Small variations and interchanges of the elements that make up these concepts contribute to this confusion: "buyer lifecycle", "customer journey", "buyer lifecycle journey", "customer sales funnel"... and the list goes on.
Let's take a look at each term, compare and contrast, and then put these terms back together, which is as they should be.
What is the buyer's journey?
By BUYER'S JOURNEY (Buyer's Journey) we understand the buyer's experience as being divided into three phases: awareness, consideration and the decision stage.
Knowledge:
In the awareness stage, buyers have detected a potential problem or opportunity. They are searching different channels, such as Google, social networks and online forums, for neutral information from third parties to help them identify problems or symptoms.
For example, "My office is growing and I am having difficulty organizing tasks for my team, is it because of my management style or do I need some help?".
Consideration:
In the consideration stage, buyers have named their problem or opportunity. They begin to investigate the approaches and methods available to solve it.
For example, "Now I know that most companies of my size are using task management software, I believe that software will solve my team's organization problem, but how can I implement it and what should I consider?".
Decision:
In the decision stage, buyers are actively trying to solve their problem or opportunity, and are researching possible solutions. They examine all types of documents and data to make a final informed decision.
For example, "What are my options for purchasing task management software and which program is the most comprehensive and affordable for my company?"
Unlike the lifecycle, where marketers are identifying and targeting contacts at each stage, the customer's place in the journey is more difficult to understand.
The time between awareness and decision could be months or minutes. Therefore, the role of a marketer is to ensure a quality experience, through content, support and other tools, to cover each stage of the journey, should the buyer stumble upon it.
The companies that offer the best education during the journey will be the most successful.
In short, the journey includes all the touch points a shopper experiences with a brand, from start to finish.
The development of content for the three stages of travel is similar to a travel plan: useful information must be guaranteed for each section of the road.
Throughout the journey, buyers are identifying and eventually solving a problem or satisfying an opportunity. Each touchpoint shapes a buyer's perception of the brand.
What is the customer life cycle?
Unlike the buyer's journey, the customer lifecycle is an active process driven by a company's marketing and sales team.
It involves the segmentation of potential customers in a variety of stages. These stages are used to adjust marketing and sales techniques to maximize conversion.
Together, these lifecycle stages create the marketing and sales funnel. As customers move through the stages, fewer and fewer people complete the next one. This creates a "funnel" effect that drops off several along the way. Many subscribers translate into a few quality customers.
The stages consider:
1. Subscriberan occasional subscriber to its periodic content.
2. Lead (prospectus)someone who has provided information about himself/herself.
3. Marketing Qualified Lead, MQL, (marketing qualified lead)A prospect who is considered ready for marketing messages.
4. Sales Qualified Lead, SQL, (Sales Qualified Prospect)A prospect who is considered ready for sales messages.
5. Opportunitysomeone who is ready to buy and is receiving sales attention.
6. Customersomeone who has purchased your product or service.
7. Evangelizera customer who actively promotes your brand.
Every company is unique and has its own particularities, therefore, it is important that each marketing and sales team establishes a clear definition for these phases.
However, there are some general best practices for moving a marketing-qualified prospect into SQL territory, and tagging leads as they move through the funnel.
Each stage of the lifecycle must be responded to in a particular way. These can include nurturing messages, premium content, special offers and even sales follow-up.
The frequency of sending marketing and sales messages is gradually increased as a customer moves through the funnel. In this way, the customer is not lost because of an excessive sales message or a mailing that arrived too late.
A phrase like "Buy now!" could obviously scare off someone who is just a follower of your blog, right?
Finally: How do you work together?
While these two concepts have differences, they overlap in crucial ways. You will find the greatest success when you work both strategies together, as we will explain below.
When a buyer first encounters your brand, perhaps through a paid advertisement, word of mouth or as a result of a Google search, he or she has begun the buyer's journey with your company. The buyer has an understanding of your company and begins a relationship with your company.
You must ensure that you have a wide range of educational information available to meet the needs of any buyer: knowledge, consideration or questions about the decision stage.
You will also need to ensure a pleasant experience for the potential buyer at all touch points, including your social media, websites and (if applicable) customer service.
If a buyer decides that your company is a credible source, he can move up the sales funnel. He's on your radar because he submitted an email address to subscribe to your content, submitted a form with his information, or contacted you directly. And once you have this information, you can place the buyer in your customer lifecycle.
You must make sure that every step of the way is a positive experience for buyers, that at every step they get a benefit.
As the buyer executes different actions, such as downloading an eBook, opening a mailing or completing a form, you will gradually qualify them as a lead, as a marketing qualified lead and so on. This classification will determine future marketing actions and your messaging will become increasingly sales-oriented.
The main difference is the following: The journey involves actions taken by the buyer, while the lifecycle involves actions taken by the marketer.
The lifecycle is a segment of the journey where you, as the marketer, actively target the needs of the buyer.
