Due to increasing competitive pressure, it is becoming more and more difficult for companies to differentiate their products from the competition. This situation can also be found in the IT and software industry, which is also strongly driven by digitalization. But also the internal pressure on marketing departments, starting from sales and management, is constantly increasing. The requirements are to generate more and more leads in less and less time with the least possible consumption of resources, while at the same time increasing lead quality in order to increase the chances of successful deals.
This makes it all the more important to offer the right content, tailored to the needs of the desired customer and at the right touchpoints (first points of contact between the company and the customer). Different touchpoints are suitable for contacting potential customers, depending on the phase of the customer journey.
Identify the right touchpoints
In many ways, touchpoints play an essential role in generating good leads and qualifying them into sales opportunities. However, this is also where problems arise more frequently, such as:
- Gut feeling guesswork. Lack of analysis-based measures
- Lack of certainty or insight as to which touchpoint is most appropriate
When looking for the right touchpoints, it is important to note that there is not THE right touchpoint for all customers and for every situation. Touchpoint effectiveness varies by buying stage. Depending on which stage of the buying process a prospect is in, different touchpoints and content are appropriate for reaching and persuading ideal customers.
What does a customer journey look like?
In a nutshell, the customer journey describes the path your potential customer takes from anonymous surfing on the web, to visiting websites, to behavior on these pages ( for example, clicks), and finally to making a purchase. But even after the purchase, the customer journey can and should be considered further in order to turn the buyer into an active and sustainable customer.
It always requires customer-centric thinking. The potential customer has different needs and pains in each phase, so the touchpoints, messages, and the offer must also vary in order to always be perfectly aligned and to offer the customer exactly what he is looking for at that moment.
A customer journey can be divided into several phases:
- Awareness: At this stage, the potential customer becomes aware that he has a problem that he would like to solve or that there is potential to optimize something.
- Research: He is now on a concrete search for a solution and looks for information via various channels.
- Evaluation: In this phase, he has found information on the topic and possible providers for a solution and now compares them with each other in order to be able to make a decision.
- Purchase: The decision is made and the customer becomes a customer by purchasing a product or service.
- After-Sales: The task now is to turn the customer into an active and satisfied customer who will remain with the company in the long term.
Many types of touchpoints
Common touchpoints are for example:
- SEA
- SEO
- social media
- Video
- Private Network
- Email Display
- CRM
- Couponing
- Affiliate