How to Leverage the Customer Buying Cycle

The customer buying cycle defines the journey that a consumer takes from the time they become aware of their need for a product or service all the way through their enjoyment of the purchase. Tailoring your ad buys around each step of the process is a strategic approach to delivering highly targeted messaging to buyers at the point when they are most receptive.

Steps in the consumer buying cycle

There are five steps in the consumer buying cycle: unaware, aware, consider, buy, and enjoy. Let’s visit each one to unveil the opportunities to target consumers and nudge them along their journey.

Unaware

When a consumer is unaware that they have a need you can solve, you may wonder why you should even invest in that stage of the game. In 1970, a consumer was exposed to approximately 500 advertisements per day. By 2017, consumers were being barraged with over 5,000 ads per day. Buying ads to bring awareness to your brand is necessary to stand out from the crowd. Think of it as the difference between shouting into a crowd and using a megaphone.

Your targeting strategy during the unawareness phase will be the broadest of any other step. And since the consumer will need multiple interactions to move to the next step in the cycle, this conversion cycle will be the longest. From a budget standpoint, the good news is that once your audience’s awareness increases, your investment needs decrease.

Aware/consider

During the stage where the buyer is aware of how your brand can solve their needs and may even be considering a purchase, you may notice a shift where suddenly the consumer is seeking you out instead of the other way around.

Your investment strategy during the awareness/consideration stage shifts from the most broadly targeted methods to narrowing in on the platforms where the buyer wants to be found. This is where email and social media marketing can be effective tools not only to help the consumer along the journey, but to measure engagement. At this stage in the game, you will receive countless metrics that indicate the consumer’s intent to purchase such as likes, shares, comments, views, and visits to your website.

Buy

Opportunities during the buy cycle may be your lowest-hanging fruit—and the most critical. If your calls to action aren’t clear, or there are too many steps required to make a purchase, you may lose a purchase.

This is the time to get competitive with shipping and discount offers so you can close the deal. But be cautious that the investment doesn’t eat into your profitability. Know your limits and invest appropriately.

The data you receive during the buy cycle is rich information and can be used to keep filling the funnel with purchases from returning and other like-minded consumers.

Enjoy

Don’t think of this as the last step in the journey, but as the shortest route back to another purchase. This is where you convert your consumers into brand ambassadors.

The most cost-effective advertising you will do is to your returning customers. When you consider that the cost to acquire a returning customer is about half that of a new customer, you will see the value in maximizing your relationship at this final step of the journey.

Now that you know their language, keep in contact, speak directly to them. Target them when, where, and how they like to receive their information.

Analyze ROI

Analyzing your ad strategies will give you insights into where future investments should be made. And there are several methods you can choose to measure the effectiveness of your efforts. Google Analytics’ attribution models assign credit for sales and conversions based on the various touchpoints along the way. The Model Comparison Tool allows you to compare attribution models and the impact of your marketing channels.

Attribution models

By studying the various attribution models, you can see how all your marketing channels work together to generate sales.

Last interaction

The default model in Google Analytics, last interaction assigns all credit to the last click that led to the conversion. If the consumer clicked on your Facebook ad and later that day went directly to your website to make the purchase, the direct channel gets the credit.

First interaction

On the flipside to last interaction, first interaction gives credit to the first click. In the above example, the Facebook ad gets the credit.

Linear attribution

This model assumes a balanced approach and assigns equal credit to every channel that led to the conversion.

Time decay

While time decay also spreads attribution among the channels, it takes time into consideration and gives more value to the last interaction than the first.

Position based

Position based gives more credit to the first and last interactions with less credit going to the steps in between.

Understanding the specific needs of your consumer during every step of the buying cycle is key in developing a well-rounded marketing strategy. At Julien Consulting, we want to help you to understand how to properly invest your resources to fully leverage every opportunity. Contact us for a free consultation.