Inbound marketers need to know that the buyer’s journey is a three-stage process that looks something like this:
- Awareness: The B2B buyer is dealing with a situation or challenge they believe could be rectified by a specific type of product or service.
- Analysis: The buyer then analyzes the different products or services that might address this situation; as much as 95 percent of this research will be performed online.
- Decision: The buyer uncovers options and selects the product or service they believe will best speak to the situation.
The three stages of the buyer’s journey are pretty much straightforward. Straightforward as well, is that buyers will depend on content, well written, and informative content, to help them travel through the buyer’s journey. Aware of this, here are some suggestions that might help guide them to your company, helping to turn words into sales.
During the Awareness stage: Content Should Address the Buyer’s Motivation
Let’s use the foodservice industry as an example here. A buyer may be motivated to look for a new product or service due to new regulations. Or, buyers may be looking for faster and more effective ways to evaluate food products as to calories, nutrients, cholesterol, and other metrics. If your company provides products and services for the foodservice industry that address these challenges, the more information your site has about these changes and how to deal with them, the more your company will be viewed as a trusted resource. Once you become a trusted resource, the buyer’s journey is likely headed in your direction.
