If you are working in the business or marketing industry, you’ve probably heard of customer journeys, but are you familiar with what the term means and how it can help your organization?
Understanding your customer journey can revolutionize your email marketing strategy by sending your clients the correct message at the right time. Compared to an in-store sale, online purchases can be tricky as it is harder to determine how consumers interact with your brand. Marketing is about communication, and communication is imperative at the point of sale.
What Is A Customer Journey In Marketing?
Think of a customer journey as a detailed map that helps you visualize the communication between you and your audience. It allows you to see how your customer interacts with your company and the steps they take towards achieving their goal, whether it be buying or educating themselves about your product, service, or more.
At times, the customer journey can be meandering as not all of your consumers follow the same path from one step to another. They may encounter obstacles that delay or prevent them from doing an action – like making a purchase. Companies may send marketing content that encourages them toward a purchase, subscription, customer loyalty or any other end goal for your business.
When creating an email marketing strategy, it’s essential to understand the different types of customer journeys.
What Kinds Of Customer Journeys Should I Create?
Creating a customer journey map doesn’t have to be complicated. According to MailChimp, an email marketing automation platform, here are five steps you can take to implement the customer journey into your email marketing strategy:
- Acquisition. Since customers typically sign up for your email marketing after coming to know about your business, it’s crucial to make a great first impression with a welcome series. It is the perfect moment to share your business offers, provide discount codes, and even gather more information about them, such as their preferences.
- Consideration. Did you know that about 69 per cent of e-commerce shoppers abandon their carts before checking out? Sending them a timely reminder through abandoned cart emails can nudge customers back to your store to finish their shopping.
- Purchase. Marketing doesn’t necessarily end when a customer finishes a purchase. Use this moment to make a connection and follow up with them on their thoughts about their order and the shipping process. You can also include product recommendations in personalized emails.
- Retention. You can build loyalty in many ways, like offering discounts, acknowledging important dates like their birthdays or asking customers for their feedback. These engaged customers are valuable, so treat them accordingly. Consider offering them exclusive content, such as the latest offers or sneak previews.
- Re-engagement. There are many opportunities to strengthen your relationship with your audience – even with those who haven’t interacted with your business lately or at all. Highlighting the anniversary of their subscription can help bring them back. Re-engaging a customer by sending them special offers could work as well.
Do Customer Journeys Matter?
A 2019 study called “Customer Journey Mapping: Lead the Way to Advocacy,” by the Aberdeen Group found companies that create customer journeys get a 54 per cent greater return on their marketing investments compared to those that don’t.
There’s no reason not to implement customer journeys in your email marketing campaigns. There are many online marketing services available you can use to build your organization’s customer journeys, like MailChimp and GetResponse.
If you need help developing your customer journeys or you’re having trouble with your marketing strategy in general, contact us and we’ll help you create your company’s marketing campaign.
