Understanding Your Customer Journey Can Drive Business Growth

Whether you are the CEO of an emerging brand, a business owner of a small corner bakery, or the head of a large B2B service organization, understanding the consumer’s decision journey is critical in today’s digital world. Previously consumers would have to travel to the store and search the shelves, visit a show room, or talk directly with a sales rep to understand their options.

In today’s omnichannel environment, where digital, retail, social platforms, Amazon, traditional media outlets and more present endless possibilities for how consumers interact with and decide to purchase products and brands, it is more important than ever for companies to take the time to understand how to reach their target market.

Your potential customers can get insight from others who have bought the product through reviews or by asking their friends, family or colleagues via their social channels. This shift has meant brands and businesses need to deeply understand the key touch points in the consumer’s decision journey in order to effectively persuade them to purchase.  

According to McKinsey & Company article “Driving Business Growth by Zeroing in on the Consumer Decision Journey”, for a brand to drive top of mind awareness, they may have to spend a lot of money. When in actuality if a brand or business truly understood their consumer decision journey, they may be better off shifting their marketing efforts to other consumer touch points such as social, PR, or curating product reviews. 

So where do you begin?   

Start by answering the questions surrounding the 5 stages of the consumer decision journey.

1.  Trigger - What triggers or creates your consumer need? 

2.  Active Evaluation - Does your product or service offering satisfy your consumer’s needs?   How is your brand or business communicating this information to them?  

3.  Moment of Purchase - Do your sales efforts result in a win for your business? 

4.  Post Purchase Phase - Does your product or service fulfill your consumer’s expectations? 

5.  Loyalty Loop - And finally, do your consumers advocate for your brand? 

Getting your organization to put the consumer front and center and deeply understanding their journey is one of the most important things an organization can do to winning and keeping customers.