Turning a stranger into a customer isn’t luck, it’s strategy.
How do you deliver value through the sales process that motivates a stranger to become a customer?
Knowing the answer to this question is the difference between novice marketers and experts. In life, we have to convince somebody who doesn’t know who we are to invest their time into a relationship with us.
Here’s how to turn a stranger into a loyal customer:
These are the 8 stages of the customer value journey.
- Awareness
- Engage
- Subscribe
- Convert
- Excite
- Ascend
- Advocate
- Promote
Yet, if the stages are not followed by each other, there is a serious problem. Moving from Stage 1 to Stage 8 is considered assault. This assault is commonly seen in marketing and is one of the largest reasons businesses see their marketing strategies fail.
Stage 1: Awareness
Awareness is the first step, Somebody is becoming aware that you and your brand are there. Advertising is the primary mechanism through which awareness is created.
Stage 2: Engage
It’s the pickup line of the marketing world. It’s the first time your customer first beings to consume content through reading a blog or watching a video. Content in the form of education and entertainment motivate consumers to engage.
Stage 3: Subscribe
Subscribing is the marketing equivalent to asking for somebody’s phone number. The ability to follow up is essential to continuing the relationship. Prospects choose to opt-in to receive gated content. In some way, there must be a way to contact this person again.
Stage 4: Convert
This is when the customer relationship becomes active. In dating, this is the first date that takes people from friends to something else. Remember, even though this person is willing to go on a date, it doesn’t mean they should be probed about what they’d like to name their children. In stage 4, the relationship is still casual.
Stage 5: Excite
A great first date is the only way to get a second date. Without adding some element of excitement, it’s unlikely the individual will want to continue the relationship. Discount codes are an example of the excitement stage of the customer value journey.
Stage 6: Ascend
The ascend stage of the customer value journey is equivalent to proposing. This is when a brand officially asks somebody for their money or time. investment. Things are getting serious and it is necessary to continue putting in substantial effort to continue the relationship
Stage 7: Advocate
After the ascend stage, in a healthy, intimate relationship each partner tends to be a major advocate for the other. The individuals are happy to say positive things about each other to their friends and families. The idea is to motivate this advocacy within the customer relationship. The goal is to make the customer an advocate for the brand, telling friends, family and colleagues how much they enjoy the product.
Stage 8: Promote
The final stage of the customer value journey is promotion. This is the stage where romantic relationships and customer relationships take two directions. In romantic relationships, the promotion stage is when each person is a true brand ambassador for their significant other. In a business relationship, the promotion stage involves customers inviting other customers into the relationship.
There are 6 steps to implement to create a successful customer value journey:
1. Begin at “the end.”
2. Splinter off an entry-point offer and lead magnet.
3. Deliver an ah-ha moment.
4. Create engaging tofu content.
5. Generate awareness with advertising.
6. Transform happy customers into brand ambassadors.
Unlike in intimate relationships, a customer value journey is extremely purposeful. From the very beginning, there is a clear intention as to the end result, instead of a loose idea of what could come from the relationship. Strategizing for a promotional customer relationship, doesn’t begin at stage one. It starts with choosing the type of commitment you are asking for from a customer.