The age of the internet has brought about huge change in the way marketers interact with consumers. To better understand how digital marketing affects consumer behavior, it’s helpful to understand that there are discrete digital touchpoints that apply to different stages in the customer journey. Messaging for each of those touchpoints changes as a prospective customer’s readiness to act (or buy) advances during that journey, creating a unique interaction with your brand known as the customer experience (CX).
The marketing funnel and customer journey mapping
The customer journey aligns closely with the marketing or sales funnel, the process by which your brand interacts with people on various channels. Because consumers are human and may be considering many brands during the first parts of their journey, that process isn’t as linear as the sales funnel. The goal of digital marketing messaging is to help them move to the next stage of their journey. Tracking that decision-making process requires looking at all the data and identifying those 6-7 touchpoints required for a consumer to make a purchase decision. A marketer can then map the customer journey and create the digital marketing plan that is most effective at creating the desired result: a purchase that results in customer loyalty to your brand.
Digital touchpoints and how they influence the customer journey
We’ve put together a sample customer journey that closely follows the marketing funnel, describing how touchpoints with timely and appealing messaging might affect consumer behavior.
- Customer A sees a Facebook post his friend shared, and he’s curious about the company that would create such a timely and interesting post.
- Now aware of Widget Company’s existence, Customer A clicks the ad to learn more and realizes from reading the landing page that Widget Company has a solution to his problem.
- Now aware his problem exists, Customer A looks for other companies to compare their solutions to what Widget Company offers. He notices a lot more ads for Widget Company in his Facebook feed, and even receives an e-mail from the company that entices him to purchase with a special offer.
- The special offer does the trick. Customer A clicks the emailed link and visits Widget Company’s website to make his purchase. It’s easy to navigate the website, ask questions through a customer service chat window, and find exactly what he needs. The product arrives quickly and is as advertised.
- Customer A is happy with his decision, and even more pleased when he receives a follow-up email thanking him for his purchase and asking for his feedback to help improve the customer experience. He clicks the link in the email asking him to leave a Google review for Widget Company. The next time he’s on Facebook, he sees a funny Widget Company post, likes and follows the company’s Facebook page, and shares the post on his news feed. Customer B sees the post shared by a trusted friend and becomes aware of Widget Company’s existence. The cycle begins anew.
Understanding consumer behavior and the digital channels and messages that are most effective for your company and product is a big part of what Cowtown Creative offers. Our strategists help businesses employ the most effective digital marketing tactics and messaging designed to increase sales and brand loyalty for immediate and long-term business success.
Contact us today to find out how we can help your business utilize customer journey mapping and implement an effective digital marketing strategy for your product or service.
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