7-Step Buyer’s Journey: Let’s apply it to churches & schools…

The “Buyer’s” Journey: How can we apply it to organizations that don’t have true 💵buyers💵?

The Buyer’s Journey is a framework used by marketers to get inside their customer’s minds. Let’s learn about it (then apply it to churches & schools):

Here are the 7 Stages:

• Unawareness: The prospect doesn’t recognize their problem. In this stage, something called a “trigger event” is required to move them to stage two. (Ex: You notice your car’s engine is overheating one day on the way to work).
• Awareness: The prospect now knows they have a problem and is trying to learn about their problem. (Ex: You pop open the hood to see what’s going on.)
• Consideration: The prospect has decided they would like to solve their problem and is now evaluating all of the options available. (Ex: Pricing out different mechanics to fix the problem.)
• Decision: The prospect chooses a solution provider. The prospect’s decision is usually made based on one of four factors:
  • They’ve used a solution provider in the past and were happy with the result. (Ex: The mechanic you’ve always taken your car to – you trust that they are honest and do good work.)
  • They’ve heard positive recommendations from trusted individuals. (Ex: You take your car to your brother’s go-to mechanic.)
  • They’ve become familiar and have developed a positive opinion of the solution provider. (Ex: The mechanic you drive past every day has bold, attractive signage and a well-kept lot.)
  • They’ve visited an online service to research a solution provider and the results help to guide them. (Ex: You Google “mechanics near me” and choose one near the top.)
• Purchase: The prospect commits fully to the solution by exchanging money (or time).
• Retention: The prospect (now customer) returns again and again because 1) their problem occurs more than once and 2) they are satisfied with your solution.
• Advocacy: The customer begins recommending your solution to others. This is dependent on how you meet or exceed their expectations.

That might be insightful for mechanics, but what about churches, parochial schools, and other religious nonprofits?

Well, good news for us: The Holy Spirit does all the “heavy lifting” to move people along through the journey.

Still, there are points along the way that give us an opportunity to participate. What might those points be? Here’s a digital marketing idea for each step:

• For people in the Unawareness stage: Focus on messaging on social media and your website that really gets to the heart of your community’s needs.
• For people in the Awareness stage: Focus on creating “on-ramps” to learn more… for example: encourage DMs on social media or have an easily accessible contact form on your site.
• For people in the Consideration stage: Focus on answering common questions on your website. Then, make sure to establish clear organization so people can find answers easily.
• For people in the Decision stage: Contribute to positive brand perception by updating your website’s design (compare this to keeping up on your virtual landscaping🪻) and make sure you’re ranking on Google.
• For people in the “Purchase” stage: Make visiting in-person (aka “purchasing”) less scary by having a welcome video or virtual tour on your website.
• For people in the Retention stage: Focus on internal marketing by offering events and programming that fill real needs for your people.
• For people in the Advocacy stage: Feature long-time members’/students’ stories on social media.

At which step of the “buyer’s” journey do you think your organization excels? Where do you struggle? Let me know by shooting me an email.