Up to 80% of your customers search for products and services online before making a purchase decision. There was a 20% increase in this last year alone. 60% of people start searching for your product or service with an online search engine like Google and Bing. Google’s own reports showed that people have completed 60% of their thought process before they are ready to talk to someone about the purchase. It is this part of the thought process (during your research phase) where your content should address their needs, questions, and pain.

As digital marketers and content writers, we talk a lot about the customer journey and marketing funnels. Because? As mentioned above, 60% of your customers’ journey is already completed before they contact you. Since a strong inbound sales funnel can boost your bottom line, making any sales person’s job easier and more productive, nurturing your prospects with content that aligns with your position in the marketing funnel can provide up to 20 % increase in sales.

customer journey

A typical customer journey includes 3 phases. Your content strategy should address each phase with articles and other content designed for each phase. The first stage is awareness. This is where your potential customers look for answers, education, data, and “who” can meet their needs. The evaluation stage is as follows. Here your potential clients and clients will be deciding “why” or “if” you fit their needs. Then comes the decision or purchase phase. This is where they are figuring out “how” to become your customers. Therefore, your content should answer the questions: who, why and how.

1. Great content attracts potential customers

As people begin their online search for a product or service, your content can engage them with articles, videos, and social media posts designed to address their pain, answer their questions, and educate them. They become aware of you as an option to solve their problem and begin to trust you and your company has its expert. You become their go-to person for advice and answers to their challenges.

2. Great content converts prospects

This is where content shows potential customers why you are the best and that you are the expert they need. Guides, testimonials, FAQs, videos, and white papers are options at this stage. Here you are building a relationship and establishing trust between the audience and your brand.

3. Great content closes more clients

In the decision stage, people are looking for how they can become your customers. Your offer and calls to action at this stage can have a big impact on your conversions. Effective types of content in the buying stage include case studies, free offers, demos, and product literature.

Every business will have a different sales funnel sculpted by their unique customer journeys. Developing an understanding of your customers, then developing a digital marketing funnel around your industry and unique buyers and creating content that “tailors” to their needs at every phase of their journey will attract, convert and close more customers.

Thats not all. The White House Office of Consumer Affairs found that it costs businesses six times more to attract a new customer than it does to retain an existing one. With planned digital follow-up activities and a firm understanding of customer service best practices, you can delight your customers by exceeding their expectations. This is where your best and least expensive advertising begins: referrals and word of mouth.