Your Buyer’s Journey

in 6 Steps

Who are your stakeholders?

Champions

and/or SponsorsKey Stakeholders who champion the initiative.

The

Supporting Cast

How will they support?Who are they? How will they support?Who are they?Marketing

Your Buyer’s Journey in 6 Steps1

What do you know about your buyers?Your Buyer’s Journey in 6 Steps2

Example Client Interview Questions:

What prompted your purchase?

How long was each phase of the buying process

(early, mid, late stages)?

What was the most valuable information needed at each stage

to advance to the next stage?

What format did you wish to receive information in?

At what stage was marketing most important?

When did you first engage with sales?

What sources did you turn to for information gathering?

What do you know about your buyers?Your Buyer’s Journey in 6 Steps2

What 3 observations come to mind about the needs of your customers?

What sources of information can you leverage?

Building your buyer’s journeyYour Buyer’s Journey in 6 Steps3

What questions is

your persona asking

at each stage?

What is your

persona’s motivation

at each stage?

Key messages and

value propositions

Most likely to respond

to…(list offers)

PurchaseLearn JustifyEvaluateInterest

Source: Eloqua

3 Your Buyer’s Journey in 6 Steps

Content by Stage

Questions they

may be asking:

• What do they offer?

• Are their customers achieving success?

• Do they fit my need?

• Do I have a problem?

• Can I describe it?

• What exactly do I need?

• Where do I begin my search?

• How can I get more information?

• Do they meet my expectations?

• How do they compare

against competitors?

• Is Company viable?

• Why should I choose?

• Leading, solid product / company?

• Recommended by customers and analysts?

• Meets or exceeds my need?

• How can I easily

purchase?

• Can I purchase via Web site?

• Who can I call?

• Why buy now?

Evaluate PurchaseLearn JustifyInterest

Search Begins Solutions

Identified

Solutions Evaluated

Against Needs

Short List

Assembled

Selection Made

Target’s State

Of Mind:

• Loosening the Status Quo

• Justifying a decision• Committing to a vendor• Committing to Change

Campaign

Goals:

• Traffic / time on site

• Downloads

• Inbound Links / SEO

• Fans / followers

• Mentions / share

• Contact acquisition

• Open / click-through

• Inquiries

• Form submission

• Funnel conversion (qualified leads)

• Qualified Leads

• Sales Accepted Leads

• Sales Qualified Opportunities

• Active pipeline

• Qualified Leads

• Active pipeline

• Speed to Close

• Closed/won

• Speed to Close

• Closed/won

• Customer for Life

Source: Eloqua

• Purchasing decision

3 Your Buyer’s Journey in 6 Steps

Content by Stage (examples)

• Company website

• ebooks

• Presentations

• Data sheets

• Video demos

• Educational tips

• Switching case studies

• Company white papers

• Company videos

• Webinars

• Industry reports

• Third-party case studies

• Company case studies

• By industry

• By solution

• By geo

• Press releases

• Glossaries

• Syndicated content

• Customer stories

• Videos

• Blogs – yours or 3rd party

• Twitter

• 3rd -party content

• Slideshows

• Thought leadership

• Editorials / news stories

• Trend studies

• Education guides / how-to

• Benchmark comparisons

• Online communities

• Infographics

• Quizzes / widgets

• Cartoons / entertainment

• Curated lists

• Newsletters

• Features / benefits

• Press releases

• Competitive comparisons

• Technical white papers

• Pilot solutions

• Online demos

• Hosted events

• Telesales scripts

• Customer communities

• Needs assessments

• Trial offers

• Solution configurator

• eNewsletters

• Architecture diagrams

• Analyst white papers

• Customer testimonials / references

• Reference checklists

• TCO analysis

• Customer events

• ROI calculators

• Industry awards / reviews

• Ask the expert forums

• 1800# provided

• eCommerce

• Where to buy locator

• Promotions or incentives

Post-sale

• Loyalty program

• Customer portal

• Best practices

• Customer presentations

• Cross-sell / up-sell

Evaluate PurchaseLearn JustifyInterest

Search

Begins

Solutions

Identified

Solutions Evaluated

Against Needs

Short List

Assembled

Selection

Made

Source: Eloqua

Develop the StrategyYour Buyer’s Journey in 6 Steps4

BrandWhat are the core values of the

Marketing team?

What is the bold vision?

What goals must be set to achieve

this vision?Business

What impact should Marketing

have on the business?

How will success be measured?

What is the long-term vision

for marketing? BuildWhat activities will Marketing

tackle to create impact?

What strategic projects will ”move

the needle” in a substantial way?

What is the cost and revenue

impact on the business? Reflect, Revisit & Revise

What were the ”did wells" and

”do betters"? Ask and answer this

question regularly and often.

What is Your Strategy?Your Buyer’s Journey in 6 Steps5

Partner By WhenWho

Campaign strategy

Asset identification

Copy writing

Design

Asset development

List development

Campaign execution

Measurement

Key Performance MetricsYour Buyer’s Journey in 6 Steps

Below are ten key performance metrics that you can leverage to measure your buyer’s journey on a monthly basis:

Qualify

1 Total Unique Traffic

2Social Media Reach (Organic + Paid)

Engage

3 Bounce Rate

4 Time on Site

5 Page Depth

6Engagement Rate (Organic vs. Paid)

7 Total Followers

8 Read and CTR

Convert

9Leads generated (Organic vs. Paid)

10 Cost per Lead

6

Key Performance MetricsYour Buyer’s Journey in 6 Steps

6Below are five key Revenue Marketing Metrics that you can leverage to measure your buyer’s journey on a monthly basis:

Revenue Marketing Metrics

1 # of MQLs sent to sales.

2 % of MQLs sent to sales that convert into opportunities.

3 % if those opportunities that convert to close.

4 Average # of days to close.

5 Marketing’s contribution to overall pipeline.

6 Sales revenue linked to marketing efforts.