Creating Content for the Buyer’s Journey

By Karen Barr

Creating content for the buyer’s journey requires a strategic approach. Rarely does a buyer look at a product offer once and purchase immediately.

A candy bar placed in your basket while waiting in the checkout line at your local grocery store is an impulse item. However, in most cases, a buyer’s journey typically involves several steps. It takes multiple interactions with your brand, decision-making, and comparisons before a purchase is made.

The higher the purchase price, the longer the journey.

How can you work toward creating content for your buyer’s journey?

Let’s take a closer look.

What is the Buyer’s Journey?

As a company owner, leader, or marketing professional, a buyer’s journey is the map to how your buyer thinks before they purchase your product or service.

It’s essential not only to understand your buyer’s journey but also to develop content for each stage.

The Three Stages of the Buyer’s Journey

There are three basic stages of the buyer’s journey.

Awareness
Consideration
Decision

Let’s break each down further.

Awareness

The Awareness stage of the funnel is commonly referred to as the Top of Funnel (TOFU). Here, the buyer may be intrigued by something they see or read about. Alternatively, they may already have a problem they are trying to solve.

Here’s how you utilize content marketing and online marketing to align with the first part of your customer’s journey.

Social media posts
Educational blog posts
Checklists

You’ll be able to analyze the outcome of the Awareness stage by examining social media likes and clicks. For blog post click-through rates, as well as how long readers spent reading each post, can be found via Google Analytics.

Also, pay close attention to downloads or sign-ups for lead magnets, such as checklists.

This is the stage of the funnel where many of my clients tend to get stuck. Why? Simply put, they spend too much time creating social media posts and not enough time building content for websites. Social media posts have a short lifespan after all.

To move you beyond this, read Is Blogging or Social Media Better.

Consideration

The Consideration stage involves deeper research. The buyer is looking at various options and making comparisons. This stage is the Middle of Funnel (MOFU).

You have hooked your potential buyer. Now, it’s time to give them more.

In this part of your buyer’s journey, you’ll showcase your Unique Selling Proposition (USP).

What are the benefits of your products or services? What makes each special?

Create content marketing that aligns with the Consideration stage. There are many ways to grab attention.

Blog posts that focus on problem-solving
How-to articles
eBooks
Newsletters
Email marketing campaigns
Landing pages to promote products

Decision

At the Decision stage, customers are ready to make a purchase. This is the Top of Funnel (TOFU).

How can you ensure the customer buys from you?

Think about any additional questions the buyer may have and create content to address these, including:

A Facts Page
Case studies
Testimonials
Emails offering free trials or product demos

Comparing the B2C to the B2B Buyer’s Journey

For my clients in the retail and hospitality industry, most are in the B2C marketplace. This means customers are making purchases for their personal use and their families.

In contrast, my clients in SaaS and technology are selling to other companies, a process that often requires multiple decision makers.

While B2C customers are making purchases based on pain points, emotions, and desires, a B2B client focuses on sales, revenue, and ROI.

Given these factors, the B2C market makes decisions at a much quicker rate than the B2B market. Therefore, B2B companies need more content, and it needs to be produced with executives in mind.

Read B2C vs B2B Content Marketing.

In Conclusion

Crafting content for the buyer’s journey is invaluable to your business success. It helps turn browsers into buyers. With each piece of content you create for the various stages, you move your customers closer to making a purchase.