We all know that the customer journey is complex. With so many options for people to choose from, a purchase that was once a simple decision for customers to make can now take multiple touchpoints before the sale is completed.
And, for a consumer decision journey that includes a more complex transaction – like in healthcare, real estate, buying a car, and more – the customer journey takes far longer with even more touchpoints for businesses to hopefully win over a customer.
We know that if you want to get in front of a customer as they go through their decision journey, you need to be marketing your business. And, you can’t rely on one form of marketing – you need a multichannel marketing approach if you’re looking to reach customers at every step of their journey.
1. Marketing helps provide consumers the information they’re searching for.
Let’s say you clicked on one of the search ads you saw or on a link from the organic search results on Google. Now, you’re on a dentist’s website, and you’re probably looking for information like the types of treatments and care available, whether or not they take your insurance, and a bio on the dentist and dental team.
In order to surface that information in a way that’s easy to navigate, read, and comprehend, this dental practice would need to focus on the following to influence the digital consumer journey:
A Website
First, they would obviously need a website, and that website would need to be user-friendly and mobile-friendly so you can see all the content you need no matter what device you’re searching on. A professionally designed website also includes a clean navigation bar, site security, and clear calls to action so you can find what you’re looking for.
SEO
Again, if you found this website on search engines, this dentist likely has a robust SEO strategy in place.
Live Chat
When you’re looking for information on a new dentist, live chat is a helpful feature for answering basic questions or helping schedule an appointment, so this dentist may or may not have that enabled on their site.
These features work together to help you find more information about the dentist on their website and potentially take the next step to become their patient.
2. Marketing helps your business stay with consumers throughout their journey.
But, let’s say you weren’t ready to take the plunge with this particular dentist, and you want to continue your search.
You take a brief break from your search to catch up with the latest news in your area, and you see an ad on the news page for the same dentist you were just researching. Then, a few hours later, you read an article about the right and wrong ways to brush your teeth and realize it was provided by that dentist. That night, you’re checking your Facebook notifications and see another ad for this dentist. This dentist is everywhere. Maybe it’s time to take another look at them?
In order to show up in these places online, this dentist would need a strategy that includes:
Retargeting
Retargeting allows this dentist to show a display ad to you once you’ve left their site so they can stay top-of-mind throughout your journey.
Say you were just on this dentist’s website and then went to read your local news and saw this ad announcing that they were voted best dentist in your area.
Branded Content
With branded content, this dentist is able to provide useful information to you on a third-party site – in this case, your local news site – so that you can see their expertise, and they can reach you another time in your decision journey.
Facebook Advertising
With social media ads, this dentist can target you on Facebook based on demographics like your age, location, gender, and more. And, if your demographics align with their typical patient, that gives them another opportunity to target you with an ad using something called a lookalike audience.
When businesses use these tactics, they can continue to engage with the consumer throughout their journey and influence the consumer’s perception of their business.
3. Marketing can simplify the consumer decision journey.
Obviously, the goal of marketing is to educate the consumer and hopefully convert them into a customer. But, a lot of marketing tactics can actually simplify the consumer journey. Let’s say you revisit this dentist’s site, but you’re still a little unsure, and you don’t know if your insurance is accepted.
You submit a question to the live chat on the dentist’s website to get help with your insurance question and find that you’re covered! Then, you receive an email from the dentist’s office with an offer for a free teeth whitening treatment on your first visit. You’re sold! You visit their Google Maps listing and call them right from your phone to make an appointment.
In order for this dentist to engage with you in these ways, they would need:
Live Chat
Again, with live chat, this dentist was able to provide information you couldn’t find on the site and overcome one of your objections.
Email Marketing
Because you provided your email address to the chatbot, you were added to the dentist’s email distribution list, which is how you received a coupon that made your decision even easier.
Listings Management
When your contact information is correct on their Google Maps listings, which means they would need listings management. This allows you to see accurate information about the practice (in this case, their phone number) and keeps them from missing out on potential patients.
If a dentist is able to get in front of you as you begin your consumer journey, stay with you throughout your search, and potentially provide some helpful information, an incentive, and more, it can cut through the noise and shorten your consumer journey because you’ve found your match.
Request your search audit
- Increase your conversion rate
- Reduce your bounce rate
- Increase your average order value
- Retain your online shoppers
