Types of Content to Create for Each Buyer’s Journey Stage

Creating content is arguably the best way to inform your target customers about your brand and convert them into loyal customers. But with all customers having different levels of awareness, it is crucial to determine and create content for each of the buyer’s journey stages.

This guide helps you decide the best types of content to create for each buyer’s journey stage to seamlessly guide them towards a sale.

What is the buyer’s journey?

Simply put, the buyer’s journey is the process or steps a prospect or customer goes through before making a purchase.

When a target consumer lands on your website, the chances are that he has no clue of who you are and what you offer. In short, the prospect is not “aware” or somewhat “aware” of your brand and products. The buyer’s journey model helps you identify the awareness stage of your target customers.

But buyer’s journey models can vary; some businesses may use three stages, some might use five, and some may use six. Ideally, the buyer’s journey consists of three main stages:

a) Awareness
b) Consideration
c) Decision

But with attribution models becoming diverse, and companies focusing on customer loyalty, this buyer’s journey model is more widely accepted:

1) Awareness
2) Consideration
3) Analysis
4) Purchase
5) Loyalty

You can create content for different buyer’s journey stages to nurture prospects through their journey. Besides, content also promotes lead qualification at each of the buyer’s journey stages.

Now that you know what the buyer’s journey stages are and why creating content for them is critical, let’s dive into the type of content you should create for each stage of the buyer’s journey.

Content for the Awareness stage

In the awareness stage, the prospect is becoming aware of their problem or need. In some cases, this stage also consists of a sub-stage: non-aware stage, where the prospects don’t know they have a problem.

These types of leads are the least qualified, and sales teams should not spend time contacting awareness-stage leads. Brands should focus on nurturing such leads towards the consideration stage. Firstly, they need to know they have a problem. Introduce them to a problem or need and communicate how your brand can solve that problem. Focus on providing as much upfront value as possible to build more trust, so when they come to a buying decision, they’ll be more likely to buy from you.

Some types of content to create for the awareness stage are:

Blog posts: Make your blog posts informative, engaging, and problem-solving. They should be easy to understand and provide free value to your prospects. And avoid being salesy.

Videos: Videos are like blogs, but they are more engaging. Like blog posts, make your videos informative and helpful without focusing on hard marketing.
Infographics: Infographics work in almost all the buyer’s journey stages. In the awareness stage, use infographics to explain a complex topic in an engaging, easy-to-consume way.

Content for the Consideration stage

In the consideration stage, your target customers have a complete understanding of their problem. However, they aren’t sure if any solutions are available.

In this stage, the prospects are not yet ready to buy. Instead, they’re looking for the best way to resolve their problem. Let’s understand this with a quick example.

Let’s suppose you’re a small business that provides billing and accounting software services. And your target customer is someone who is struggling with their business finances. But, accounting software is not the only solution. They can also hire in-house accountants or outsource their accounting tasks to bookkeeping services. In this stage, you want to make them believe that accounting software is the best solution available for their problem.

Let’s take a look at some types of content you can create for the consideration stage.

Ebooks: Provide a detailed guide to the solution you offer, and how it is the best option available.

Comparision videos: Create videos to compare your solution with other solutions out there. Remember, you’re not comparing brands or products, but solutions. In the case of the above accounting software example, your comparison video can compare accounting software with outsourced services.
Blog posts: Create articles/blog posts informing your buyers about the best solutions available for solving their problems.

Content for the Analysis stage

Also known as the evaluation stage, the analysis stage is where your prospects have identified the solution to their problem and are now looking for the best products available.

In this stage, you want to create content that demonstrates the benefits and abilities of your product and how it is unique. Keep in mind: you’re still not being salesy. Instead, you’re subtly showcasing the capabilities of your product and how it can help your target customers.

You can do this by creating the following type of content:

Webinars: If you’re selling accounting software, you can conduct a webinar that takes your prospects into how your product works. Highlight the key features and benefits of your solution, along with how it can solve the problems your customers have.

Product illustration: You can create illustrator videos demonstrating the detailed functionality of your product. 3D-animated or screen share videos are ideal for creating product illustrations.

Case studies: If you have a few happy customers, share their experiences with your target customers. You can use them as testimonials on your website, or case study videos on YouTube or social media.

Content for the Purchase stage

At this stage, your prospects are certain to buy from you, but they’re hesitating to take action. And it happens every time. Most buyers tend to procrastinate.

In the purchase stage, you want to produce content that creates a sense of urgency. Here, you need to create an irresistible offer. You can do this by sending “limited time” offers, discounts, or free-trial sign-ups. Try to make the process as risk-free as possible. For example, if you’re inviting your prospects to join the free trial, include things like “no credit card required.” If you’re not offering a free trial, something like “100% refund guarantee.”

These techniques eliminate hesitation and enable your prospects to make smooth buying decisions. Create the following types of content during the purchase stage of your buyer’s journey.

Emails: Send out emails to your prospects and ask them to take action. Make sure to include triggers like urgency, the fear of missing out, or no-risk.
Landing pages: You can also create landing pages to direct your prospects to make a purchase. Again, be sure to include the triggers discussed above.

Content for the loyalty stage

In this stage, your prospects have already turned into your customers, but you want them to be loyal and stick to your brand. Once your prospects have become your customers, you need to establish effective communication with them.

Create content that helps them use your product easily. You can also develop loyalty programs that encourage your customers to keep using your product.

At the loyalty stage, your customers are using your product, but they still not trust you to the fullest. You can create the following types of content to win the trust and loyalty of your customers.

Learning programs: Create a video/blog series that explains how to use your product. Try making things easier for your customer.

Surveys: Create surveys for collecting feedback regarding the performance/service of your product. Incentivize the customers who fill out the complete survey.

Create re-purchase content: Create content that highlights all the upgrades and other purchase options your customers have. In many cases, your customers would want more, but they’d be unaware if better options exist. So, inform them about what else you can offer and how it can add more value to their lives. Even better, offer them free degradation for a week or month.

Conclusion

All customers are different, and so are their awareness stages. If you’re trying to sell a comb to a bald person, they’ll surely not buy. Therefore, it is essential to identify the awareness stage of your prospective customers and create content that resonates with their journey.

Fortunately, there are tons of content options out there, and you can figure out what works best for you. These were some of the best content recommendations for each buyer’s journey stage. Use them strategically and see your prospects turning into loyal customers.