Consumer Decision Journey: What It Is and How To Use It

The consumer decision journey is a circular process that focuses on adding customer loyalty and building advocacy. It maps the steps a consumer ... 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CareerDevelopmentConsumerDecisionJourney:WhatItIsandHowToUseItApril29,2021ShareFacebookEmailLinkedInTwitterConsumersfollowaseriesofstepswhendecidingwhethertopurchaseanitemfromaparticularcompany.Thesestagesaretheconsumerdecisionjourney,whichtellscompanieshowcustomersmakeapurchasingchoice.Knowingthevariousstagesinthedecisionprocesscanhelpyouincreaseyoursales.Inthisarticle,weexplaintheconsumerdecisionjourneyandhowtouseittoreachpotentialcustomers.Whatistheconsumerdecisionjourney?Theconsumerdecisionjourney,ortheMcKinseyModel,isamodeldevelopedbymanagementconsultingcompanyMcKinsey&Companythatreflectsthecustomerbuyingprocess.Thisframeworkevaluateshowconsumersmakepurchasingdecisionsandwaysmarketerscaninfluencethesedecisions.Marketerscanusethismodeltoevaluatetheirkeytouchpoints,orinteractionswithcustomers.McKinsey&Companyreplacedthetraditionalpurchasefunnelmodelin2009duetotheshiftinconsumerpurchasingbehaviorwithdigitalresearchingofcompanies.Theconsumerdecisionjourneyisacircularprocessthatfocusesonaddingcustomerloyaltyandbuildingadvocacy.Itmapsthestepsaconsumerfollows,beginningwithanawarenessofaproducttobecomingaloyalcustomer.Related:WhatIstheBuyer'sJourney?Howdoconsumersmakepurchasingdecisions?Consumersmakepurchasingdecisionsbasedonavarietyoffactors.Mostconsumerdecisionjourneysstartonline,whereconsumerslookatwebsitereviewsandsocialmediarecommendations.Thoselookingtopurchaseanitemalsoconsiderabrand'svaluesandwhetherthesevaluesalignswiththeirown.Whenbuyinganitemorservice,consumersfollowaseriesofstepstohelpthemchoosewhichcompanybestfitstheirneeds.Thestepsofaconsumerdecisionjourneyinclude:1.Trigger:Astimulusortriggerbeginstheconsumerdecisionjourneywhenanindividualnoticestheyhaveaproblemandneedacompany'sproductorservicetoresolveit.2.Initialconsiderationset:Whenconsideringapurchase,anindividualreflectsontheirinitialconsiderationset,orbrandstheyimmediatelythinkofduetobrandawareness.3.Evaluation:Consumersgatherinformationfromresearchingmultiplesourcesandreadingreviewstodecidewhichbrandhaswhattheywantorneed.4.Buying:Oncetheconsumerfilterstheiroptionsfromtheinformationtheygatheredintheevaluationstage,theychooseabrandandstartthepurchase.5.Ongoingexposure:Afterpurchasingtheproductorservice,theindividualcreatesexpectationsfromtheirpost-purchaseexperiencetohelpthemmaketheirnextpurchasedecision.6.Loyaltyloop:Dependingonacustomer'ssatisfactionwiththeproductandcompanydetermineswhethertheybecomeloyalcustomersandbrandadvocates.Related:TheConsumerDecision-MakingProcess:DefinitionandExamplesHowtousetheconsumerdecisionjourneyHerearesomestepstotakewhenusingtheconsumerdecisionjourney:1.GettoknowyourconsumersThefirststepinusingtheconsumerdecisionjourneyinamarketingstrategyistoidentifyacompany'sconsumersandtheirmotivators.Youcanalsolookatyourcustomers'pastexperienceswithyourcompanyandtheirrecentbehaviorstolearnhowyoucanmarkettothem.Learningaboutyourcustomerscanhelpyousupportthemintheconsumerdecisionjourneyandunderstandwhattheyneed.Forexample,onewaytodothisistoholdafocusgrouptodevelopabuyerpersona.2.CreatebrandawarenessAftergettingtoknowyourcustomers,focusonincreasingcustomers'knowledgeofthecompany.Buildingstrongbrandawarenesscanhelpyourcompanyappearmoreoftenduringtheinitialconsiderationstep.Thisisespeciallyimportanttomatchthemarketingtrendsofthemodernerathatgobeyondone-wayconversationsandinsteadfocusonbuildingarelationshipwithconsumers.Youcandevelopabrandawarenessbysponsoringeventsorpostingcontentonsocialmedia.Related:BrandAwareness:Definitionand6WaysToImprove3.TailormessagingNext,evaluatewhatareaoftheprocessthecompanyhasthegreatestroomforimprovementin,suchastheinitialconsideration,andcreateamessagethataddressesthosevulnerabilities.Forexample,acarcompanylaunchesamarketingcampaignthatprovidesfinancialprotectionforconsumersbyallowingthemtoreturntheircariftheylosetheirjob.Thiscampaignhelpsreachnewconsumerswhowereinitiallyhesitantaboutmakinganexpensivepurchase.Companiescanalsopersonalizemessagesthatidentifywhatstageofthejourneytheconsumerisin.Payingattentiontowhereacustomerisintheirjourneycanhelpcompaniessendrelevantmessagestothemattherighttime.Thispersonalizationisimportanttocreateeffectivecommunicationwithconsumersandofferthemacustomizedexperience.4.OfferdiscountsToencourageconsumersatthemomentofpurchase,offerspecialdealsandpromotionsthatareavailableforalimitedtime.Thiscanhelpsecuretheirdecisioninpurchasingfromacompanyandavoidcustomersabandoningtheirshoppingcarts.Personalizethediscounttomatchtheitemtheyarepurchasing.Todothis,youcansendthemadiscountforthespecificitemtheywerethinkingofbuyingbutleftintheironlineshoppingcart.5.KeepyourmessagescurrentContinuallyprovidereliableandtimelyinformationforyourconsumersonyourwebpages,socialmediaprofilesandotherrelatedchannels.Makesureyourinformationiseasytofindtoencouragebuyerstokeepcomingback.Createcontentthatyourconsumersarelikelytosharewithothers.6.InvestintherightchannelsWhenchoosingwhatmarketingchannelstouse,pickthechannelsyourcustomersalreadyuse.Forinstance,ifyourcustomersusesocialmedia,postupdatesthere.Becomeapartofwheretheirconversationsarehappeningtotakepartintheirconsumerdecisionjourney.Related:5StrategiesforSendingAbandonedCartEmailsand13EmailExamplesWhenshouldyouusetheconsumerdecisionjourney?Typically,acompanyusestheconsumerdecisionjourneywhennavigatinghowitcanempowerconsumersandencouragepurchases.Thismodelhelpscompaniesunderstandhowitsmarketingpracticescanadapttotheirconsumers'expectations.Theconsumerdecisionjourneyalsohelpscompaniesidentifyandimprovetheirtouchpoints.Becausetheconsumerdecisionjourneybeginsevenbeforethebuyerisaware,itisimportanttobuildyourbrandpresenceinthecommunityandacrossvariouschannels.ReadMore8KeyThingsToIncludeinYourLetterofApplicationWhatIsSaaSMarketing?DefinitionandTipsWhatIsaSalesPipeline?(PlusTemplateandExample)RelatedViewMore arrowrightTopJobCastsof2021Tocloseout2021,we'vecuratedalistofthemostpopularandhelpfulJobCastwebinarsthisyear.FAQ:DoINeedaMaster'sDegreeinComputerScience?Exploreanswerstofrequentlyaskedquestionsaboutearningamaster'sdegreeincomputerscience,includingwhetheryouneedoneandpotentialcareerpaths.