Ever thought of why or how your visitors managed to land on your website? No? Then you better start wondering! Their purpose in being on your pages is perhaps the most essential aspect of turning prospects into customers. Understanding their thought process and where they are in their buyers’ journey will give you a definitive edge on winning them over.

If you can ask visitors as to why they are on your website, you’ll probably be surprised by their answers. But I bet you some will say, ‘I got here by chance while clicking on random sites,’ or ‘I was just browsing and it somehow led me here.’ In reality, there’s so much more than just a coincidence. In marketing, there is no such thing as ‘chance’. Every encounter is with a purpose and a reason behind it.

Your visitors, prior to getting to your website either saw an advertisement on social media—which you paid for—they got curious and clicked on your link. Some are searching for a specific topic on the web, and because your website is high-ranking, it appeared on the top search results, and the visitor is inclined to visit your website. In both cases, their visits were intentional. But you must understand that they go to your site to buy at the onset. For that, you must be familiar with the buyer’s journey.

The Buyer’s Journey

According to HubSpot, the buyer’s journey is the process buyers go through to become aware of, consider and evaluate, and decide to purchase a new product or service. Simply put, it’s the path with several stages a prospect or a consumer takes on their way to becoming a customer.

The journey consists of a three-step process:

1. Awareness Stage: The buyer realizes they have a problem.
2. Consideration Stage: The buyer defines their problem and researches options to solve it.
3. Decision Stage: The buyer chooses a solution.

Awareness Stage

During the Awareness stage, buyers identify their challenge or an opportunity they want to pursue. They also decide whether or not the goal or challenge should be a priority. To fully understand the Awareness stage for your buyer, ask yourself:

• How do buyers describe their goals or challenges?
• How do buyers educate themselves on these goals or challenges?
• What are the consequences of inaction by the buyer?
• Are there common misconceptions buyers have about addressing the goal or challenge?
• How do buyers prioritise goals or challenges?

Consideration Stage

During the Consideration stage, buyers have clearly defined the goal or challenge and have committed to addressing it. They evaluate the different approaches or methods available to reach their objectives or solve their challenges. Ask yourself:

• What categories of solutions do buyers investigate?
• How do buyers educate themselves on the various categories?
• How do buyers perceive the pros and cons of each category?
• How do buyers decide which category is right for them?

Decision Stage

In the Decision stage, buyers have made up their minds on a solution they want. They need an extra push to make a purchase. For example, they could write a pro/con list of specific offerings and then decide on the one that best meets their needs. Questions you should ask yourself to define the Decision stage are:

• What criteria do buyers use to evaluate the available offerings?
• When buyers investigate your company’s offering, what do they like about it compared to alternatives? What concerns do they have with your offering?
• Who needs to be involved in the decision? For each person involved, how does their perspective on the decision differ?
• Do buyers have expectations around trying the offering before they purchase it?
• Outside of purchasing, do buyers need to make additional preparations, such as implementation plans or training strategies?

Take note that your visitors don’t want to be prospected, or demoed, or closed. These steps add little to zero value to them. This information should be between you and your marketing team. They are mainly looking for additional information about your product or service that can’t be found online or with your competitors. 

The basis of your strategy and approach should be on where they are toward their journey, so it’s best to identify it on the first contact. You can do this by segmenting your content into a funnel. 

The Conversion Funnel

A marketing funnel is a way of breaking down the customer journey from the awareness stage (when they first learn about your business) to the decision stage (when they’re ready to buy your product or service). Often funnels can also include post-purchase follow-ups, which increase retention. It also involves cross- and up-sells that eventually lead to more sales. 

Once you fully understand why visitors flock into your site, you can leverage the knowledge to influence them into taking the next steps towards making a sale. This is called lead nurturing. 

You might say that your lead generation strategies are already in place, but lead nurturing is very different from what you may currently have. Imagine a seed that you’ve planted is starting to grow its roots. Lead nurturing is like making sure the soil is well-taken-care-of and that the plant will have enough water and sunlight until it bears fruit. Now, there are several other plants in your garden, and each of them is unique. One will die if you leave it under the sun for too long, or if you water it too much. This same goes for your prospects and customers.

A traditional conversion funnel looks like, well, a funnel. But according to Neil Patel, a conversion funnel is less exclusive. It places more emphasis on customer behaviours, nurturing and retention at each step of the customer journey, and therefore should be more open-ended. Check the diagram below:

Customer-centric Approach

Your customers and visitors are more sensitive by the way you reach out to them so you must be mindful of your approach. The best way to gain trust is to become more customer-centric. You should never get tired of finding ways to make your customers happy and content. Strive harder to make them believe that you can perform your tasks for their convenience and the betterment of their business. If you manage to influence them at the right time and with the right approach, it’s almost a guarantee to gain their trust and make future sales possible.