Valuable content at every stage of the buyer journey

To create remarkable content, we know two indispensable factors: the buyer persona and the buyer journey, also known as the customer journey. After reading this article, you are already halfway through the process of creating content that matches the needs and goals of the potential customer that will bring you more traffic, more leads and more customers.

An example. You've been feeling tired, jaded and lifeless for weeks. Your colleagues bring you the redeeming word: you are in need of a vacation. After surfing the Internet for some time, one ultimate vacation destination remains; a dream trip to South Africa. But when can you leave? Will the boss give you time off? You decide to put the idea aside for now. On your way to work an advertisement in a bus shelter flashes by: book a flight to Cape Town for only €699. At a party, your cousin's boyfriend turns out to have spent six months in South Africa. And in the evening on television the episode of 3 Op Reis is about, yes.... South Africa. Where did all of this suddenly come from? Or was it there all along? The second is probably the case. You just never noticed it before. This example shows the steps you mentally go through during a purchase process: the buyer journey.

The customer journey in pictures

The buyer journey is the active process a potential buyer goes through prior to the actual purchase. At each stage, this person faces different challenges. The model provides insight into the behavior and (information) needs of this customer and enables sales and marketing to offer specific content at the right time.

During the buying process (the buyer journey) a potential customer goes through three main phases: awareness, consideration and decision. Learn which content and keywords fit each stage.

Awareness phase

The prospect experiences a specific problem and faces certain challenges, but cannot yet name them. In this phase, he or she does research to clearly formulate and frame the problem or challenge. No buying decision is made yet, it is too early for that.

Keywords and relevant terms in this phase can be:
Problem, optimize, risk, improve, prevent.

Appropriate content in this phase:
E-books, beginner's manuals, guides, whitepapers.

Consideration phase.

The problem or challenge is clearly articulated. The prospect further researches possible approaches and methods to eliminate the problem/ transform the challenge into an opportunity for the company. A longlist or shortlist of possible solutions is made. The key is to get on this list with your company!

Keywords and relevant terms in this phase may include:
Solution, provider, tool, software, application, service.

Continuing with our South Africa trip, your keywords might look like this:
Holiday booking, Europe destinations, Sun vacations, Costa Brava, Snorkeling Egypt, Cape Town, South Africa holiday....

Appropriate content in this phase:
E-books, FAQ, advanced manuals, podcasts, videos, whitepapers.

Decision phase.

The prospect has chosen an approach or strategy and is now compiling a list of possible providers who can provide the solution to the problem. After comparing all the providers, one provider is finally chosen from the long list.

Keywords and relevant terms in this phase can be:
Compare, versus, comparison, advantages and disadvantages, benchmark, test, review.

... And for our trip to South Africa, keywords could be:
Djoser, Sunweb, Arke, KLM, Fly Emirates, holidaycomparison.nl...

Appropriate content in this phase:
Product comparator, provider comparator, case studies, downloading a free trial (of software), a physical free trial or demo, product literature.

When planning your buyer journey, keep in mind different people in the organization who may come into contact with the content. Who is that person you are talking to? Once both the buyer persona and the buyer journey are mapped, you have the key to remarkable content in hand!