To make this happen, you need to know the various stages of a customer’s journey with your brand, and use the most effective strategy depending on the stage the customer is in. Understanding the digital customer journey is particularly important as in today’s age with multiple competing brands, the customer can move through the stages rather quickly and needs to be engaged swiftly.

The 5 stages in a digital customer’s journey are:

1. Awareness:
This is the first stage in the journey where the customer comes across the brand for the first time. What needs to be understood here is that the customer is not looking to buy anything at this stage. Going for a “hard sell” at this stage is counterproductive and hence, the focus should be on letting the user know that the brand can solve a problem they might be facing.

The most effective tactics for generating brand awareness are social media ads, audio/video ads, messages from influencers on social media, blogs on your websites, newsletters or even social display ads.

2. Consideration:
At this stage, the customer is aware that the problem or use case they want to tackle has a likely solution. However, they may not be completely sure of who/what can solve their problem. This is where they are looking out for possible solutions to review and evaluate. Since the customer is already aware of your brand by now, the best strategy would be to have them look at your brand as a potential solution.

In the consideration stage, tactics like PPC search ads, display ads and retargeted ads on social media are found to be more effective as they refresh the customer's recall of your brand. Here, the customers will also look at the existing reviews, which will further create an impression of your brand in their minds.

3. Conversion:
Also known as the decision/purchase stage, this is when the customer makes their first investment into your brand by purchasing your product/service. This happens after they have found your brand to be the most suitable solution after their review/analysis. They may also have a brief list of options, out of which, your brand may be one. The driving factor for your strategy at this point should be to demonstrate the merits of your product/service over that of the competition so that they end up as a paying customer.

The best channels to focus on at this stage are essentially the same as in the consideration stage. However the messaging can change from merely listing the features of your product to emphasising the competitive advantages of your brand over the competition. Also, a compelling call to action in terms of discounts or bundled offers or situations which can create a sense of urgency will help.

4. Retention:
After you have sold your product to the customer, thus converting them from a potential customer to an existing one, the retention stage of the customer journey begins. In this stage, it is important to not relax and lose touch with the customer. Falling into the trap of thinking that they can be contacted when you have a new product to sell or when their renewal is due (in the case of subscription-based products) might need you to rekindle the relationship the customer has with the brand. This can negatively impact your brand. You should continue to periodically engage with the customer, making sure that they are having a positive experience with your brand. Any concerns should be addressed immediately. This increases the likelihood of obtaining repeat business from the customer, thus retaining them.

Tactics which are used to seek feedback or increase brand recall are the optimum ones to be used at this stage. These include email newsletters, YouTube survey ads, OTT (Over-The-Top) ads etc.

5. Advocacy:
This is the stage which all brands aspire to reach, but only good/great ones actually do. This is when the customers have had a great brand experience so far and are proactively recommending your brand to other potential customers. Popularly known as mouth-to-mouth marketing, this is the most effective advertising that your brand can get. At this stage, you should aim to facilitate or highlight your customer’s advocacy of your brand.

You can do this by asking them to post reviews on channels like “Google My Business” or share their experience with their friends and family, and professional networks. This will drive your potential customers from the consideration stage to the conversion stage, thus making a further positive impact on your business.

In conclusion, the better you understand the customer journey and the customer’s behaviour and expectations at various stages, the better you can fine-tune your digital marketing strategies to generate maximum momentum and ROI for your business. As the customer evolves through the journey, you need to follow suit. This is the mantra for successful digital marketing, in a nutshell.

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