Often, marketers talk about a so-called ‘(website) customer journey’. But what does this exactly mean? Meanwhile, this umbrella term has so many definitions that it no longer has a clear meaning. Time for a clear definition!
In this blog, we will discuss what the (website) customer journey is and how you can use it to generate more revenue for your website.
What is the customer journey?
The customer journey is the path that a customer takes from the moment of an initial encounter with your company, to purchasing a product and hopefully becoming a returning customer. Throughout the customer journey, a potential customer is considering the best options that suit his or her needs and where to get those options.
The general idea behind a customer journey is that the first contact rarely leads directly to a sale. A conversion often requires several phases or contact moments. These phases together form the customer journey and can be roughly divided into the following four:
Awareness
In the awareness phase, potential customers discover that they have a certain need. Therefore, they go out and do research to find different options and solutions for their need.
Consideration
In this phase, potential customers have a better idea of what they exactly want and delineate their needs. Accordingly, they compare the best solutions that best fit their needs.
Purchase
The potential customer is transformed into a customer by proceeding to purchase a product or service. In this phase, it is important that the customer experiences as few barriers as possible.
After-purchase
This phase is about building a relationship. Through pleasant experiences, providing good customer service and staying in touch with the customer. With high satisfaction, there is a chance that the customer recommends the product or service to someone else.
Customer journey vs. Website customer journey
The only difference between a regular customer journey and a website customer journey is that the latter takes place mainly on the website itself. The four stages would look like this:
Awareness
I want to be in more control over my WooCommerce store by adding more functionalities and am curious what it takes to do so. After reading the blog, I think I should buy a plugin that suits my needs.
Consideration
Now I just have to find the best option. After looking at several options, I think the WooCommerce plugin of WPupgrader is the most suitable. The page won me over.
Purchase
I have purchased the plugin and the installation went smoothly! Also, the guide about how to utlize the plugin was very helpful.
After-purchase
What a nice plugin this is! The customer service was also very good: when I had a question about the functionalities, I immediately received a clear en extensive response. I would definitely recommend this plugin to others.
How to create an engaging website customer journey
From the first moment of contact with your website, a potential customer has to be stimulated to see you as an option. After that, trust needs to be gained by convincing the potential customer that you are the right match! What can help with this is mapping out the customer journey by means of dedicated (landing) pages.
Landing pages for awareness
- Blogs are very suitable for introducing your target group to your services or products. In blogs, address their problem and tell them how they can solve it. Try to incorporate the keyword(s) in the blogs that your target audience searches for in Google.
- Your homepage should contain the most important information about your products or services offered. This is the entry point and through this path potential customers should be enticed to explore the rest of your website.
- You can use a portfolio to show what you have to offer as an organization and the variety of projects you have done. Hopefully, the potential clients will find projects that are similar to their niche.
Pages for consideration
- Specific product or service pages are pages that tie in nicely with the blog(s) you created in the awareness phase. These pages should further crystallize the potential customer’s problem and provide a solution to it. Additional tips: make the page scannable, structured and visually appealing.
- Do you offer an exclusive product? Then you can warm up a potential customer by offering a free sample.
- A convincing and clear pricing page can help the potential customer decide whether the money is worth the investment and whether it fits within their budget. You can add testimonials and reviews here to increase the chances of winning over the potential customer.
- In the service industry, but also increasingly for web shops, emotion plays a major role in purchases. So on your About Us page, tell them who you are, how you distinguish yourself from others and what your business contributes to the world.
Pages for purchase
- On checkout or contact pages, make sure that the product or service is easy to purchase. Also include quality and safety labels or references in order to increase trust.
- Do not ask for unnecessary information and make the payment process as quick as possible.
- Answer any questions the customer may still have about the terms and conditions or (shipping) costs of a product or service by using an FAQ table.
Pages for after-purchase
- Make it easy for your customers to contact you through a ticket system or chatbot. Customer service is one of the most essential parts of a positive customer journey today.
- Ask customers to sign up for your newsletter and keep them informed about interesting news and information about new products or services.