Customer journey models to master your omnichannel strategy

The consumer decision journey empowers marketing leaders to plan, manage and optimize their marketing activities geared to achieving the ... BlackFriday50%SaleEndsSoon-Createyourwinningdigitalmarketingstrategytoday Resources Back FreeGuidesandTemplates Blog ResourceLibrary DigitalMarketingStrategyandPlanningToolkit ContentMarketingToolkit SocialMediaMarketingToolkit DigitalTransformationToolkit CampaignPlanningToolkit AllToolkits Tools Membership Back ForBusiness ForBusinessStartUp ForEnterprise ForAgency ForIndividuals MembershipPricing Industries Back Healthcare/Pharma Manufacturing Brands E-commerceandRetail FinancialServices IT/HighTech Allindustries Training Services Back Consulting LeadGeneration AboutUs Login BecomeaFreeMember Search DigitalMarketingToolkits DigitalMarketingStrategyandPlanning ContentMarketing DigitalExperienceManagement(Desktop/mobilewebsite) EmailMarketing PaidMedia GoogleAnalytics MarketingCampaignPlanning SearchEngineOptimisation(SEO) SocialMediaMarketing BusinessToolkits Agencygrowth Business-to-Business CharityandNot-for-profit E-commerce/Retail ManagingDigitalTeams ManagingDigitalBranding ManagingDigitalTransformation ManagingLifecycleMarketing ManagingInternationalMarketing StartupandSmallBusinesses ExploreourMarketingCampaignPlanningToolkit Customerjourneymodelstomasteryouromnichannelstrategy ByAnnmarieHanlon 22Jul,2021 Essential Marketingmodels ExploreourMarketingCampaignPlanningToolkit McKinsey'sconsumerdecisionjourneymodelhelpsyouidentifythemomentofpurchase,whiletheRACEFrameworkhelpsyoubuildastrategytogetthere.Usethesecustomerjourneymodelstowinmorecustomers Basedonempiricalresearch,in2009,McKinsey&Companysuggesteddramaticalternativecustomerjourneymodelstothetraditionalpurchasefunnel.Theirresearchwasfoundedoninterviewswith20,000businessesintheUSA,Germany,andJapan. Theyrecommendedaloopmodelinsteadoftheusualstraight-lineapproachfromawareness,purchase,andloyalty.Thiswasadramaticchangealthoughmanycompaniesarestill,manyyearslater,workingontheusuallinearapproachinanon-linearworld. Thisisoneofthemostwidelyreferenceddigitalmarketingmodelsmentionedbybrandsandagencies,soweuseittostartthissection.IthasspawnedmanyimitativecustomerjourneymodelsincludingGoogle’sZMOTandTheLoopfromthePedowitzGroup. [Editor'snote(DaveChaffey).IlikeTheLoopfromthePedowitzGroupsinceitisclearerandithasanicesymmetry.Ialsoliketheemphasisoncustomerretention/expansionandthatithighlightstheimportanceofonboardingwhichhasarguablyincreasedinimportancewiththemovetodigitaldirect-to-customermodels. TheRACEFramework WecreatedRACEasaplanningsystemsincewefoundthatmanypeopledidn’tknowwheretostartwhenstructuringaplantocoverthemanypaid,owned,andearnedinboundmarketingactivitiesavailabletoencouragepurchaseasshowninthebelowlifecyclevisual. RACEisapracticalframeworktohelpmanageandimproveresultsfromyourdigitalmarketing.Ultimately,it’saboutusingadata-drivenapproach,applyingwebanalyticsandrecommendedbestpracticestogetmorecommercialvaluefromyourinvestmentsindigitalmarketing. Noticehowwehavedefinedfourstepsofengagementacrossthecustomerlifecyclesinceinonlinemarketingthereisamajorchallengeingaininginitialinteractionandcreatingthoseall-importantleadsaftertheinitialcustomertouchpointwhichcanthenbenurtured.   HowcanIusethesecustomerjourneymodelstogether? Theconsumerdecisionjourneyempowersmarketingleaderstoplan,manageandoptimizetheirmarketingactivitiesgearedtoachievingthemomentofpurchase. Byreviewingeachstagewithinthepurchaseloop,marketerscandiscoverwheretheremaybegapsandlostsalesopportunities. Moreover,implementingtheRACEFrameworktotrackandimprovemarketingactivitiesatkeystagesinthecustomerjourneymodelenablesmarketerstoincreasetheirconversions. OurRACEFrameworkisapopularmarketingstructureframeworkforStartups,SMEs,andinternationalcorporations,sinceitcanscaleupordownaccordingtoyourshort-termandlong-termobjectives.Simplyput,RACEguidesmarketersthrougha5-stepprocessofplan,reach,act,convert,andengage,toacquireandretainmorecustomers.Bookyourfree1-2-1consultationcalltodaytodiscussthechallengesandopportunitiesinyourmarketingstrategyusingtheRACEFramework.Needawinningmarketingstrategy?Bookyourfree1-2-1consultationtodevelopyournewstrategywiththeRACEFrameworkBookconsultation HowtouseMcKinsey'sconsumerdecisionjourney Align–bepartoftheinitialconsideration Ensurethebusinessisalignedtothecustomers.Fishwheretherearefish!NopointusingFacebookifcustomersdon’tusethischannel.Oneofthechallengesisthatbusinesstobusiness(B2)oftenfeeltheneedtoestablishaFacebookchanneleveniftheircustomersdon’tuseit. Link–integrateallaspectsofthebrand Manycompaniesunderstandthenatureofbrandingbetterandtheneedforconsistencyintermsofpromotionandidentity.Theoneareawhereitcangowrong,isinstaffmessaging. Don’tyouhateitwhenyouhavepurchasedfromacompanyseveraltimeandthere’soneofferonFacebook,adifferentpromotionelsewhereandtheyforgottotellyou?Thiselementensuresconsistencywhichisakeythemethroughalldigitalmarketingascustomerswillsoonshareerrorsoromissions. Lock-Findwaystoretaincustomers’interest Retainingand“lockingcustomersin”toensureyourcompanyisfrontofmind,orthefirsttosearch,mayincludemovingoutsidesocialspacesandrunningcompetitionsorofferstocapturedatasuchasemailaddresses.Thistakestheconversationfromonetomanytoonetoone. Thelockconcepthasbeendevelopedbymanycompanieswhentheyprovideloyaltycards.Usingthedatacanshowwhencustomersbuy,theirspend(yourshareofthewallet)andfavouriteitemswhichcanleadtotimelyandrelevantoffers.Starbucksoftensendtheircustomerswhohaveregisteredatop-upcard(thesebecamemorepopularwhentheApplewatchwaslaunched)offersanditseemstheseoccurwhentherehasbeennovisitinatwo-weekperiod. Loop-Explorewaystobuildadvocacy ToalwaysbefrontofmindandensurecustomersthinkofyouwhentheyrequirethatproductorserviceisachallengeandthisistheelementthatMcKinseyrefertoastheloopelement.McKinseyquoteAmazonasthecompanythathasbestachievedthis.However,thisiswhycompaniesbuildapps,itmakestheentirepurchasingandre-purchasingprocesseasier.Amazonhasanapp,aone-clickpurchasepathandhasremovedeveryobstacleinthewayofthebuyer. HowtousetheRACEFramework Plan Planmeasuresshowtheoverallcontributionofdigitalmarketingtoabusiness.Thesearefinancial,marketandcustomermeasurestakingthemostimportantmetricsfromotherpartsofRACE. Onlinerevenueandprofitcontribution:Thepercentageofdirectsalesfromonlinechannelsorinfluencedbyonlinechannels Onlineaudienceandmarketshare:Whatonlineshareofvisitsorconversationscomparedtocompetitorsdoesabrandhave Customersatisfactionratings:Whataretheratingsofthebusinesscomparedtoothersandwhatinfluencedoesthedigitalexperiencehaveonthis,forexample,measuredthroughNetPromoterScore(NPS) Reach Reachinvolvesbuildingawarenessofabrand,itsproducts,andservicesonotherwebsitesandinofflinemediainordertobuildtrafficbydrivingvisitstodifferentwebpresenceslikeyourmainsite,microsites,orsocialmediapages Act ActisshortforInteract;it’saboutencouraginginteractions.Inpracticalterms,itinvolvestwomaintechniques:improvingyourcontentstrategyandthedigitalexperienceofyourwebsiteandmobiletosupportprospectsonthe‘path-to-purchase’. These‘Interactions’includefindingoutmoreaboutacompanyoritsproducts,searchingtofindaproductorreadingblogpostsorsocialmediainteractions. It’saboutpersuadingsitevisitorsorprospectstakethenextstep,thenextActionontheirjourneywhentheyinitiallyreachyoursiteorsocialnetworkpresence. Convert Convertisaboutcommunicationstechniquestoincreaseconversiontosale.Itinvolvesgettingyouraudiencetotakethatvitalnextstepwhichturnsthemintopayingcustomerswhetherthepaymentistakenthroughonlinee-commercetransactions,orofflinechannels.Oftenconversionwillincludebothonlineandofflinechannels. Thismeans,forbusinessessellingonline,themostimportantmeasuresareaboutvalueandcost: Sales:Salesvolume,conversionrateandcostpersale(orcostperacquisition,CPA).Mayincludeonlinesalesinfluencedoffline. RevenueorProfit:Thesefinancialmeasuresshouldbecomparedtootherchannels. Averageordervalue:Alsoknownasaveragesellingprice(ASP). Engage Engageinvolveslong-termcustomerengagement.It’saimedatbuildingalong-termrelationshipwithfirst-timebuyerstobuildcustomerloyaltyasrepeatpurchasesusingcommunicationsonyoursite,socialpresence,email,anddirectinteractionstoboostcustomerlifetimevalue. Emailmarketing,socialmediacommunications,andwebsitecontentforexistingcustomersarekeytechniquestosupportEngage.NotethatalloftheseareimportantthroughoutthestagesofRACE,butwefocusontheminEngageforconvenienceandsincetheyarearguablymosteffectiveascustomercommunicationstechniques. Ifyou'relookingtooptimizeyourmarketingstrategy,integrateyourdigitalactivities,orjustneedsomehelpprioritizingnextstepstogrowyourbusiness,Irecommendbookingafree1-2-1consultationcallwiththeteam.Ourconsultationcallsaredesignedtoputyouinthedriver'sseatandtalkthroughyouropportunitiesusingtheRACEFramework,soyoucanmakeaninformeddecisionaboutthebeststrategyforyourbusiness.Bookyourcalltofindoutmore. Needawinningmarketingstrategy?Bookyourfree1-2-1consultationtodevelopyournewstrategywiththeRACEFrameworkBookconsultation Choosingacustomerjourneymodeltosuityourobjectives McKinsey'sconsumerdecisionjourneyisagreatplacetostartforpinpointingwhattriggersthemomentofpurchaseforyourcustomers.However,themodelisfocusedonanend-to-endpurchaseinconsumermarketsandmaybelessapplicableinthebusiness-to-businessarenawherethereisamuchlargerorlongerpurchasingsequence. TheRACEFrameworkhasthebenefitthatitcanbescaledupanddown,andappliedtoanylengthofpurchasecycleacrossB2B,B2C,andD2C.Itisdesignedtointegratewithinyourexistingstrategy,orhelpyoucreateanewoneusingresearchandanalysismodelssuchasMcKinsey's. AnothersimilarmodelisGoogle’sZMOTmodel,ZeroMomentofTruth,whichisparticularlyrelevanttoretailpurchasesande-commerce. ByAnnmarieHanlon AnnmarieHanlonistheSmartInsightsexpertcommentatorononlineandofflinemarketingstrategiesforbusiness.AnnmarieistheMDofEvonomieandauthorofQuickWinMarketing,andco-authorofQuickWinDigitalMarketing.SherunssocialmediaworkshopsintheUKandIrelandandsharesmarketingtipsandnewsinherblog,B2BMarketing.YoucanfollowAnnmarieonTwitterorconnectonLinkedIn. Thisblogposthasbeentaggedwith: DigitalMarketingModels MarketingcampaignplanningToolkit Turbochargeyourresultswiththistoolkitcontaining7resources 10marketingcampaignplanningmistakes MarketingcampaignplantemplateEditorialcalendarspreadsheet ViewtheToolkit ExplorethisToolkit TheMarketingCampaignPlanningtoolkitcontains: 10marketingcampaignplanningmistakes MarketingcampaignplantemplateEditorialcalendarspreadsheet ViewtheToolkit FREEmarketingplanningtemplates StartyourDigitalMarketingPlantodaywithourFreemembership. 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