Avoid this mistake and supersize your customer engagement

One of the most common mistakes we see businesses make with their customer engagement is targeting their audience at the wrong stage of their buyer’s journey. Consequently, they don’t get the results they want (or need), because their prospects are not receiving the right message through the right channel at the right time.

Let’s imagine the buyer’s journey is like a relationship for a moment. If you asked someone to marry you on the first date, how likely is it they’d be willing to commit to you then and there? Not very, right? They need to see you multiple times and get to know more about you before they’re able to decide if they like you – and more importantly, trust you.

Even when you have built that trust, you need to make sure the situation is right before you get down on one knee – if you want to make it an experience your partner will never forget.

Marketing is exactly the same. It’s about taking your prospects on a journey and giving them what they need at every step, starting with a simple offering (a quick drink after work) and upping the commitment levels as you progress (dinner, a weekend away, moving in together…and then the ring!)

Know your audience

Of course, before you can determine where in the buyer’s journey your audience is and therefore how to reach them, you must know exactly who they are. And we mean EXACTLY.

To be successful with your customer engagement you need to go further than just their demographics and get inside their heads. Understand their fears, frustrations and challenges, and what they really want and need in their life. 

Again, think of it in relation to your partner. If you want to get maximum brownie points for your date night, you need to know what they like – and what they hate! You definitely don’t want to be taking your Slip Knot loving boyfriend to a Taylor Swift gig, for example!

The buyer’s journey and customer engagement

To make life easier for you (that’s our favourite thing to do), here’s a visual of the buyer’s journey according to Oddball, and which actions are best to take at each stage.

It’s important to note that you can have prospects and customers at different points of the journey and some may move up and down it. So it’s critical to employ strategies at each stage and in different channels to ensure wherever they are, they’re engaged appropriately.

If you missed the Marketing Game Plan template in our previous blog, you can check it out here. It’s the perfect accompaniment to this infographic, as it will allow you to simultaneously take action and map out your multi-channel marketing strategy for each stage of the journey…and therefore supersize your customer engagement!

Now go forth and engage!

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