Why Your Marketing Fails: The Missing Customer Journey Piece!

Hello everyone! Ever wondered how to truly understand and optimize every step your customer takes before they hit that ‘Buy Now’ button?

If you’re looking to increase your conversions and improve your marketing ROI, you’ve come to the right place. Today, we’re diving into a powerful strategy that’s often overlooked—Customer Journey Analysis.

This isn’t just another buzzword; it’s a game-changing approach that could significantly boost your conversions if you know how to apply it correctly. Stick around because, by the end of this video, you’ll have a clear, actionable 7-step process to master your customer journey and skyrocket those conversion rates. Ready to get started? Let’s dive in!

1. What Is A Customer Journey?

First things first—what exactly is a customer journey? Simply put, it’s the series of interactions a potential customer has with your brand, from the first point of contact all the way to the final purchase and beyond. Think of it as a map that traces every touchpoint a customer goes through, whether it’s seeing your ad, visiting your website, signing up for your newsletter, or making a purchase.

But here’s the kicker: The customer journey isn’t always linear. Customers might bounce around between different stages, revisit touchpoints, or even drop off the radar for a while before returning. Understanding this journey is crucial because it helps you identify where potential customers might be dropping off and how you can guide them more effectively toward a conversion.

Curious yet? Good. Because understanding the customer journey is the first step in optimizing it. And trust me, you’re going to want to stay tuned for the next part where we break down the marketing funnel.

2. What Is A Marketing Funnel?

Now that we’ve got the customer journey down, let’s talk about the marketing funnel. The marketing funnel is a model that represents the stages a customer goes through before making a purchase. Typically, it’s broken down into three main stages:

• Top of the Funnel (ToFu): Awareness stage, where potential customers first learn about your brand.

• Middle of the Funnel (MoFu): Consideration stage, where they’re evaluating your product or service against competitors.

• Bottom of the Funnel (BoFu): Decision stage, where they’re ready to make a purchase.

Here’s the catch: Not everyone who enters the top of the funnel will make it to the bottom. That’s why understanding each stage and how customers move through them is key to optimizing your conversion rates. The funnel isn’t just a one-way street; it’s more like a sieve. Your job is to make sure fewer potential customers fall through the cracks as they move down the funnel.

But how do you know which touchpoints are actually driving conversions? That’s where attribution comes into play, which we’ll cover next.

3. What Is Attribution?

Attribution is the process of identifying which touchpoints in the customer journey are responsible for driving conversions. It’s like playing detective with your data—you’re trying to figure out what actions or interactions led to a customer finally making a purchase.

Without proper attribution, you’re basically flying blind. You might think that your Facebook ads are driving all your sales, but in reality, it could be your email marketing doing the heavy lifting. By understanding attribution, you can allocate your marketing budget more effectively and double down on the strategies that are actually working.

Attribution isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. Different businesses will find different models more effective, depending on their customer journey. So, let’s break down the types of attribution you should focus on.

4. Which Types Of Attribution You Should Focus On?

When it comes to attribution, there are several models you can choose from. Here are a few of the most common:

• First-Touch Attribution: This model gives all the credit to the first interaction the customer had with your brand.

• Last-Touch Attribution: Here, all the credit goes to the last interaction before the conversion.

• Linear Attribution: This model spreads the credit evenly across all touchpoints in the journey.

• Time-Decay Attribution: The closer the touchpoint is to the conversion, the more credit it gets.

Each of these models has its pros and cons, and the best one for you will depend on your specific business goals and customer journey. However, in most cases, first-touch and last-touch attribution are the most insightful, especially when layered together. Let’s dive into each of these to see how they can give you a more holistic view of your customer’s journey.

5. First-Touch Attribution: Capturing Initial Engagement

First-Touch Attribution focuses on the initial interaction that brought the customer into your funnel. This could be a blog post, a social media ad, or even a word-of-mouth recommendation. The idea is that this first touchpoint plays a crucial role in grabbing the customer’s attention and setting them on the path toward conversion.

Why is this important? Because understanding what initially piqued your customer’s interest can help you optimize your top-of-the-funnel strategies. If you know that most of your customers first found you through a particular blog post, you can create more content around that topic or promote it more heavily.

But remember, the first touch is just the beginning. Let’s take a look at how the last touch plays a critical role in closing the deal.

6. Last-Touch Attribution: Closing The Conversion Loop

Last-Touch Attribution is all about the final interaction that pushed the customer to convert. This could be an email reminder, a retargeting ad, or even a direct visit to your website. While the first touch gets the customer in the door, the last touch is what seals the deal.

Understanding your last-touch interactions is key to optimizing your bottom-of-the-funnel strategies. For instance, if you notice that most of your conversions happen after a retargeting ad, you might want to invest more in that area. Or if email marketing is your last-touch hero, it’s time to double down on your email campaigns.

But here’s where things get really interesting: what happens when you layer first-touch and last-touch attribution together? Let’s find out.

7. Best Of Both Worlds: Layering First- And Last-Touch For Holistic Insights

When you combine first-touch and last-touch attribution, you get a more complete picture of the customer journey. You can see not only what brought the customer into your funnel but also what closed the sale. This layered approach allows you to optimize both your top-of-the-funnel and bottom-of-the-funnel strategies for maximum impact.

For example, let’s say a customer first discovered your brand through a social media post (first touch) and then converted after clicking on an email offer (last touch). By analyzing both touchpoints, you can understand how these two strategies work together and allocate your resources more effectively.

But don’t stop there—there’s more to the customer journey that you need to analyze to truly optimize your conversions.

8. Analyze How Users Are Exposed To Your Site

Now that you’ve got a handle on first-touch and last-touch attribution, it’s time to dig deeper into how users are exposed to your site. This means looking at all the different channels and touchpoints that drive traffic to your site—organic search, paid ads, social media, email, and more.

By analyzing these channels, you can identify which ones are most effective at driving high-quality traffic. You might discover that while social media brings in a lot of visitors, they don’t convert as well as those from organic search. Or maybe your email campaigns are driving fewer visitors but with a higher conversion rate.

Understanding this data will help you focus your efforts on the channels that not only drive traffic but also lead to conversions.

9. Assess The Likelihood Of A Session Converting

Once a user lands on your site, not every session is created equal. Some users are more likely to convert than others, and it’s important to understand what factors contribute to a successful conversion.

Start by analyzing user behavior on your site. Look at metrics like time on site, pages per session, and bounce rate. Users who spend more time on your site and visit multiple pages are more likely to convert. By identifying these patterns, you can tailor your site’s content and design to encourage more sessions to convert.

But don’t stop there. Let’s take a closer look at how the first entry point impacts conversion rates.

10. Determine The Impact Of Your First Entry Point On Last-Touch Conversion Rates

The first entry point is crucial, but how does it influence the final conversion? This is where things get really interesting. By analyzing the impact of the first entry point on last-touch conversion rates, you can start to see which initial interactions are more likely to lead to a sale.

For example, users who first discover your site through a product review might have a higher likelihood of converting than those who come through a general blog post. By understanding these nuances, you can focus on creating more high-impact entry points that drive conversions down the line.

But conversion rates aren’t the only thing that matters—average order values (AOV) play a big role too.

11. Determine The Impact Of Your First Entry Point On Last-Touch Average Order Values

Not all conversions are created equal. Some customers might make a small purchase, while others could place a much larger order. By analyzing how the first entry point impacts last-touch average order values, you can identify which touchpoints are driving the most valuable customers.

For example, you might find that customers who first engage with a detailed product guide tend to place larger orders than those who come through a promotional email. This insight can help you optimize your content strategy to attract higher-value customers from the start.

But let’s not forget about the bigger picture. Early-journey marketing doesn’t just impact the immediate conversion—it also influences other channels and overall revenue.

12. Evaluate The Contribution Of Early-Journey Marketing On Other Channel Revenue

Early-journey marketing isn’t just about driving immediate conversions. It also plays a significant role in influencing other channels and overall revenue. By evaluating the contribution of early-journey marketing on other channel revenue, you can see how these initial touchpoints impact the bigger picture.

For example, a customer who first engages with your brand through a social media ad might later convert through an email campaign. By understanding these interactions, you can optimize your entire marketing strategy to drive more revenue across multiple channels.

Finally, let’s talk about the impact of early-journey content.

13. Measure The Impact Of Early-Journey Content

Early-journey content sets the stage for the entire customer journey. It’s the first impression customers get of your brand, and it plays a crucial role in guiding them through the funnel. By measuring the impact of early-journey content, you can optimize your content strategy to drive more conversions down the line.

Look at metrics like engagement rates, time on page, and social shares to see how well your early-journey content is resonating with your audience. Then, use this data to refine your content strategy and create more high-impact pieces that drive conversions.

So there you have it! By following this 7-step customer journey analysis, you’ll be well on your way to increasing conversions and maximizing your marketing ROI. Remember, the key is to understand your customer journey inside and out, so you can optimize every touchpoint along the way.

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Until next time, happy optimizing!