Don’t Lose Your Customers in the Journey
WOO them at every stage with impactful & exclusive content on Social Media
The success of an advertising campaign depends on the strength of content delivery yet it is critical for the content to be relatable to the audience. For this reason, content marketing takes up 25–30% of the marking budget. The article defines a strategy to deliver and create impactful campaign content in line with the customer journey.
Simon Says
Plan before you act. Define goals, campaign objectives, and KPI before creating content.
Goals, Objectives and KPIs provide a clear path to the team.
All Hail AIDA
Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action (AIDA) forms the basis of customer journey. Originally marketers believed that AIDA is a linear journey. But with growing channels of communications and brand interactions, it is difficult for the customer to follow a linear pattern in the customer journey. The customer journey may begin at any stage of AIDA. The intent is to identify which stage the customer is in and then craft campaign content accordingly.
Let’s dive deeper into how content will change based on the stage the customer is in. For this blog, I have taken the help of B Blunt Hair Care products catered for curly hair. To guide you through the process let’s look at messages and channels according to the stage of the customer.
Awareness
At the awareness stage, customers are not familiar with the brand/ product. They might be looking for a solution to their current pain point or simply oblivious to the need for the product.
Message
Customers may not directly search for the product instead search for solutions to their problems. Women with curly looking for hair products may search products for curly hair, enhance curls, etc. Identify the problems faced by potential target customers and craft content by using keywords that are generally searched by them. This will help improve SEO results for the brand. The content should include more about the brand and its product features. Highlight most important offering to gain their attention
Channel
Since the customer is not aware of the product/brand the customer is found on a wider platform and could be anywhere. Be present at multiple channels and see what works best for the brand. A lot of times the potential target audience might be spending more time on a specific channel. Identify the channel and be prominent there.
Create videos, social media posts, YouTube videos spread out content as much as possible. Use social media, display advertisements, link blogs to gain their attention.
Interest
At the “Interest Stage”, the customers are already aware of the brand. The next step is to provide customers with more information about the product. Customers would be interested to know more about product features, unique selling point, usage, instruction, price, etc. The customers may want to compare different options to narrow down their preferences.
Message
The content needs to stand out and share key differentiators of the product to hold their interest. Provide relevant information to them so that they can weigh their options. Give them a reason to choose your brand over competitors. The customers may also look for reviews and feedbacks from people who have used it. So focus on reviews and influencers to talk about the product.
Channel
The customer at this stage has seen the brand once, so choose a channel where he is often found on. If the customer spends more time on Instagram choose to display advertisements.
Focus on SEO as there are high chances they may look for more product information.
To ensure the product they have searched is not out of sight and mind use targeting and retargeting.
Desire
At the “Desire Stage”, the intangible aspects like brand, value for money, after-sales service could be decision-making factors for the customer. Brand positioning will play an important role here.
Message
Offer more than just the product. Decide which aspect of your brand you wish to focus on to make it desirable to your customers. The intangible aspect could be anything from Brand, brand ambassador, price, specific ingredient, packaging, etc.
The ad below invites the customer to be a part of a community that is only for girls/women with curly hair. It can be desirable for customers to know the people who are facing the same issues as they are. It evokes a sense of belongingness.
Channel
Retarget with display advertising, video advertising and lead them to the page you wish them to see.
Action
Customers have come a long way if they are at this stage. During their journey, they have formed an opinion on the product and may or may not wish to buy it right now. The second possibility is that the customer may have landed on “Action Stage” first, this is possible if they have received a product sample. The time taken by a customer to come at this stage may vary. It could be instantaneous for a particular customer and some may take time.
Message
The customer may need a little nudge at this stage so send out promotions, discounts, or offers. It encourages the customer to try out the product. Promote it as a limited, exclusive offer. The end goal is to encourage the customer to try out your product but also retain them for a lifetime instead of limiting them to promotional offers only.
Channel
The content can be shared through email, paid advertising on social media.
Post Action
At this stage, the customer has already brought the product. This is an intersecting point between perception and expectation. The customers are using the product. They may have perceived it in a certain manner and formed expectations around it. If the product is not in line with its expectation a customer gap will be formed.
Message
The only way to know if the customer gap has not formed is to send out a request for feedback. Depending on whether the feedback is negative or positive further content will be formulated. The content could also be informative and revolve around usage instructions, new product lines, events, etc. Keep connecting back with customers to retain their attention.
Channel
Email marketing is a strong channel for the post-action stage. One can not only get specific customer feedback but it also opens connect individually with the customer.
That’s All Folks!
The discussed message and channels are a suggestion. Each brand has a different approach, One shoe will not fit every foot so understand the brand and the target audience to curate a specific campaign suiting the customer journey.
