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What Is The Decision Stage Of The Buyer’s Journey?

The decision stage of the buyer’s journey is the last stage, the stage in which you close the sale. However, there’s still work to be done. Although the consumer has decided on a solution by this stage, they have yet to decide on a product or service or the vendor that they will purchase from.

During the decision stage, they will be doing research into the products and services that they are considering as a solution to their pain point. They will also research vendors that provide those products and services to determine if they are trustworthy. For example, if the consumer has decided to purchase a new computer, they may be looking to answer the following:

The pros and cons of different brand computers

The type of warranties offered by different computer vendors

The expected lifespan of different computer models

The different features of different computer models

Customer reviews of different computer vendors

Creating Content For The Decision Stage Of The Buyer’s Journey

You’ve done a massive amount of work to help nurture your leads through the first two stages of the buyer’s journey. You’ve done so by publishing a variety of different types of content addressing the awareness and consideration stages. At this point, you’re trying to get your leads over the finish line. This is why you need to have content that presents your brand as a trustworthy and reliable vendor and your product or service as the best option for their specific needs.

While this means that some of the content you’ll want to have available on various channels (from your website to social media to your emails) will need to be promotional, you can still provide more informative content as well. Types of content you’ll want to offer during this stage include downloadable white papers, case studies, use cases, which show off the benefits of your products or services. You’ll also want detailed product or service videos that include video demonstrations if possible.

Also, you will want to showcase exactly why they should choose to purchase from your business. This should be done by publishing customer reviews on your website and by encouraging reviews on social. You should consider creating customer testimonials as well–video testimonials tend to be extremely effective during this stage.

Creating Reasons to Choose Your Company

Last, but not least, give consumers a reason to choose your product or service over another brand. You can do so by offering a free trial of your product or service or a free consultation. This way they will get in touch with you. Services like Netflix and Amazon offer free 30-day trials. People jump on the chance to take advantage of such services for free and often end up purchasing the service in full at the end of their trial as a result.

The decision stage of the buyer’s journey is the third and last stage. You’ll want to encourage consumers to choose your company’s product or service by not only promoting your products and services, but also by informing the consumer about your products and services as well as about your company. The goal is to convince them that they can trust your brand. It’s also to show them that your product or service will meet their specific needs more so than any other option out there.

Download Our White Paper Guide To Learn How To Perfect Buyer Personas For Your Business

When it comes to addressing the buyer’s journey, making sure that you have content available that addresses the awareness stage of the buyer’s journey is vital if you expect to draw in potential customers. If you try to skip this stage, you will end up losing a substantial number of potential leads. These leads are still looking for basic information and aren’t ready to make a purchase yet.

What Is The Awareness Stage Of The Buyer’s Journey?

Before you can start presenting one of your products or services as a solution, the consumer needs to know what their problem is. Otherwise, they’ll have no need for your solution. During the awareness stage, consumers know they have a problem but they don’t necessarily understand. They will likely be doing very general searches on Google and other search engines. They are attempt ing to learn more about the problem that they are dealing with.

For example, a consumer might notice that their current computer isn’t running properly or is having obvious problems. They are likely going to begin doing some basic research. For example, maybe their computer keeps freezing up. They may look up things like:

Why is my computer freezing?
Does my computer need repairs?
How to fix my computer?
Do I need to replace my computer?

[Read about how to use the buyer’s journey to create great content]

They’ll explore content online that addresses such questions. This is so they can figure out exactly what their problem is by reading about examples of their problem. This can also help identify the cause of their problem. Only once they have gotten through the awareness stage and have managed to become more informed about their problem will they begin seeking out potential solutions.

Creating Content For The Awareness Stage Of The Buyer’s Journey

You will want to make sure you create a range of content that addresses the awareness stage of the buyer’s journey. This content should be optimized for SEO using keywords that your audience will use in their searches during the awareness stage. Keep in mind that during this stage of the buyer’s journey, you’re not attempting to sell anything. Rather, you are merely trying to attract potential customers. You can do so by providing content that is helpful, informative, and relevant to their needs. By providing content that helps your audience to identify what their problem is, you’ll be in a better position to recommend a solution.

Short-form blog content that’s highly focused on identifying the problem will be particularly helpful since it will be easy for consumers to scan. For example, if you were to create content addressing a consumer’s issue with a freezing computer, you might publish blog articles such as:

5 Reasons Your Computer is Freezing
How to Prevent Your Computer From Freezing
5 Signs Your Computer Needs Repairs
5 Signs You Need to Replace Your Computer

Video content works well too, especially for mobile users. In the case of this example, it would be particularly beneficial for mobile users since their computers are on the fritz. In addition to short-form content, you’ll want to offer long-form content. This includes eBooks and white papers, which goes into greater detail that consumers can download in return for joining your email list. If your content is good enough, they’ll be more trusting of your brand and will continue doing research on your site.

The awareness stage of the buyer’s journey is where you attract new leads to your brand and provide helpful content. This content can help inform them about their pain points. It’s only once you’ve addressed the awareness stage that you can begin to present potential solutions to your audience, which is where the consideration stage comes in.

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A Guide to the Decision Stage of the Buyer’s Journey