What is the Customer or Consumer Journey? 3 Phases to Know

Consumer journeys, on the other hand, are focused solely on how a user engages with your website. It is a walk in the user's shoes, so to speak— ... Whatisthecustomerorconsumerjourney?3phasestoknow34sharesShareonTwitterShareonFacebookShareonLinkedinUnderstandingthepathcalledtheconsumerjourneyorcustomerjourneyinvolvesunderstandingtheshoppinghabitsofyouronlinetargetaudiencesegments,determininghowtheyfindyourwebsite,understandingthebehaviorpatternsastheyshop,andanalyzingthecheckoutandpaymentprocess.Onlinemerchantsknowthatthesecrettosalessuccessistohelpthecustomerfindexactlywhattheyarelookingfor,andthentoguidethecustomerthroughthepurchaseprocess—stepbystep—inawaythatminimizeseffortandconfusionandmaximizesrevenue.Whatareconsumerjourneysorcustomerjourneys?Whatareconsumerjourneys?Greatquestion!Thinkofthemassimplifiede-commercepersonas.Astandardsetofmarketingpersonaswillcoveravastrangeofdemographicandusertypes,focusingonthingslikewheretheylive,theirincome,andmore.Consumerjourneys,ontheotherhand,arefocusedsolelyonhowauserengageswithyourwebsite.Itisawalkintheuser’sshoes,sotospeak—fromtheironlinesearchforyourproducttype,brandorcategory,allthewaythroughyourlandingpages,shoppingcarts,checkoutprocessandpaymentpartners.Bybreakingdowneachonlineinteractionintoasinglesteponalongerjourney,youcanuncoverfrictionpointsintheconversionprocessaswellasidentifyareasofopportunitytoimprovetheuserexperience.Onlythroughresearchofyourconsumerjourneycanyoudesignandbuildane-commercewebsiteoptimizedforend-to-endconversion.Andthisresearchshouldtakeplaceatthestartofyourwebsitedesignprocess.Aspartofawell-defineddesignprocess,youshouldgatherdetailsaboutyourmarketingpersonastoalignyoure-commercestrategywiththeneedsofyourusers.ThethreephasesoftheconsumerjourneyTheendtoendjourneyyourconsumerstravelfallintothreedistinctphases:Enter/Discover:Ironically,thefirststepintheconsumerjourneythroughyourwebsitestartsoutsideyourwebsite.Beforetheyevenarriveonyoursite,theconsumerisvisitingGoogle(orothersearchengines)andspecificallysearchingforyourproductorcategory.Thatmeansthatthefirststepinyourconsumerjourneytypicallytakesplaceinthesearchengines.Ifyou’veoptimizedyoursearch(orpurchasedadsforthespecifiedsearchterms),brandloyalistslookingforyourcompany,products,oreventhebroadcategorywillfindoneormoreofyourpageswithintheGoogleSearchlisting.Ifyouhaveseverallinksonthefirstpageofresults,keepinmindthatyourconsumerjourneywilldifferdependingonwhichlinkisclicked.Shop/Consider: Afterfindingwhatthey’relookingforinthesearchengines(andhopefullyclicking!)consumerswillarriveatalandingpageassociatedwiththatlink.Don’tconfusethesepageswiththeveryspecifictypelandingpagesassociatedwithB2Bmarketingoffers.Foronlineretailmerchantsyourlandingpagemaybeaproductcategorypageorthepageforaspecificproductonyourwebsite.Thereforeit’simportanttorealizethatnoteveryconsumerjourneystartsonthehomepage.Asyougathermoretrafficfromoutsideyoursiteyoumayfindthatthefirsttimeaconsumerengagesyourbrandmaybedeeperwithinyoursitethanyouthink.Theconsumeratthispointislookingforeducationalcontentthatbuildsconfidence.Themerchantneedstoensurethateverypotentiallandingpageprovidesopportunityforfurtherengagement.Thisisagoodsteponthejourneytoincorporate“plus1”recommendationsorprovideingredientlistings.Cart/Checkout:ThefinalphaseoftheConsumer’sJourneyistheshoppingcartandpaymentorcheckoutprocess.Understandinghowconsumerstoyoursitebehaveinthefaceofacreditcardformorotherpaymentoptionmaymeanthedifferencebetweenacompletedsaleoranabandonedcart. Yourcustomerjourneymayrequireadditionalassurancesagainststolenidentity,priceincreaseprotections,oranexplanationofyourreturnpolicies,Thisisalsoagreatstageofthejourneytointroducepromotionsandupsells.Theconsumerjourneyisalong,winding,unendingroadBypeeringintoanalyticsandtrafficdata,understandingexistingvisitordemographics,conductinguserresearch,andtesting,andengaginginreal-worldevaluationofyourcurrentwebsite,youcanpaintapictureofrealworlduseractivityalongyourconsumerjourneys.AsyoudetailthepathofauserthatcomesfromanorganicGooglesearchandlandsonacategorypageinyoursite,considertheiroptionsonthispage.Seeifthosechoicesalignwithyouroverallstrategy.Ifyouarebrandoreducationfocused,providetheuserwithengagingcontent,videos,usergeneratedcontent,andmore.Ifyouarefocusedondrivingsales,engagetheuserwithproductlineups,shoppablecontent,“plus-one”offersandsimilarcontent.Detailingthisjourneyfromtheentrypointtotheendisasimplewaytorefinetheexperience.Understandingyourconsumerjourneyisanimportantelementofasuccessfuloveralle-commercestrategy.Inordertoincreaserevenue,conversionrates,andaverageordervalue,supportyourmarketingpersonasbyprovidingasimplifiedlensfromwhichtoidentifyopportunityforimprovement.Standoutfromthecrowdbyunderstandingyourcustomers,keepingyourpromises,andprotectingconsumerdata.LearnhowHERE.Sharethis:ShareonTwitterShareonFacebookShareonLinkedIn34sharesMattGlazeFollowMattGlazeonLinkedinSubscribetoournewsletterforthemostup-to-datee-commerceinsights.FeaturedSectionsPrevSAPCXLIVETheFutureofE-CommerceTheRiseofHXMCustomerData&PrivacyCOVID-19ElFuturodelaExperienciadelCliente(LATAM)OFuturodaExperiênciadoCliente(Brasil)FutureofGroceryRetailFutureofSupplyChainSustainabilityinBusinessNextCloseVideoOverlayShareonTwitterShareonFacebookShareonLinkedinReadArticleCloseDialog×Subscribetoournewsletterforthemostup-to-datee-commerceinsights.CommercetrendsandinsightspresentedbySAPCustomerExperienceCloseDialog×Success!Thanksforcontactingus!Wewillgetintouchwithyoushortly.Okay