The client buying decision process is rarely linear. Customers typically don't outset at betoken "A" and motion through each subsequent step of the buyer'southward journeying until they reach the stop line. Instead, customers motion into the buy funnel different phrases. They may enter early on at the top or middle of the funnel or join late in the journey right before they brand their purchase.

So brands need to have a strategy to catch customers at each entry point and know how to market to prospects at each stage of the buying determination process.

Let's expect at how yous can position your marketing campaigns to help customers find you lot at every stage of their journeying.

What Is the Buying Decision Process?

Before y'all tin can optimize your customer'south buying decision procedure, y'all must exist articulate about what it entails. You lot must know the consumer buying process definition.

The buying decision process is the path that customers have while moving toward doing business with you. It'south similar to a purchase funnel in that it is a downward flowing path that starts wide at the peak (as prospects become aware of a brand) and ends more narrowly at the lesser (as prospects condign paying customers).

Information technology's oft described as a five-stage consumer determination-making process that includes the following phases of consumer action.

v Stages of the Consumer Ownership Determination Process

ane. Need Recognition

The buying determination process begins when a consumer realizes they accept a need. They get aware they have a problem they want to solve or a gap they want to fill.

At this signal, the customer may or may non know what will solve their problem. They may just be enlightened that they desire to change their reality or situation. Or they may have an idea about what will assist them just are not quite sure which brand, product, service, or solution will provide the best option.

Client Examples: A consumer ownership process instance at this phase could be a college freshman, Sarah, who has a computer that is starting to run slowly. She is getting ready to outset the semester and needs a computer that will efficiently assist her with her assignments.

Or, it could be a project director, Joe, who is tired of his team using an outdated method of Excel spreadsheets for keeping track of their projects. He needs a new tool or system for projection management.

ii. Information Search

The next phase of the buying determination process begins when the customer starts looking for information that will aid them solve their trouble. They know they need something to prepare their state of affairs simply aren't sure which solution is best for them.

The customer starts searching for information that will help him or her better understand their situation and identify what volition set up their issues. At this betoken, the customer frequently turns to online research and conducts searches to detect solutions.

Customer Examples: Sarah, the college student may start seeking information to help resolve her immediate problem, which is speeding up her reckoner. Depending on what she finds, she may as well brainstorm searching for options for purchasing a new reckoner.

The project manager, Joe may offset researching topics about improving project management and may notice multiple software solutions that could improve his processes.

iii. Option Evaluation

One time the initial information search is complete, customers start reflecting on what they learned or discovered. They begin to evaluate their options to decide which is the best solution for their problem.

Customers at this signal in the ownership decision process take a lot to consider. They must decide what solution is the most trustworthy, affordable, highest quality, and highest performing. They look for reasons to believe why one solution has more benefits than the other.

Customer Examples: In this phase, Sarah might be making a comparison list of multiple computers. The list may include prices, features, and reviews.

Joe is at the point where he is doing production demos to see which software best fits his needs.

4. Purchase Decision

At this indicate of the buying decision process, the customer is gear up to pull the trigger and make a purchase. They have fabricated their determination about which product, service, brand, or solution is all-time for them, and they are fix to buy.

The research and evaluation are over, and then now the customer just needs a clear pathway to purchase. For a make to help customers through this stage, yous demand to go far simple to buy. You also need to present additional reinforcements (like not bad reviews, testimonials, discounts, etc.) that volition lead to purchase and avoid negative reinforcements (like bad reviews, additional expenses, barriers, etc.), which volition crusade customers to plow away.

Customer Examples: Now that the college educatee, Sarah, has decided to buy, she is likely eager to make the purchase and become her computer. She may, therefore, be more likely to buy the computer if she gets complimentary and expedited shipping.

Joe, the projection managing director may demand final approving for making his purchase, but he will likewise be eager to get going, so a free trial may be the way to get him through this phase.

5. Mail service-Purchase Evaluation

At the concluding step of the five-stage consumer controlling process, the path to buying is complete. The customer has made a purchase. But that doesn't mean the customer journey is complete. At present is the time when the customer reflects on whether they made the correct decision.

The client will consider if the solution accurately and fully meets their needs. They volition decide if it was worth the cost and if the brand delivered on their promises. They will feel either satisfaction or buyer'due south remorse. If it'south the former, the client could come back to make some other purchase. But if it's the latter, the customer could reject the brand, never make another purchase, and even share their negative experience with others.

Examples: When Sarah makes it to this phase of her buying decision procedure, she is using the computer and discovering what she likes and doesn't similar. Reading resource that show her how to ameliorate utilize the figurer could brand her like information technology more.

Joe is going through a like process. He is utilizing the tool, distributing it to his team, and hearing feedback from his colleagues. Seeing articles about how this software has helped people like him will likely meliorate his perception of the product.

How to Nurture Customers at Each Stage of the Ownership Decision Process

Equally nosotros went through the 5 stages of the buying conclusion process, you saw how a heir-apparent could offset at the showtime and work their way through the phases.

But often, this theory doesn't work out exactly every bit planned.

The ownership decision process isn't always linear, and customers rarely simply enter at the beginning. Instead, customers come and go throughout the process and enter the funnel at the top, centre, and bottom of the process.

Then you can't focus on but catching customers at the beginning and hoping they find their way through the residual of the process. You must optimize the buying decision process from top to bottom to catch customers at every stage of their journeying.

To accomplish this and improve the buying decision process in marketing for your brand, use these all-time practices and Alexa tools at each stage of the process.

The ownership decision process isn't e'er linear, and customers rarely enter at the beginning. Click To Tweet

No. i: Attract Customers in the "Demand Recognition" Phase: Actively Write Guest Posts.

In the kickoff phase of the ownership decision process, prospects are but becoming aware of their problems. They aren't actively seeking answers or solutions notwithstanding.

So to capture attention in this phase, y'all must seed content in places where audiences will passively see information technology. You must work to become your content in forepart of their eyes and call out their problem because they are not all the same looking for solutions. To exercise that, create and place content in locations where your audience spends time online.

To get your solution-focused content in front of your target audience, appoint in guest blogging. Writing content for sites your platonic audience visits will help you make introductions with customers earlier they know they need your brand, products, or services.

To discover the all-time invitee blogging sites , employ Alexa's Audience Overlap Tool .

Enter your site or ane of your known competitors. A brand that is trying to connect with the project director mentioned in the example higher up may enter Trello.com, as Trello is a project management tool. The results volition show a map of sites that accept an audience like to Trello's audience. You can assume the people visiting Trello.com are also visiting the other sites on the map.

find audience in buying decision process

You tin use this information to discover invitee blogging opportunities. Select upwards to x related sites that your target audience visits, and run an analysis in Competitor Keyword Matrix.

find keywords in buying decision process

This volition uncover common keywords and topics that drive your audience to these other sites. Apply that to create a programme for writing content nearly topics that relate to those sites but also expose problems that your brand, products, or services solve. This approach is a good way to help your target audience identify issues earlier they fifty-fifty know they have them.

No. 2: Attract Customers in the "Information Search" Phase: Target Popular Topic Keywords.

To attract attention during the information search stage of the buying decision procedure and bring customers into your funnel at this point, make your brand visible in online search.

When prospects research to find potential solutions, you lot desire them to find your content. So y'all should publish a variety of top-of-the-funnel content. TOFU content helps a prospect solve their problem or reply their question. This type of content is commonly published as:

  • Blog Posts
  • Infographics
  • Videos
  • Guides
  • Checklists
  • Interactive Content

To develop topics for TOFU content, perform keyword inquiry to observe the terms your target audition uses most using Alexa's Keyword Difficulty Tool .

Enter a term or phrase that relates to your industry offerings. The project direction company, for instance, may enter "project management." The keyword discovery tool volition then return a report that includes related terms along with their relevance, popularity, and competition scores. Each of these metrics volition help y'all place the top keywords for your content.

find top keywords in buying decision process

Ideally, you would target terms that have a high relevance and popularity score, as that indicates the term is widely searched for and tied to your topic. You would also want to target low-contest keywords that have a competitive score within your range, so you have an opportunity to rank for the term.

No. 3: Concenter Customers in the "Choice Evaluation" Phase: Optimize Your Website.

When customers are in the option evaluation phase, they already have an idea most the solution they demand. They just don't know which specific solution is best. At this point, they are researching specific brands and options to run into which i they should choose.

To catch consumers in this stage, y'all need to engage in MOFU marketing (middle-of-the-funnel marketing) and optimize your website so customers tin find y'all when they look for you.

You should create content like heir-apparent's guide, landing pages, FAQ pages, and case studies that are optimized for search, then when interested audiences expect for boosted information nearly yous, they can easily detect it.

To make sure your MOFU is optimized and visible in search, employ Alexa'due south SEO Audit Tool and On-Page SEO Checker .

improve seo performance tour

Beginning with the SEO Audit Tool and run a complete check on your website. This website SEO test produces a written report that ranks your website SEO factors as well as provides a list of deportment you can do to assistance your website improve its rankings. Focusing on these improvements volition help your website show when customers search for MOFU content to aid them in their buying decision process.

seo audit for buying decision process

After reviewing the status of your site'southward overall SEO, await at each page to see if it's properly optimized. Enter a URL from your site along with the page'due south targeted keyword into the On-Folio SEO Checker to see how well the page is structured for SEO. The tool will scan the page and give y'all optimization tips to make the page more probable to be establish in search.

check onpage seo buying decision process

No. iv: Attract Customers in the "Purchase Decision" Phase: Target Buying Keywords.

When customers find themselves in the purchasing conclusion phase of their buyer's journeying, they are ready to seal the deal. They are ready to buy.

To catch customers at this indicate, you lot must make information technology as like shooting fish in a barrel as possible for them to buy. Yous need to position your brand so that when the client searches for a path to purchase, they notice information technology right abroad. Yous tin can reach this by optimizing your site to target buyer keywords.

Buyer keywords are phrases that customers search for when they are planning to make a purchase. The most powerful buyer keywords are transactional keywords, which are phrases like:

  • Buy
  • Club
  • Download
  • Deals
  • Demo
  • Coupons

To place the buyer keywords that volition atomic number 82 customers to your website, use Alexa'due south Competitor Keyword Matrix .

Enter upwards to ten competitors, run the study, and then navigate to filter the results. Click the checkbox to "Show Potential Buyer Keywords" and apply the filter.

find buyer keywords in purchase process

The filter will drill down your results and display the most used keywords that also have purchasing intent. This report can give you ideas for the terms yous should target so that when customers search to find buying options, they will discover your webpages.

purchase intent keywords in buying decision process

No. 5: Optimize "Post-Buy Evaluation" Stage: Retarget With Industry-Related Content.

The post-purchase evaluation phase is a picayune unlike from the other stages of the buying conclusion process in that information technology is somewhat linear. The customer can but get to this phase by making it through the buy phase.

While the mail-buy phase might sound like the terminate of the process, information technology does not mean the human relationship is over.

Instead of thinking that the buying decision process is over, consider that this is the beginning of a relationship with long-term customers. You already know the audience is interested in a specific product, service, and industry and so set up plans to remarket and reconnect with this audience.

Create more content related to your industry and place it where the client volition be likely to see it. Send it to customers through your email newsletters and use retargeting ads to present new content to past customers.

find content ideas

To detect hot topics to write nigh in your industry, use Alexa's Competitor One thousand eyword Matrix .

Enter upwardly to 10 competitors and run the report. Then use the "Use Cases" filter to "Meet the Top Industry Keywords Targeted."

buying decision process hot topics

From there, you can run across the top keywords that are mentioned on other websites in your industry. This information helps you identify the topics that are likely interesting to your audience and will give y'all a starting point for creating content to bring the customer back into the buying conclusion process.

popular keywords in buying decision process

Optimize the Buying Decision Process With Alexa's Marketing Stack

The buying determination process is rarely a linear path that customers follow from top to lesser. Customers enter the purchasing process at all stages, and your make must exist prepared for it.

Related: Discover popular consumer behavior articles in 2020

Use these tips to improve the likelihood that customers will connect with your brand at each stage of the heir-apparent decision process. And, get extra assistance with the tools mentioned in this mail. Sign upwardly for a free trial of Alexa's Avant-garde Program to get full access to the tools listed in this post along with other powerful competitive research, keyword, and SEO tools.