An Expert’s Guide to the Customer Journey Stages [+ Tips to Outpace Competitors]

Focusing on the buyer journey makes it easier to deliver high levels of customer satisfaction and increase retention, making it essential for marketing success.

What are the 5 customer journey stages?

Let's rip the bandaid off. Here are the 5 customer journey stages we'll be working with, plus a brief description for each one.

• Awareness: The customer becomes aware of your product, service, or brand, often through marketing efforts, word-of-mouth, or problem identification.
• Consideration: The customer evaluates options and compares solutions, weighing the benefits of your product or service against competitors.
• Decision (or Purchase): The customer chooses to buy your product or service and completes the transaction.
• Retention (or Loyalty): After the purchase, the focus shifts to retaining the customer through exceptional service, value, and ongoing engagement.
• Advocacy: Satisfied customers become advocates, promoting your brand to others through reviews, referrals, or social sharing.

Click through each one to learn more about it, how it works, and how you can leverage it to earn and keep loyal customers for life. Or, you can check out my customer journey map examples if you need something more in media res.

Why are the customer journey stages important?

It's important to optimize the customer journey if you want to grow your customer base and generate repeat business.

When you focus on the customer journey, you see your company through a customer's eyes. Mapping the buyer's journey provides valuable information about your employees, website, and in-store experience.

Along with collecting key customer satisfaction metrics, this process of tracking the customer journey gives you the opportunity to make improvements and helps you anticipate customers' needs, reducing the length of the sales cycle.

5 Stages of the Customer Journey

The digital customer journey has seven stages. Each one is linked to some type of contact between the customer and your touchpoints. Direct contact typically occurs before a customer makes a purchase, while the customer is making a purchase, and after the customer makes a purchase.

Now that we've covered how customers are likely to come into contact with your business, it's time to go through the seven customer journey stages.

1. Awareness

In the awareness stage, potential customers realize they have a need or problem and start looking for solutions. This is where brands make their first impression, often through advertising, social media, SEO, or word-of-mouth.

For example, a person searching for "best running shoes for beginners" might come across a blog post or ad from a shoe brand, introducing them to the product for the first time.

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How to improve Awareness:

• Invest in targeted digital advertising to reach your ideal audience.
• Optimize your website for SEO to appear in relevant search results.
• Leverage social media to share engaging content and increase brand visibility.
• Collaborate with influencers or industry experts to expand your reach.
• Create educational self-service content, such as blog posts, videos, or guides addressing common customer pain points.

2. Consideration

During the consideration stage, customers actively evaluate their options, comparing products or services to decide which best meets their needs. They might read reviews, compare prices, or watch product demos.

For instance, after discovering a running shoe brand, the customer may compare its features, like cushioning and durability, against competitors by checking online reviews or YouTube unboxings.

How to improve Consideration:

• Offer free trials, demos, or samples to let customers experience your product risk-free.
• Publish detailed product comparisons or buyer guides to aid decision-making.
• Gather and showcase customer testimonials and case studies on your website.
• Create retargeting ad campaigns to stay top-of-mind for potential buyers.
• Build a chatbot or FAQ section to quickly address customer inquiries.

3. Decision (or Purchase)

The decision stage is when the customer makes a choice and proceeds with the purchase. This phase is influenced by factors like pricing, promotions, and trust in the brand.

For example, a customer might add the running shoes to their cart after seeing a limited-time discount or free shipping offer, then complete the purchase online or in-store.

How to improve Decision:

• Simplify your checkout process with fewer steps and multiple payment options.
• Offer incentives like discounts, free shipping, or limited-time offers.
• Use urgency triggers, such as countdown timers for sales or stock availability.
• Provide a live chat option to assist customers during the purchasing process.
• Clearly communicate return policies and post-purchase support for buyer confidence.

4. Retention (or Loyalty)

In the retention stage, the focus shifts to keeping customers engaged and satisfied to encourage repeat business. Companies use tactics like loyalty programs, personalized emails, or proactive customer support.

For example, the shoe brand might send the customer a thank-you email with tips for breaking in the shoes or a discount code for their next purchase.

How to improve Retention:

• Send personalized thank-you emails and follow-ups after a purchase.
• Implement a loyalty or rewards program to incentivize repeat purchases.
• Send surveys to gather customer journey feedback and identify improvement areas.
• Provide excellent customer service with fast response times and knowledgeable support.
• Share exclusive updates, sneak peeks, or special offers for existing customers.

5. Advocacy

Advocacy happens when satisfied customers become brand ambassadors, recommending the product to friends or posting positive reviews online. Companies can nurture this by encouraging reviews or launching referral programs.

For instance, the happy runner might post a glowing review on Instagram or recommend the shoes to a friend during a conversation about running gear.

How to improve Advocacy:

• Launch a referral program to reward customers for bringing in new business.
• Encourage satisfied customers to leave online reviews on key platforms.
• Highlight customer stories or testimonials on your website and social media.
• Engage with your audience on social media by resharing user-generated content.
• Host events, webinars, or contests to deepen your relationship with advocates.

For continuous monitoring and improvement at every stage, I suggest leveraging the best customer journey analytics software solutions on the market today.

Customer Journey vs. Buyer Journey: What's the Difference?

The customer journey and the buyer journey are closely related but differ in scope and focus:

Customer Journey

• Scope: Encompasses the entire lifecycle of a customer’s relationship with a brand, from initial awareness through advocacy.
• Focus: Includes every interaction a customer has with a business, including after they’ve made a purchase.
• Goal: To create a seamless, positive experience across all customer journey touchpoints, fostering long-term loyalty.
• Example: A customer discovers a brand on social media, buys a product, engages with the brand through support, and eventually advocates for it online.

Buyer Journey

• Scope: Specifically focuses on the pre-purchase stages leading to a decision to buy.
• Focus: Centers on the steps a buyer takes to identify a problem, evaluate solutions, and choose a product or service.
• Goal: To guide prospective buyers to make a purchasing decision.
• Example: A prospect researches solutions to their problem, compares brands, and selects a product to purchase.

The Takeaway: The buyer journey is a subset of the customer journey, focused exclusively on converting a prospect into a buyer. In contrast, the customer journey is broader, emphasizing the entire relationship and ongoing experiences with the brand, including retention and advocacy.

What is a customer journey map?

A customer journey map is a visual representation of the steps a customer takes when interacting with a brand, from initial awareness to long-term loyalty and advocacy. It illustrates the customer’s experiences, emotions, and touchpoints across various stages of their journey.

Pro Tip: Be sure to avoid common mistakes and pitfalls when you start building your customer journey map.

Key Components of a Customer Journey Map:

1. Stages: Represents the phases customers go through (e.g., awareness, consideration, decision, retention, advocacy).
2. Touchpoints: Highlights where and how customers interact with the brand (e.g., website map, social media, customer support).
3. Customer Goals: Outlines what the customer aims to achieve at each stage (e.g., find information, resolve a problem).
4. Emotions: Tracks how customers feel throughout their journey, identifying pain points and moments of delight.
5. Opportunities: Identifies areas where the brand can improve the experience or address unmet needs.

Purpose of a Customer Journey Map:

• To understand customer behavior and motivations.
• To identify and address pain points in the journey.
• To align internal teams on customer-centric strategies.
• To improve touchpoints and overall customer experience.

Example:

A SaaS company's customer journey map might reveal that potential customers struggle during the free trial signup process due to unclear instructions or a complex interface.

To address this, the company could simplify the onboarding process, provide a guided tour of the software, and offer proactive support.

These improvements would enhance the customer experience, increase trial-to-paid conversions, and foster long-term satisfaction.

What Next?

Mastering the customer journey stages is key to building stronger relationships, boosting loyalty, and gaining a competitive edge. Use the tips shared here to refine your strategy and create experiences that leave a lasting impression. Success in customer experience starts with a clear journey—now it’s your turn to map it out and make it extraordinary.

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