The customer value journey in 7 steps
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The customer value journey is about turning strangers into fans. It gives you a step-by-step process for attracting, converting, and keeping your best customers.
To get started, take another look at your customer journey. Find the gaps, and start putting together a strategy that gets people excited about being your customer.
Keep in mind that customers will get lost along the way, or forget they ever started on a path with your brand. That’s why you need to create a strategy that walks people through an experience of your brand, giving them a nudge when they get stuck and encourage them every step of the way.
Check out the steps below to ensure your digital marketing is engaging your customers:
Step 1: Be on your prospects radar
The first step is obvious. Get on their radar through advertising, blog posts, events, word-of-mouth, social media, or any other channel that puts your products, offers, and solutions in front of your ideal prospects.
Step 2: Engagement
This stage begins immediately after your first interaction with a prospect and continues through their entire experience with your brand. It’s an ongoing conversation you have with them in multiple channels: blog, social media, email, DM’s, etc.
Step 3: Newsletters and clicking follow matters
When someone likes their experience with your brand, trust begins to build. Once that happens, it’s time to ask for a small commitment — subscribing and giving you permission to email them.
But listen, people are careful about giving out their email address. You have to offer something valuable that makes it worth their while. Think about how you can give them value for free, it could be a reading list, worksheets, reports, and templates.
Offer them something they want, they fill out a form to get it. It’s that simple.
Step 4: Make Them a Customer
If your free offers have enough value (answering questions and solving problems), your prospects are often eager to deepen their commitment. They just need to know how.
The best way to do that is through an entry-point offer — a high-value, low-risk offer that lets them experience your service without taking too much risk.
An entry-point offer is not designed to make you a profit. It’s only purpose is to create a smooth transition from subscriber or follower to paid customer. You can focus on profits later in the Journey. For now, you only need to ask for a small commitment, something that covers the cost of acquiring the customer.
Step 5: Every customers needs a memorable experience
The dopamine from a new purchase gets people feeling good which is why the fifth stage of the customer journey is to build on that excitement.
Consider offering new customers a quick-start guide, bonus services or special content that will make them feel like they received VIP treatment.
Step 6: Get commitment
At this stage, your goal is to generate repeat buys and real profits. While your entry-point offer was designed for conversions, your ascension offers should be geared for profits — because if you’re serving your customers well, they’ll want to buy again and again.
This could be up-sells made after that initial purchase, real solutions to make running their business easier or one-stop-shop add-ons.
Step 7: Happy customers will talk about you
Happy customers love to share their experience, Your customers actively spread the word about your brands, products, and services.
However they might need a little encouragement to do so. The great thing is, once they do, they become even more loyal to your brand. Ask your customers to share their positive experience with your brand by writing a review on your LinkedIn profile or posting about it on instagram/twitter.
They tell stories, make recommendations, and share your offers because they truly believe in them.
Finally consider active promotion, it could be an affiliate or commission relationship — or just a free offer for sending some new customers your way. The point is, it’s a win-win for all.
