Customer Journey Mapping For a Small Business - July Roundup
Let's kick off the month of July focused on customer journey mapping for your small business.
You know what I say, “every business must address the evolving relationship they have with a prospect and customer from awareness to referral.”
Your prospect and customer questions and objectives change at every stage of their consideration journey.
Because of this, you must map the different interactions, content, and engagement for each stage of the journey.
Most small business marketers view the customer journey from a very traditional and outdated point-of-view with stages such as Awareness, Consideration and Purchase, but for years I’ve promoted and consulted on executing a more holistic and effective approach in this “customer centered era” we live in today: Awareness, Education, Sample, Purchase and Refer.
The customer journey is the sum of all experiences a customer has when interacting with your business.
From their first Google search to their most recent purchase, every touchpoint adds up to a total customer journey.
In the end, the sum of all the customer journey's parts is what your audience experiences when interacting with your brand.
From the ads they see to the product they buy to the customer service they receive, these elements of the journey all shape a customer's perception of your brand.
These posts aim to help you, your team, and your marketing service providers better understand how to develop the customer journey that serves a strategic and business objective in route to your ideal client.
Want us to develop your customer journey map for you?
The Ultimate Guide to Small Business Customer Journey Mapping
Your customer journey map must be designed to educate
Your customer journey map must be designed to educate, build trust, demonstrate how your approach is different and build value for your proposition. In this quest, it’s important to demand that your prospects get this EDUCATION.
The Shift From Interruption Marketing to Attraction Marketing Within The Customer Journey
There’s been a shift away from marketing that interrupts and toward marketing that attracts in the customer journey. Some refer to this as ‘inbound vs. outbound’ marketing or ‘prospect-initiated’ vs. ‘seller-initiated’ marketing.⠀
57% of a typical purchase decision 🖍️ is made before a customer even talks to a supplier
So, what does this spell for the typical small B2B owner? You better find a way to make your ⭐marketing⭐ as useful as your solutions. That’s right, sales and marketing is no longer about being found and providing educational information – those are still important, but today you better have prospects looking to you as an adviser, teacher, time saver, problem solver, and guide on life’s journey or what’s the point.⠀
The Customer Journey Question That Must Be Answered: How Do Ideal Prospects Find a Business Like Ours?
The search and journey to answer this one question can reveal so much direction for your marketing efforts. When you take the time to really address how your best clients go on the search and discovery process for a service like yours, you begin to uncover the places you need to invest your resources of time, energy, money, and attention span.
How People Buy Has Changed The Customer Journey
I started my small business marketing consulting firm in 2012 and not much has changed about marketing since then: getting someone who has a need or problem to first become aware of you and secondly trust you enough to sample your service, buy your core offering, and refer colleagues, friends and family haven't changed.⠀
Understanding the most fundamental shift of all in marketing
The most fundamental shift of all in marketing is the need to logically and systematically move prospects along the path of — Awareness, Education, Sample, Purchase and Refer — this is the entire game these days. Now, what tools and tactics you bring to this game will certainly differ, but the end game is still the same. ⠀
Where Do FREE Consultations, Estimates, Quotes, Webinars, Presentations, and Small Engagements Fit In Your Business?
It’s not enough to simply make a promise these days. You must find ways to offer substantial proof that you can deliver a result. Case studies and customer testimonials are a great place to start, but nothing beats a real-life experience. It’s why you’ll often hear me say, “the best way to effectively sell a service is to start by giving it away.”⠀
How to Guarantee Great Customer Service
We've all had bad customer service. Where it's very obvious that the goal of this customer service person or department is to stall, deny, begrudge, and finally, to the few who persist, offer some cost-saving or "make it right" proposition even though it cost you more time or energy. ⠀
3 Questions to Ask During Client Interviews Around The Customer Journey
The more you know your best customers the faster your business will grow. That's why as a small business marketing consultant, I always recommend interviewing your client as a starting point to effective marketing. But many small businesses struggle with this, not knowing what questions within the customer journey will lead them to the fountain of gold.⠀
What Triggers Clients To Contact You?
So let’s think about triggers. What pain motivates someone to contact a couples therapist?⠀
A troubled relationship. A crisis point. A need to change. What about a Plumbing, Heating, and Air company? What pain motivates someone (a slightly stressed homeowner) to contact a service store like Front Range Plumbing, Heating, and Air?
Nothing Is More Frustrating Than This Part of The Customer Journey
Nothing is more frustrating than spending time ⏲️ and energy 🔋 prepping for an unpaid consultation 🆓 for a prospect who isn’t invested in solving their problems 🤕.
How to Stay Relevant To Your Customers
Be market driven not market(ing) driven. This is how you stay relevant to your customer. Let's face it. The "best known" beats the "best service". Being discovered and found is way better than being the "best" kept secret.
Consistency Throughout The Customer Journey Builds Trust
The key to solving this dilemma is consistent and repeated contact. If you build a marketing process that guarantees your prospects (particularly your A prospects) are contacted at least 8-10 times a year you can significantly increase the odds that your name will be at the top of the list when they do actually decide to purchase.
Education for a small business is the GREAT equalizer
Education for a small business is the GREAT equalizer. I always advise business owners to find ways to educate 🗞 because I think it’s the easiest and most effective way to create better ideal customers. In any business it’s just as important to figure out how to train, educate and work with every client in a way that makes them ideal
The Way People Buy Throughout The Customer Journey Is Mostly Out Of Your Hands
Today most prospective customers are going to perform some amount of research online and in a lot of cases that means they've made a business decision about what and who to purchase from before they ever picked up the phone or sent an email or talked to a supplier.
Customer Journey Examples
Awareness to Education Example
Customer Journey Explanation Example
Contact Your Marketing Consultant at Indispensable Marketing
If you’re a small service based business that needs help with strategic customer journey mapping for your business or your business’s online presence on Google and other search engines, at Indispensable Marketing we can help. We offer marketing strategy consulting, marketing audits, monthly marketing packages, consultations, exploratory calls or monthly local SEO services. Contact us for more information.
Indispensable Marketing takes a process approach to developing and installing your small business marketing.