Studying the Customer Journey

In my pre-marketing days, a customer journey meant driving a few miles to the mall.

But trips to the mall, the supermarket and the internet shopping world of Amazon are not mere shopping trips. To the marketer’s eye, those are part of a more elaborate phenomenon, the “customer journey.”

What’s The Problem?

Marketers define a customer journey as the steps somebody takes along the way to buying a product or service. After identifying the steps, marketers determine the marketing tactics to reach potential customers at each step.

The customer journey starts with a problem. It could be something simple like, “It’s dinner time, and I'm hungry,” or iomething a little more complex like, “The sign outside my business is old and is getting lost among the newer digital signs.”

As simple as it might seem, the path from hungry to a full stomach can take all sorts of twists and turns. Does our potential customer already have a favorite restaurant? Did a friend recommend a new place around the corner? Are they craving fish or steak?

Marketing to Influence Each Step

Let’s say they decide to check out their friend’s recommendation. What’s the next step? Search on Google? Double-check the address on Apple Maps? Visit the restaurant website to see if reservations are necessary? Read some reviews on Google or social media?

A business owner, or in this case, the restaurateur, must apply some marketing to each of those possibilities. Is the Google Business Profile up to date? Are reviews – and responses – in good shape. Is the website inviting and easy to use?

To the potential customer, everything looks good, and they choose to eat there. This is only the beginning of the journey. Is there a nice sign over the door? Is the entrance inviting, and are the hosts and servers friendly? Is the menu easy to read and understand?

All of this is marketing that influences the customer journey – their experience – and we haven’t even gotten to whether the food tastes good.

The Step Beyond the Sale

Assuming the customer is happy with the meal, there’s yet one more step in the journey – feedback. A satisfied customer is nice, but it’s not enough. You want a satisfied customer who comes back and tells friends about a great experience. As a business owner (and marketer), you want to make it easy for that to happen.

No matter what kind of business you run, be aware of how your marketing can influence the paths your customers follow from awareness, to consideration, to purchase and finally to advocacy.

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Until next time, be grateful. Be generous. Be patient. Love.??

Mark

P.S. - This newsletter was written by me, a human.