Digitalisering
20. november 2022
The customer journey at the centre: Targeted communication based on consumers’ needs and data
Most people are familiar with the customer journey, as it is also called, and what it is all about and based on overall. But as with the rest of the marketing industry, things are constantly evolving at a very rapid pace. Digital development in particular is in the spotlight, and that affects the digital customer…
Digital customer journey phases
Although development is moving fast, there are still elements from the classic customer journey model that apply to this day.
The customer journey consists of 6 phases:
- Awareness: Potential customers do not know the product or are not aware that they have a need
- Interest: Potential customers show interest due to a need and begin researching the product
- Desire: Potential customers want a product based on a need and begin comparing products and alternatives
- Purchase: Customers buy a product
- Loyalty: Customers become loyal to a brand after the purchase
- Advocacy: Customers spread the word to other potential customers about the brand and the product
Customer journeys can vary greatly, both between B2B and B2C, and across different industries, business types, and customer types.
That is why it is important to always take your own business as the starting point when discussing the customer journey.
Power has shifted from producer to buyer
To ensure the foundation of your business is sound, it is important to understand your customers’ motivations.
Customers expect streamlined, personalised, and relevant experiences across channels. If you cannot deliver that, the chances of the customer choosing your business are minimal. That is why you must think of online marketing with the customer at the centre.
And that puts businesses in a situation where they actively need to work on how their customer journey functions. Putting the customer first is no longer a “nice-to-have” choice to keep the customer in focus. It is the most important requirement if you want to run a successful business.
There are plenty of opportunities to create an ecosystem that keeps the customer and their buying journey in focus across channels.
According to Deloitte, companies that actively plan their customer journeys are 60% more profitable than those that do not …
Even though there are many opportunities, it is easier said than done.
It actually takes quite a lot, and if you have not considered the customer at all in the way you do marketing—or more generally in your external communication—there may be many factors you need to put in place before you can create such an ecosystem.
It requires both strategy and knowledge of your customers, but not least a lot of data on how your users act and respond online.
If that sounds like a lot to take on, remember: You have to start somewhere. We all start by crawling before we can walk, and there will always be opportunities to optimise your customer journey, no matter how far along you are in the process.
The digital customer journey model
This model was created to improve the opportunities to create a more present and more personalised customer journey, so brands and people can connect with each other through media.
From mass communication to high precision
There is no doubt that the marketing world is evolving faster than ever before. New ways of doing things and new tools that solve our challenges are constantly emerging, and among consumers, new needs are continually being created—needs they did not know they had.
One of the key focuses in the digital buying journey is that it is no longer necessary to use a scattergun approach when marketing. It is important to aim to be the offer that makes the recipient think, “Yes! That is exactly what I have been looking for.”
In other words: It is no longer about shouting the loudest and simply spamming people with lots of information they do not want. And you cannot get around the fact that the essence of digital buying journeys is understanding your customers and their needs—even before they are customers at all.
That is why it makes good sense that the concept of integrated communication is gaining more and more traction in marketing work. If you dive into the concept itself, there is also little doubt why integrated communication has gained the importance it has. It is not just about using different media channels, but about creating effective interaction between them.
For example, on LinkedIn you can target stakeholders in companies who have shown interesting behaviour on your website via a simple integration between LeadInfo and LinkedIn Campaign Manager.
Because when we talk about advertising and marketing, it ultimately comes down to converting attention into purchases, preference, and loyalty. And the best way to do that is to know your customer across media. That means knowing which phase they are in and what it takes to make them feel that the company they engage with understands them and their needs.
Conversion work therefore starts with learning your potential customers’ behavioural patterns, so you can plan a customer journey with the most relevant content.
Channel selection, omnichannel, and presence
If you want to reach the consumer at the right time, on the right medium, and with the right message, you also need to consider how the interplay between your channels works together. In other words, think in omnichannels rather than siloed channels, as marketing used to do.
It is about having the same look and feel across all channels, so that, in principle, as a consumer you cannot tell which channel it comes from. That creates a strong presence from the company to the consumer.
Behaviour becomes more complex when it comes to presence and which channels you should work on. More devices, more browsers, more platforms, and more channels are constantly emerging—just look at TikTok, which has exploded in user numbers.
Incorrect use of data can blind you—so make sure you use it correctly
A lot of people use their data incorrectly, including in Google Analytics, and it can have fatal consequences for your customer journey. Many build their marketing strategy solely on what drives sales in Analytics. This creates a strong focus on the channels with many sales and conversions, and far less focus on helping customers earlier in the customer journey or after the purchase.
There are several ways to ensure your data is used correctly. First and foremost, it is extremely important that you set up a data hub—or a data cockpit, if that makes it a bit easier to understand. In other words, you need to systematise the data you collect so you can interpret it and use it to your advantage.
It is also important to ensure that you choose the right attribution model for your specific starting point. This ensures that you measure the data you collect correctly and that important channels or marketing spend are not overlooked.
There are many elements in this article, and it can be difficult to find a place to start, but I have tried to describe the different elements so it is a bit easier for you to understand the customer journey as a whole.
If you are unsure how to get started, or if you need help with the different elements, you are always welcome to contact us.
