Understanding the buyers’ journey allows you to get the database sorted based on their lifecycle stages namely Awareness, Research, Comparison, Purchase, Relationship Building, Retention and Advocacy.

You can move your leads down into the sales funnel by nurturing them and convincing them to convert. The most commonly used lead nurturing tool is EMAIL – as it is scalable and cost-effective.

However, if you want your email marketing strategy to work, you should understand that every campaign should be tailor-made to match the buyer’s journey.

Let’s understand how you can utilize the power of email marketing at every stage of the buyer’s journey.

1. Awareness

The first step of any prospect is Awareness. As the name suggests, this is when people get to know about your brand and your offerings. You can help your subscribers evaluate the product in the awareness stage. Send out emails that let them know about the benefits of your product and explain to them how your product would troubleshoot their problems.

It is important to understand that customers purchase the solutions to their problems and not just a product. Make sure you entice your subscribers right in the awareness stage so that it is easier to take them further in the sales. After all, well begun is half done.

See the welcome email sent by Heyo and how they have included the various tutorials of their solution to help the new subscriber with the contest creation.

2. Research

Your subscribers are trying to figure out which solution is the best to resolve their problem during the research stage. It’s in this phase where you can leverage content marketing to educate the subscribers and build credibility for your brand.

Examples of emails to be sent in the research stage:

Various types of content resources

You can have your content published in various formats, namely webinars, white papers, instructional videos, ebooks, slide decks, etc. As your subscribers might have distinct tastes when it comes to consuming information online, you can even ask your subscribers to choose the format preferences for receiving information.

Content sharing the challenges faced by the subscriber

You can share relevant case studies to explain to the subscriber about the similar challenges faced by fellow customers and how your solution helped to address their concerns.

Content sharing actionable tips

Your subscribers look forward to getting some valuable advice and actionable tips through the email. If your emails cannot deliver value to them, the brutal truth is that they would not want to hear from you.

Content that convinces the subscribers that you offer the best solution

A subscriber who is almost at the end of the research stage would want to know why he or she should choose your solution over your competitors. Convey your brand promise in such a way that they are eager to know more about you and are keen on buying from you.

The email by Tinder cleverly informs the subscriber about how to use the App and entices them to try it at least once. No wonder, it is so popular among the youngsters nowadays…

3. Comparison

After the research stage, comes the comparison stage. Leads who are in the comparison stage demand a special treatment and exclusive emails tailor-made for them. This is the stage where you should send out customer-focused marketing emails. Talk about your USPs and how you STAND OUT from your competitors. You can involve your sales team and schedule a personalized demo or meeting with the prospect.

Here are some email examples to be sent in the comparison stage:

• Wanna schedule a demo?
• Need help?
• Have a look at the buyer’s guide.
• 5 reasons why our solution is the best match for you.

It is not always necessary to send a visually attractive email. There are occasions when a plain text email can work better than an HTML email.

Check out the below example. That’s plain text emailing done right!

4. Purchase

The entire sales process is very much like proposing someone. If you goof up, you are likely to lose the sale. Make sure you do not disappoint your interested subscriber and offer them the resources that would warrant a pleasant shopping experience.

Take a look at the type of emails to be sent during the purchase stage:

• Address the probable objection of the customer proactively.
• Guide the customers to use the product correctly.
• Once they make the purchase, send out a follow-up email to tackle the issues, if any.

Check out how Code Camp has included a subscriber’s feedback, to encourage the recipient to do the same. (Applauds for the idea!)

5. Relationship Building and Retention

The stages of relationship building and retention go hand in hand. After a customer completes the purchase, you should consider building a long-lasting rapport by using an emotional appeal in your emails. Doing so can help you retain the customers and enhance your customer lifetime value and loyalty.

A regular email newsletter talking about new products, updates in your services, promotional offers and discounts goes a long way in retaining the customers by keeping your brand at the top of the customer’s mind.

Chewy sends out an engaging feedback email to make sure that they can retain the recent buyer.

6. Advocacy

Advocacy is the stage where a prospect turns into an evangelist. This implies that your customer becomes the brand ambassador of your business and helps you drive more sales. Word-of-mouth marketing works wonders for any business. In fact, it brings the best ROI and maximizes conversions.

Consider sending rewards to ‘patrons’ in your elite list of customers to encourage them to purchase again. You can even leverage referral email marketing, which works towards retention of existing customers as well as the acquisition of new ones. Saying “Thank you” without any marketing or sales pitch also helps in getting evangelists for your brand.

Check out the type of emails you can send in the advocacy stage:

• Refer us and earn a referral bonus.
• Allow us to serve you better by providing feedback.
• Mind referring us to your friends and family?
• Here’s 50% ‘elite customer’ discount for you.
• Thank you for choosing us.

Lyft offers rewards to their top customers in their email with a catchy CTA that would prompt the user to take action and ride with them.

Wrapping Up

According to the 2018 report by Econsultancy, email has once again maintained its position as the most effective channel for marketers, with 74% rating its ROI yield as either ‘excellent’ or ‘good’… And to use this channel to its full potential, email marketers ought to respect the stages of the buyer’s journey. There’s no other way out.