider alternatives. This process can be short or long, impulsive or rational, depending on each case. There are many factors that will influence it; below we will give keys to accelerate this process and convince your leads to dispel their doubts.
Buying decision: the final step in the buying process is the acquisition of the product or service by the customer. This is our ultimate goal, and the one that marketing teams strive for: increasing conversions and thus the profitability of the project.
Each customer has a unique experience, needs to satisfy, and a specific economic situation. This is why not every buying process is the same as the previous or the next. And even in the same buying process of the same user, there are comings and goings. How can we make the process short from the first contact to the final click? Here are a few tips to speed up the stages of the decision process:
5 Tips to accompany the customer throughout the buying process.
In order to accelerate the buying process of your customers, the most important aspect is ensuring that they conceive your company as indispensable. Here are a few tips to achieve it:
First impressions do matter
It may seem obvious, but in the case of e-commerce, it isn’t. If your website is not attractive, intuitive, and easy to navigate, even if you have the best product in your sector, potential customers won’t see it because it’s hard to access it. Complex purchasing processes scare away customers and web design plays an important role in the visual impact of the site.
Valuable, high-quality, and descriptive information
To receive information from your leads. you must define strategies with forms and downloadable content that are attractive enough to get them to share their data with you (name and last name, email, phone number). Content is king in marketing, and we need a creative push in this area to differentiate ourselves from the competition.
Use social networks to promote your offers and be careful when choosing platforms and formats according to your audience: stories, reels, images, videos, posts. There is a wide variety of possibilities within your reach. When choosing the products and services available, be sure to optimize their description with audiovisual elements and SEO copywriting that takes into account the keywords that must be well-positioned.
Shopping: clear and very visual
During the shopping process, there may come a time when we want to check its status, or maybe we have already finished shopping and we want to verify that everything is correct. If at this moment the user cannot see clearly and easily which are the selected items, the quantity, and the price, it is likely that after the bad customer experience, the user will abandon the site without making the final purchase.
Again, we need the support of design and UX so that our shopping cart has a proper usability and that the customer journey map we have created is not interrupted.
Personalize the process to the maximum
Take advantage of the opportunities offered by Marketing Automation and personalize each customer experience by offering what they need at any given moment. With Salesforce’s Journey Builder, you can create highly complex customer journeys to target actions, communication, and impacts according to the interaction with your brand.
If a user asks you for specific information, you have to respond as quickly as possible. Don’t let them escape! They have already shown interest in your product, so make them see that they haven’t made a mistake and that you have what they are looking for. With Interaction Studio, it’s easier; it’s a Salesforce tool with which you can visualize and manage the different customer experiences in real time, responding and offering the content your users demand.
User Traceability
A purchase/sale does not always happen in the first round, as if it were a crush at first sight. Therefore, do not despair if this process requires several conversations between customer and company or if there is a moment of indecision or a lull in the process.
Technology is once again helping us in this regard. The traceability of prospects is achieved thanks to CRM, which follows the leads through the sales funnel and detects at what point along the way progress is interrupted. This observation is useful to redirect campaigns that could be improved and to propose other types of actions, in a system of constant trial and error to improve results. Traceability also allows us to carry out remarketing campaigns to captivate those leads that at some point have contacted us and offer them new content to reengage and get them back into the funnel in an active way.
Other aspects to take into account in the process are the payment methods (the more the better, but always with maximum guarantees), clarity on the steps to follow in the purchase process (bet on the Call to Action) and cross-selling that allows you to recommend products related to the one purchased, according to the experiences of other users, which puts them just one click away from other services that may be of interest to them.
The consumer buying decision process for marketing has clearly become more complex with the digital shift in consumer habits. But this opens up a wide range of opportunities that we must take advantage of and, as we have seen, many opportunities to gather information and learn more about our audience. Take note and make your ecommerce a success, it’s in your hands!
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