A comprehensive guide to developing content that resonates with your buyer personas throughout their journey—from initial research to customer loyalty.
- admin
- 18 min read
Understanding the Buyer's Journey
If you have been paying attention by now, you have researched your ideal customer profiles, know how many
leads you need to hit your revenue goals, and have your list of prospects. But now the question becomes,
how do you engage with these prospects?
leads you need to hit your revenue goals, and have your list of prospects. But now the question becomes,
how do you engage with these prospects?
If you sell a considered purchase with an extended sales cycle, your prospect can have as many as
16 different people in charge of various aspects of the purchasing decision. They all
get inundated with calls and emails from people looking to sell them things. How do you cut through all
the noise?
16 different people in charge of various aspects of the purchasing decision. They all
get inundated with calls and emails from people looking to sell them things. How do you cut through all
the noise?
It’s All About Relevance
You need relevant content that will connect with each persona
involved in the buying process: what’s important to them, what are they looking for, what
are their pain points.
involved in the buying process: what’s important to them, what are they looking for, what
are their pain points.
The Five Stages of the Buyer Journey
In almost every major purchase with an extended sales cycle, your prospects go through these buying stages. They might not follow a linear path, but they will encounter all of these stages at some point.
1
Learn
“I think I have a problem.” The journey starts when someone realizes something in the company isn’t working the way it should or could be.
2
Solve
“How do I solve that problem?” They conduct research into possible solutions—one of which will hopefully be your brand.
3
Compare
“Am I solving the problem the right way?” They look at your solution and compare it to your competitors’ solutions.
4
Purchase
“Help me make a purchase decision.” This is the moment when your company and your product become their preference.
5
Loyalty
“Show me you appreciate me as a customer.” It takes 10 times more effort to acquire a new customer than to keep an existing one.
Content Map by Stage
| Learn | Solve | Compare | Purchase | Loyalty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Info Kits How-to Guides Whitepapers | Case Studies Assessments Webinars | Consultations ROI Calculators Comparisons | Executive Meetings Industry Research Customer Events | Buy Incentives Appreciation Referral Programs |
Four Types of Buyer Personas
Statistics suggest there may be as many as 16 people involved in a major purchase decision.
Realistically, you’ll have to deal with three or four personas at the very least.
Realistically, you’ll have to deal with three or four personas at the very least.
🔍 Researchers/Influencers
Their job is to research solutions and present top vendors to the buying committee. They need capabilities, pricing, comparison charts, and case studies.
👤 End-Users
They want content about use, implementation, and support. How easy is it to learn? How long does training take? Will it disrupt current processes?
👔 Decision Makers
They want content about team impact and overall success. Will it make them more efficient? What’s the ROI? What kind of reporting do you offer?
💰 Financial Authority
They want content on terms, conditions, and financial aspects. What’s the SLA? What are cancellation policies? What are escalation policies?
Content Formula
4 Personas × 5 Buying Stages × 5 FAQ Types (Who, What, How, Why, What’s Next?) = 100 pieces of content needed
Asking the Right Questions
The idea is to identify all the possible questions each persona will have at each stage of the buying process. There are a few ways to do this, but we prefer a phone call with your existing customers asking them what issues they had at each stage.
Often, companies develop buyer personas based on how the customer interacts with the product rather than how the customer buys and what content they consume during the buying process. Ask yourself: what frictions do I need to overcome?
Sample Questions to Ask Your Prospects
- What trends or regulations are affecting the way you do your job?
- What’s the most challenging aspect of your job? What can we help you with?
- What does your research process look like? Where do you typically start?
- Who do you consult with when making a buying decision?
- What are the trigger events that put you into an active buying process?
- Are you proactively looking for solutions or reactively in the market because of a problem?
- What sources do you trust? Who are your peers or influencers?
- What information is most helpful—guides, comparison charts, case studies, webinars?
Remaining Relevant
Let’s say you’ve done your homework and created content for each stage and persona. You might ask yourself: how do I stay relevant? Fortunately, there are several resources that provide a steady stream of topics.
Google Alerts
Set alerts for specific keywords. Google tells you
whenever there’s new content pertaining to those keywords.
BuzzSumo
With billions of articles and trillions of social media
posts, it lets you keep your finger on the pulse of your industry.
Semrush
Provides tools to discover relevant keywords, improve
SEO, and research competitors’ content strategies.
Talkwalker
Uses AI algorithms to monitor social media and the
internet, providing content alerts.
AnswerThePublic
Monitors autocomplete data for popular searches to
determine what types of questions people are asking.
Building Demand Through Content
Generating demand for your products and services is different than generating leads. However, when done
properly, you can generate both demand and leads.
properly, you can generate both demand and leads.
Building demand starts with sharing helpful content that establishes you or your
company as industry thought leaders. This content is less about your company, products, and services
and more about the industry as a whole.
company as industry thought leaders. This content is less about your company, products, and services
and more about the industry as a whole.
Case Study: northAmerican® Van Lines
We broke down all aspects of employee moving: policy types, household goods
best practices, regulations, winter moves, international relocations, and more. We then promoted
high-value content using mass email targeting over 125,000 ideal prospects.
best practices, regulations, winter moves, international relocations, and more. We then promoted
high-value content using mass email targeting over 125,000 ideal prospects.
2M+
Emails Sent
Thousands
Clicks & Downloads
Only 3
Spam Complaints
The guides were designed to provide helpful content—no sales jargon. We
didn’t require forms to access them; we simply gave the content away for free using instant download
buttons.
didn’t require forms to access them; we simply gave the content away for free using instant download
buttons.
Content Marketing Roadmap
It’s not just about creating content and showing it to prospects. It’s about making sure your brand is something they’ll want to engage with. Here are the important destinations on your road to engagement:
1
Internal
Everyone in your company needs to know your value proposition—the elevator pitch. If you can’t internalize your message, you can’t externalize it.
2
Existing Customers
What content do you give them to make them feel good about their decision? What do you have for each stage of their post-purchase journey?
3
Influencers
Who are the movers and shakers in your industry? Media executives, industry analysts, social pundits. If you get their attention, they can help you reach many more people.
4
Resellers & Distributors
If you have third-party resellers, how are you supporting them? What insights and training can you provide to help them boost sales?
5
Prospects
By taking the top-down approach, your message will have
a trickle-down path to prospects, allowing you to reach them better across multiple
channels—for less money.
a trickle-down path to prospects, allowing you to reach them better across multiple
channels—for less money.
Summary
Through it all, don’t forget: It starts with being relevant. That’s the only way you can really reach anyone with any effectiveness. You can bombard them with emails, but if it’s not something they’re interested in or relevant, they will simply hit the delete button—or worse, complain that you are a spammer.
Key Takeaways
Understand your buyer’s journey and create content for each
stage
Develop personas for each type of decision-maker involved
Ask the right questions to uncover real buying concerns
Stay relevant using tools like Google Alerts and BuzzSumo
Focus on demand generation through helpful thought leadership
Create a strategic content roadmap: Internal → Customers →
Influencers → Resellers → Prospects
If you can provide your prospects with content that really speaks to something they find important, they’ll engage with your brand and begin their journey that hopefully ends with them as a loyal customer.
Need Help With Your Cold Email Campaigns?
Sales Lead Automation can help you implement these strategies and put them into practice.
Contact our team to learn more.