HELPING YOU TO GIVE MORE ADVICE

YOUR WEBSITE IS VITAL AT THE CONSIDERATION STAGE . IT SHOULD EXUDE REASSURANCE WITH A PROFESSIONAL DESIGN

What is the customer journey ? The customer journey is essentially the road a prospect takes to becoming your customer – and beyond . To maximise the chance of conversion , your marketing and messaging should be carefully tailored to each stage of this journey .

STAGE 1 : AWARENESS

This is the first stage of the customer journey , and it is an important one . In order to become a customer , the prospect must first become aware of your brand . This can be achieved through a wide range of marketing tactics . Your social media channels can be a great tool for awareness , as they are designed for engagement and content sharing . Ensuring that you are posting regularly with topical articles , news , thought leadership content and information about your business will encourage your existing followers to engage with your social media channels and , in turn , increase the likelihood of them sharing your content with friends , family and colleagues . Another way to reach out to prospects who may not yet be aware of your brand is advertising . This can be done via social media , for example – platforms such as Facebook store vast amounts of demographic and behavioural data about their users that advertisers can leverage to their advantage – or through publications with a readership matching your target audience . And , of course , word of mouth is vital to spread awareness of your brand – but we ’ ll get back to that one a little bit later on .

STAGE 2 : CONSIDERATION

At the consideration stage , a prospect identifies that they have an issue which your firm may be able to help with . They might be considering a number of different businesses , so this is the stage where your marketing should demonstrate trustworthiness , capability and your ability to satisfactorily resolve their issue . Your website is vital at the consideration stage . It should exude reassurance with a professional design , informative content about your services , regular news and updates , as well as photographs and profiles of your team members . Prospects should be able to get in touch easily – meaning your contact details and / or forms must be easily navigable and straightforward to use . Prospects will be looking for signs that they can rely on and trust you – so make sure that their first impression is a good one , with a speedy response and an engaging , friendly manner . Having some professionally designed collateral on hand – such as a company brochure – is also a good idea to demonstrate professionalism and to educate prospects about your services , culture and values .

STAGE 3 : PURCHASE

This is the stage where your prospect decides that you ’ re the firm they want to work with , and becomes a customer . Now , a lot of firms think that this is where the marketing can stop . You have your customer and can now focus on new leads who are currently at the awareness or consideration stages of their own customer journeys . However , continuing to focus on your existing customers really does pay off . In fact , according to a wide range of studies ¹, it can pay off even more than getting a new customer through the door . For example , Hubspot ² reveals that businesses have a 60- 70 % chance of making a sale to an existing customer , but this figure drops to just 20 % for new ones . The fact is that existing customers know and appreciate your business . They have personal experience with the outcomes you deliver – and the value of this cannot be overstated . The bottom line ? Making an effort to communicate with and engage existing customers pays off in spades when they become loyal advocates of your firm later down the line .

STAGE 4 : RETENTION

As mentioned above , retention is one of the most important , yet most neglected , stages of the customer journey . And the great thing is that it doesn ’ t take nearly as much effort as you might think . Keeping customers engaged with your business mostly involves the communication of relevant and interesting content to keep your firm front of mind and remind your customers that you are there to help and support them at key points in the financial year . Email newsletters can be a cost-effective and easy way to keep in touch with customers and to remind them about your knowledge and expertise in financial matters . Likewise , if your customers follow you on social media , this can act as another important touchpoint that keeps them engaged with your business .

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