Have You Discovered this Hidden Stage of the Customer Journey?

Is it really even possible for there to be a secret, or hidden, stage of the customer journey in these current times? Marketing is a centuries old practice, after all, so haven’t we pretty much uncovered everything there is to know?

The short answer is yes. The customer journey has been studied and dissected in every which way with every new innovation in marketing tools. There is nothing new under the sun.

The longer answer is that aspects of marketing absolutely get buried beneath the collective consciousness from time to time. When all the major industries start to focus on specific marketing activities, that’s where the resources go. When businesses stop directing time and attention to less popular activities, they become “hidden” and have to wait to be rediscovered.

In the current age of information, there tends to be a marketing assumption that people already know everything - including what their problems actually are. Now, you know what they say about assuming…

Consumers are great at doing their own research once they know what their need or problem is. However, what happens before they start researching solutions? This is the stage of the consumer decision making process that I’ve deemed Awareness of Need. It’s the part of the process where they realize they actually have a problem and therefore need a solution or they’ve just realized that there is a solution for a problem they have that they’ve been assuming was unchangeable.

When businesses invest resources into this stage, they can create highly valuable connections with future clients.

Where Does the Customer Journey Truly Begin?

Every customer or client journey needs to begin somewhere. It has to start with someone recognizing a problem or need that they can’t solve completely on their own. The term “someone” could be referring to a person or a business owner. They are experiencing some kind of discomfort, pain, inefficiency, lack of productivity, or frustration due to this problem or unmet need, but they just assume it’s a way of life. They don’t realize there is an underlying problem that could be addressed to relieve the discomfort, pain, inefficiency, lack of productivity, or frustration. They are just trying to live with it.

Here are some examples:

• A middle-aged, former college athlete is experiencing back pain that interrupts morning workouts

• A homeowner that has a small area of their lawn that is always dead

• A financial advising firm with five advisors experiences conflict when multiple advisors are trying to use the only conference room in the office

• A wellness center administrator spends countless hours trying to code revenue accurately for each practitioner.

All of these people or businesses are experiencing pain (some literally and some metaphorically), but they haven’t yet decided to seek a solution. They are just pushing through the pain.

The prime example of this is a young elementary school child who starts experiencing headaches during school. The parents take the child to the doctor and through a discussion suddenly everyone realizes that the child has terrible eyesight. The headaches are a symptom of eye-strain. Here come the glasses, and voila!! Problem is solved.

But why didn’t the child tell her parents that she needed glasses? Because she’s had terrible eyesight for her whole life. Seeing the world in a fuzzy haze was just normal for her. She had no idea that life could be better.

The question for you as a service provider is to identify what pain your ideal clients are experiencing but just living with, and then to help them recognize that there is a better way.

But where do most businesses begin their marketing strategies? They assume the consumer already knows the problem, has the solution in mind, and they immediately start competing with other brands. They are all miles ahead on the journey, waiting for the potential client to catch up with them.

Even if someone does know that they have problem, they usually will not jump right to the solutions stage. Think about it, do you always go looking for a way to spend money as soon as you recognize a need for yourself or your business? No! The first thing you typically do is start looking for more information about your problem. You want to know why it’s happening, what language would help you understand it better, whether or not others have experience with it, and if there’s anything you can do on your own first.

There is a serious opportunity for businesses, especially small businesses with fewer resources, to meet people in the Awareness stage and make an impression long before the competition is even visible on the road.

Strategic Advantages of Targeting the Awareness Stage in Marketing

Small businesses usually have to be very discerning with their marketing resources. They only have so much time and money to put into the strategy, so they want to engage in activities that are measurable and closer to the actual sale.

Marketing at the Awareness stage feels risky. It is much harder to connect these activities to revenue. It’s no wonder small businesses often skip this stage and zero in on direct sales activities.

I would argue that this approach misses out on some major opportunities. As a small business owner, you are a subject matter expert. You know how to solve specific problems. Even better, you know many of the root causes that lead to the problems, you know the symptoms, and you can explain several options for solving those problems. Why not offer that expertise right now for the benefit of people just beginning their research?

By incorporating the Awareness stage into your marketing strategy, you have the ability to forge strong relationships with potential clients:

• Tell them stories about other people or businesses that have had similar experiences

• Educate them on what is happening or what they might be missing

• Guide them from the language they are currently using to describe their need to language that connects them to your service

• Discuss a range of solutions that they can explore

As a helpful guide in the Awareness stage, businesses will capture the attention of potential clients and build trust. Now the client has a partner for their journey, and they are more likely to engage the services of the business that helped them from the start.

Practical Applications of the Awareness Stage

To capture attention in the Awareness stage, small businesses have to be crystal clear on who their ideal client is. When we walk clients through this part of the strategy, we highlight the necessary work of creating a persona. This fictional perfect client will give us valuable insight into what kind of needs or problems your business is poised to solve, what topics ideal clients are researching as they discover their need, what kind of language they use, and where they go to find information or help.

From there, we build messaging and content that resonates with potential clients. This could include blogs, diagnostic tools, case studies, podcast interviews, articles for publication, information sessions, and other resources that help people learn more about the problem they have right now. 

Messaging in the Awareness stage revolves around articulating the pain points to your ideal clients (using questions is a great way to do this). Show them that you understand what they’re experiencing. This will catch their attention and get them thinking, “Hey, yes! I do feel that!” It’s a lightbulb moment for them.

• “Tired of living with chronic lower back pain?”

• “Wish you could actually clear up your lawn’s dead spots?”

• “Team members fighting over space in your office for client meetings?”

• “Wasting time each year getting your books in order to pay taxes?”

As you elaborate in your content, you’ll present information about the cause of the pain, as well as various solutions for how to resolve it. Of course, your resources are an invitation to the audience to learn more. Those who identify with the way you present information and guidance about their problem or need will accept that invitation. At this point, they might shift into the next stage of the customer journey, except now they are more inclined to stick with you and take up your next invitation to explore your solutions.

Measuring success in the Awareness stage might not be directly connected to sales. But someone who has had an experience with your business early in their journey will be a much more qualified lead when it comes down to the final decision-making stage. And those who become clients are likely to be more loyal, which means more profitable over time.

Are You Prepared to Meet Your Audience in the Awareness Stage?

When you zoom out and look at your marketing strategy and activities, are you currently positioned early in the customer journey? Are you there to help people discover their problem or need, ready to educate and nurture them through the first steps of discovery? If your strategy starts much later, mixed in with the rest of the pack who is also vying for their attention, it’s time to consider an adjustment. Adding the Awareness stage to your marketing strategy does not require a full re-design or an abandonment of your existing tactics. It simply directs some of your resources to an area of the customer journey that could be much more effective and valuable for your investment.

When you think about the problems you solve or needs you meet in your business, can you explain what causes those needs in the first place? If so, you’re well on your way to producing content that meets customers in the Awareness stage!

If you’re ready to start exploring how that all becomes great content for your overall strategy, let me know. At Marketing to Mission, we help you develop a marketing strategy that is consistent and effective at many points throughout the customer journey. When your ideal clients become aware of their need, you can step right in to guide them through the right solutions.