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Whenever you communicate with
your audience, it’s important to
keep their buyer journey and the
customer lifecycle—from awareness
to advocacy—in mind. Understanding
where each individual is in their
unique buyer’s journey allows you
to have relevant conversations
with them.
Your buyers have a goal—to fill
a need or solve a problem they
have. To help, you need a clear
understanding of the different stages
of the customer lifecycle, where
each buyer is in their unique journey,
a call-to-action in your marketing
(to facilitate the buyer’s movement
toward the next conversion—whether
that’s sharing content, making a
purchase, or recommending you
to a friend), and a way to tie each
of your marketing activities to
business outcomes.
At Marketo, we break down the
customer lifecycle into six main
stages: Awareness, Engagement,
Purchase, Retention/Loyalty, Growth,
and Advocacy. Each buyer’s unique
journey is fluid and can traverse
between these stages, both forward
and backward. Let’s examine how
these stages shape your social media
marketing goals:
AWARENESS
Buyers in this phase are at the
beginning of the customer lifecycle.
This is where good branding, a high
ranking on search engines, and a
strong social media presence are
useful. Your goal in this phase is to
drive brand awareness and capture
audience interest, reaching them
on the right channels with relevant,
personalized messages.
For your social media marketing, this
means offering plenty of early-stage
messages and having a thorough
understanding of the social media
platforms where your buyers engage
on, so you can always reach them
where they are.
ENGAGEMENT
Buyers in this phase have displayed
interest in your company and are a
potential customer. Your goal is to
listen to their behaviors and then
engage them with targeted messages
to nudge them closer and closer to
the next conversion. This includes
creating specific offers and nurture
tracks based off of their preferences
and behaviors. Useful content is a
great way to maintain a connection
with your audience, educate them
until they are ready to buy, avoid the
dreaded "unsubscribe" or "unfollow,"
and, ultimately, build a lasting
relationship with them.
For social media marketing, this means
incorporating mid-stage messages
into your social media editorial mix
and using paid advertising to target
specific audiences with content and
offers that will push them forward to
make a purchase.
PURCHASE
In this stage, your buyers are ready
to purchase from you, so your job is
to make the process convenient for
them. Monitor your purchase process
to ensure an easy transaction for your
new customers. If other teams are
involved, such as sales or support,
align your communications so that
you're guiding your buyers through
the transaction.
Create a Winning Social Media Strategy: Map Your Goals to the Customer Lifecycle
" To engage your audience and be successful, you need to have smart copy, great design, and avoid lazy
marketer syndrome (posting just to be posting). You never know where your prospect's journey will start.
It could be a tweet, a LinkedIn post, etc. so make it worthwhile."
JASON MILLER Group Manager, Content Marketing, LinkedIn Marketing Solutions
The 6 Stages of the Customer Lifecycle