Years of foundational marketing education has taught us to do (B2B) buyer journey mapping as a progressive linear path. Unfortunately, as marketing evolves, channels and consumption habits change, and an overwhelming amount of competing opportunities (aka other tech) arises, the path is no longer a path.
In fact, the journey is more of a maze these days. Not only can you go through it, hit dead ends, back track, but additional paths may be added on as new methods of information consumption are added on.
The key takeaway that this behavior shows is that buyers are constantly seeking information, and most notably, better information, over time. The phases of a buyer journey (problem identification, solution exploration, requirements gathering – all the way to purchase) may start and stop or double back many times depending on factors out of a marketer (or seller’s) control.
Now what?
- Accept that the journey is not linear. Don’t get upset if data doesn’t demonstrate progression and a buyer is in a loop or goes back a few steps.
- Understand the phases of a buyer’s journey. You can find it laid out below and examples of marketing activities that could apply. Yes, the phases match a traditional marketing funnel, but get into the mindset of the buyer (that’s what’s important here!).
- Don’t forget your personas and how they fit into the phases. Different personas will be attracted to different marketing activities at each phase so understand when and where the personas participate and how they want to be engaged.
- Fill each phase of the process with rich, relevant information. All of these activities should elegantly steer them down the funnel toward purchase.
Pro-tip: Many businesses fall into the trap of creating content from their perspective. They will use jargon that is only understood internally (e.g.: “AI-plus”, “data solid” – I made those up, but you get what I mean, no one knows what those words mean if they aren’t standardized) or speak with a grandioseness of their solution that is not a widely shared view (e.g.: “best-in-class solution”).
Instead, keep it simple. Use widely adopted language, if your non-in-industry friend can (mostly) understand it, then you’re off to a good start. Then use the Jobs-To-Be-Done framework to help frame your messaging and language you use.
The phases of a buyer’s journey
| Phase | Details | Marketing activities |
| Awareness: Identifying there’s a problem | This is the first phase. A business will not buy your solution until they are aware there is a problem. If you are solving a universal problem and need to win mindshare as a solution – this is the time to ensure you have done your research on intent and have a strong message to share via TOFU channels. | PR, thought leadership, analyst relations, research – supported by social media, content (SEO), & ads |
| Interest: Seeking solutions | This is why a widely quoted stat that buyers are “57% of the way to decision” before they reach out” is important to keep in mind. If a business has a problem and intend to solve it – they will actively seek solutions themselves – no need for you to go door-to-door. This is where inbound marketing works really well – just make sure you cover all your bases. | Thought leadership, research, analyst reports, content (SEO), peer review sites, WoM, referrals |
| Interest: Requirements gathering | This is generally when credibility is most important. Having a positive digital presence with real information (not word fluff) and pair if with a strong SDR or sales team will be immensely helpful in ensuring buyers get the information they need to put you on the short list. If they have reached out to you, make sure your SDR or sales team does some information gathering themselves – when it comes to strong negotiation down the line – having more information is better. Don’t hard sell here. | Analyst reports, content, peer review sites |
| Consideration: Solutions selection (comparing top choices) | This is where your sales team needs to be able to answer any of the questions that have come up in the requirements gathering stage. It shifts from a soft sell to a hard sell. | Peer review sites, battle cards, case studies, trial, live demo, video, technical documentation, RFP |
| Decision: Internal Agreements | When you’ve made it to the short list – this is when you discover if you’ve actually surrounded the sale properly (or you risk going back up a few steps or more). Due diligence earlier will save you a lot of time and heartache. | (Exclusive) white glove events, savings calculators |
| Action: Purchase | The best phase of the funnel – when you’ve won a contract! Now, just because you’ve won their business, doesn’t mean your relationship ends – neglecting to build a retention program (generally in partnership with CS) will affect your LTV data and ability to up-sell/cross-sell. | Onboarding program |
The final comment is that a buyer’s journey is never final. Do not “set it and forget it.” It should be revisited, tested, and optimized.
This is why attribution data is important (although, can also be very flawed as attribution is a tricky beast to crack, so be wary). So, keep a consistent eye on all of this will help you optimize your funnel and build a great demand gen program.
Header Photo by YIFEI CHEN on Unsplash