Mapping the customer journey
Once you know your prospects inside out, it’s time to think about how you guide them from discovering your brand to lifetime loyalty.
Without a clear customer journey, you won’t be able to deliver your content at the right time. After all, you don’t want to offer a super in-depth industry breakdown if your prospect is just looking for a quick hit of high-level information about your solution.
Separating the prospect journey into distinct stages gives you an opportunity to reflect on the mindset of your potential buyer in each phase.
What information are they looking for, and how do they want it delivered? Which touchpoints are they engaging with? What’s going to nudge them on to the next step in the pipeline?
Let’s look at an example of a broken-out journey…
Awareness
Who are you?
Curiosity
What do you do?
Interest
Why is it important?
Understanding
How does it work?
Relevance
Does it matter to us?
Need
Would it work for us?
Validation
Is there proof that it works?
Timing
How long does it take to get going?
Closure
What are our next steps?
Satisfaction
Am I getting value for money?
Affinity
Are you worth recommending?
When you map your own journey, you might have fewer stages than this—or perhaps even more. What’s key is thinking about the prospect’s need at each stage and the channels and content you’re using to service that need.
Lead generation is all about the content you offer in those early stages of the journey. Using long-form here can help educate your prospect on how to solve their pain points without overwhelming them with a premature product pitch.
Focusing on high-level concepts, such as the types of technology a prospect could use to overcome their challenge (rather than your technology specifically) helps plant the seed.
