No gaps content mapping: How to enable an irresistible buyer journey | Turtl
Explore 11 stages of the buyer journey that are opportunities for impactful content
*Webinar:* No gaps content mapping
How to enable an irresistible
buyer journey
The content mapping challenge
Why does content mapping for the buyer journey matter?
According to Forrester research presented at the Sirius Decisions 2020 conference, 77% of organizations have issues with content waste and utilization. And 39% of this waste is because of poor quality and relevance of content to the buyer journey.
The same research outlines the lack of content strategy basics: while most B2B organizations say they document their content strategy plans, few consistently follow best practices.
Just 21% of organizations use persona and journey-mapping insights to inform their content strategy plans, the lowest of any category listed.
And journey stage is the least measured aspect of content strategy. Just 28% of B2B marketing organizations analyze content performance by journey stage.
This black box in measurement leads to a lack of meaningful insights about the buyer journey. The lack of strategic focus on the buyer journey is a glaring oversight in a world where the buyer journey is becoming increasingly digital.
Read on to learn the different steps you should consider and reflect in your content ecosystem to enable an optimized buyer and customer journey. You'll learn examples of content for each, key metrics to measure success, and the buyer question you should answer at each stage of the journey.
Before you dive in, if you haven't yet you can watch the webinar on demand right here.
What is content mapping?
Visualize the content that is needed or could benefit each of the interactions along the journey.
*Spot the forks in the road along your user's journey - these key content opportunities*
Tools for mapping
<b>miro.com</b>
Free starter plan 🎉
<b>smaply.com </b>
Starter plan 25 euros. Free 14-day trial includes all business features in May
<b>funnelytics.io</b>
Free starter plan 🎉
11 stages of a buyer's journey
STAGE
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QUESTION
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Awareness
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Who are you?
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Curiosity
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What do you do?
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Interest
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Why is it important?
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Understanding
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How does it work?
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Relevance
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Does it matter to us?
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Need
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Would it work for us?
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Validation
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Is there proof that it works?
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Timing
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How long does it take to get going?
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Closure
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What are our next steps?
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Satisfaction
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Am I getting value for money?
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Affinity
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Are you worth recommending?
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Stage 1: Awareness
<p>
Buyer's question: Who are you?
Desired outcome: Brand familiarity
Content needs to...
Get a target user's attention by entertaining, piquing curiosity or helping to answer a question they're researching
Key channels
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Offline advertising (TV, outdoors, radio, direct mail)
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Search and social (paid and organic)
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Partners (sponsored emails, sponsored content, webinar participation )
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Word of mouth
Common formats
Relevant metrics
High performance
looks like...
A blog post that's ranking on page one for relevant search queries and driving new visitors to the website who are likely to match your persona.
A PPC or display ad with a decent click-through rate from people who fit your target persona.
New subscribers to your (nonproduct related) newsletter that fit your persona.
Stage 2: Curiosity
<p>
Buyer's question: What do you do?
Desired outcome: product/service familiarity
Content needs to...
Educate buyers on what your product or service offering is at a high level.
Key channels
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Offline advertising (TV, outdoors, radio, direct mail)
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Email
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Search and social (paid and organic)
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Partner (sponsored emails, sponsored content, webinar participation )
-
Word of mouth
Common formats
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Video
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Landing pages
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Whitepapers
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Social posts
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Profile pages
Relevant metrics
High performance
looks like...
A product page that gets high unique visits
A landing page is ranking on page one for a product-related search query and driving new visitors organically
A product video ad gets a high view count and decent avg time spent watching
Stage 3: Interest
<p>
Buyer's question: Why is it important?
Desired outcome: Value recognition (benefits)
Content needs to...
Convince users of the value and benefits of your kind of offering in general
Key channels
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Email
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Website
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Social
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Events
Common formats
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Whitepapers
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Research reports
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Webinars
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Guides
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Talks
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Blog posts
Relevant metrics
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signups to webinars
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reads of whitepapers and guides
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time spent reading whitepapers, guides and product landing pages
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Number of product pages per session
High performance looks like...
A research report that has had a lot of reads from your persona type
A webinar that has been viewed a lot by people who fit your persona
High average read times for thought leadership read by the target persona
Stage 4: Understanding
<p>
Buyer's question: How does it work?
Desired outcome: Value recognition (functionality)
Content needs to...
Educate buyers on the different modules of your offering at a high level.
Key channels
Common formats
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Landing pages
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Video
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Brochures
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Profile pages
Relevant metrics
High performance looks like...
Visits to product detail pages on your website or reads of brochures by target persona matches that last long enough for the main body copy to have been read
Views of your product videos by persona matches that last for most of the video duration
Stage 5: Relevance
<p>
Buyer's question: Does it matter to me/us?
Desired outcome: Consideration
Content needs to...
Clearly communicate how your products or services apply to the target persona, industry, or account
Key channels
Common formats
Relevant metrics
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Demo requests
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Information requests
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Add-to-wishlist
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MQLs
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Read-time
High performance looks like...
A target user reads industry landing page followed by multiple relevant case studies and then requests a demo.
A user browses product items and adds a selection to their wishlist (b2c)
Stage 6: Need
<p>
Buyer's question: Would it work for me/us?
Desired outcome: Conviction
Content needs to...
Clearly communicate how your products or services apply to the specific pain points of your target persona, industry, or account
Key channels
Common formats
Relevant metrics
High performance looks like...
Reliable stream of signups for a free trial from target persona
Reliable stream of pricing requests from target persona
Target persona frequently adds to shopping basket
Stage 7: Validation
<p>
Buyer's question: Is there proof that it works?
Desired outcome: Trust
Content needs to...
Prove that your products or services deliver the solutions you claim they do.
Key channels
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Website
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Email
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Social media
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PR
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Word of mouth
Common formats
Relevant metrics
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Case study engagement (time spent reading)
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Interviews watched (time spent viewing)
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Referrals from review sites/PR features
High performance looks like...
A relevant case study is read by a high percentage of prospects who start a trial or progress to purchase.
A customer review website with testimonials is a reliable source of leads that match your persona
Stage 8: Timing
<p>
Buyer's question: How long does it take to get going?
Desired outcome: Confidence
Content needs to...
communicate the timelines and effort involved between making the purchase and seeing value from the investment
Key channels
Common formats
Relevant metrics and indicators
High performance looks like...
Buyers who engage with this content have more accurate expectations, are more likely to move to purchase, and are satisfied with their customer experience
Stage 9: Closure
<p>
Buyer's question: What are our next steps?
Desired outcome: Purchase, adoption
Content needs to...
Educate on the final steps involved for purchase to happen (transparency) and keep buyers engaged through any delays - like contracts stuck in legals, or supply chain disruption.
Key channels
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Email
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Direct mail
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Website
Common formats
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video
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onboarding guides
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case studies
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welcome pack
Relevant metrics
High performance looks like...
A reduction in sale/basket abandonment or order cancellations
Greater internal advocacy - potentially shorter time in legals
High customer satisfaction at this stage
Stage 10: Satisfaction
<p>
Buyer's question: Am I getting value for money?
Desired outcome: Satisfaction, pride
Content needs to...
Nurture adoption and use of your product and services, post-purchase. Highlight value gained.
Key channels
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Email
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Phone/zoom
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In-person
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Social media
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Support center
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Chat
Common formats
Relevant metrics
High performance looks like...
Educational and inspirational content encourages users to adopt and use your product more and in new ways, in turn improving retention.
The content is used to drive upsell and cross-sell
Stage 11: Affinity
<p>
Buyer's question: Are you worth recommending?
Desired outcome: Advocacy
Content needs to...
encourage endorsement and advocacy from your customers.
Key channels
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Social
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Word of mouth
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Referral websites
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Third-party content
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Collaboration
Key formats
Relevant metrics
High performance looks like...
A social media campaign that prompts customers to feature your product in their content
Collaboration with a customer on a webinar series that puts your brand in front of their audience
Downloadable template for content mapping
Access the content mapping template we've created below and simply make a copy to save to your drive.
Open
