7 ways to shorten the buyer’s journey

Do you want to know how to shorten the buyer’s journey? Whether your business currently has an average buyer’s journey of a year or a month there are usually ways that you can make the journey to purchase quicker. Keep on reading to find out 7 different ways to shorten the buyer’s journey.

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What is the buyer’s journey? 

According to Hubspot, the buyer’s journey “is the process buyers go through to become aware of, consider and evaluate, and decide to purchase a new product or service”.

 

This is usually broken down into 3 stages:

• Awareness Stage
• Consideration Stage
• Decision Stage

 

All buyers will go through this journey. However, the length of time it takes may vary drastically. Depending on what you sell it might be common for someone to discover you and buy on that day, whereas in some cases it may take months or even years before someone buys. As a business owner, you need to find out what your current buyer’s journey is and then you can begin the process of shortening the buyer’s journey.

 

7 WAYS TO SHORTEN THE BUYER’S JOURNEY

 

1. Use video in your marketing  

 

If you aren’t using currently using video content in your marketing and you want to shorten the buyer’s journey then you should definitely look at how to use video content in your marketing. Across the board, video content has been proven to work well for businesses and if you are a service-based business owner I would argue video is essential. The likelihood is that you don’t offer a service that no one else offers. Part of the reason someone decides to work with you rather than someone else is because of you, and video allows someone to get to know you better.

 

Content isn’t all created equal and whilst I’m a big supporter of having a business blog the fact is it takes a longer time to build a relationship through the written word than other formats.

 

When it comes to forming relationships the ranking would be as follows:

• Video
• Audio
• Written

 

In video people can see and hear you. This helps to reduce the time it takes for someone to build the know, like and trust factor, which in turns shortens the time someone takes to make a decision about signing up and working with you.

 

Now if your main form of content creation is written don’t freak out. Business blogs work, I’m a big fan of them and that is why you are reading this blog post now (You can see all of my latest blog posts here). Using video in your marketing doesn’t mean you have to open a YouTube channel and start making a video every week. There are multiple ways you can use video to market your business.

You can:

• Run webinars
• Do a live Q&A session on a social media platform or YouTube
• Create recorded videos and post them on your social media channels
• Create recorded videos and embed them into certain pages on your websites.

 

2. Create content for each stage in the buyer’s journey

 

The needs of an individual are different depending on what stage of the buyer’s journey they are at. If you want to shorten the buyer’s journey and help them move along the path and make a purchase quicker then you should ensure that you have appropriate content for each stage in the buyer’s journey.

 

Are you currently creating content without a strategy? If so, then it is time to take your marketing to the next level by having a personalised content marketing strategy made for your business. I specialise in creating marketing strategies that can be delivered by one person (it can be you or your VA) and with the combined experience of running my own blogs, podcast and YouTube channel, as well as being a Chartered Marketer with over a decade of marketing experience you can rest assured you’ll have a marketing strategy that will get results, but is also manageable. Find out more and book a strategy day here.

 

 

 

 

3. Make it easy to ask a question or have your questions answered

 

By now you hopefully understand the importance of making content for each stage in the buyer’s journey. When someone is thinking about buying they’ll likely have questions and the quicker those questions are answered the quicker they’ll make a decision.

 

A great way to try and quickly answer those questions is via a frequently asked questions section. Here you can write the answers to the most popular questions you think someone might have about your product or service. Then you can continue to add to the list as questions arise from potential buyers.

 

Having a FAQ section is great, but you can’t answer all possible questions and some people may have questions that are detailed or personal. In this situation, you want to be able to make it easy for an individual to ask their questions and ensure you can give a timely response. 3 popular ways to do this are:

 

• CONTACT OR ENQUIRY FORM – Have a form clearly visible on your website where people can submit a question.
• COMPLIMENTARY CALL – For higher ticket purchases, or in B2B, it is common to have the ability to talk before purchasing. Have an online calendar, through a provider like Calendly, Acuity or Kartra, set up so that people can quickly book a call with you.
• FACEBOOK MESSENGER BOT – If you have a Facebook page for your business then you can add a messenger bot to your website that allows people to ask questions. These are delivered straight to your Facebook Page inbox and you can respond (as long as they are logged into their Facebook account when messaging).

 

4. Give them a reason to buy now

 

If you have a product or services that is always available to buy (evergreen) then even if a potential buyer has decided that your product or service is the best solution to their problem that doesn’t mean they are going to buy straight away. Right now, there is no sense of urgency they know they can come back tomorrow, next week or even next month. In this situation to shorten the buyer’s journey you need to give them a reason to buy now – you need to create a sense of urgency.

 

To create a sense of urgency you could:

• Add bonuses for a limited period of time
• Offer a discount for a limited period of time
• Specify that there are only X number of places left

 

4. Share testimonials

When buying a service or product a potential buyer will most likely be thinking “Is this really going to solve my problem?”. We live in a world most people are aware of how a business operates and the resources that are put into advertising and marketing to present a product or service in the best light. People don’t want to hear what marketers think. Instead, they want to hear what people like them, with similar problems to them, think.

 

This is where the power of testimonials comes in. You should be constantly collecting testimonials from clients and then sharing those testimonials across as much as your marketing as possible, but especially on sales pages.

 

6. Offer a money-back guarantee

 

Another great way to shorten the buyer’s journey is by offering a money-back guarantee. Money-back guarantees mean that if the client isn’t happy they get their money back. This takes the risk out of the purchase. Rather than having to work out whether they believe it is exactly the right thing for them they are able to buy knowing that if it turns out not to be right they can get their money back.

 

Offering a money-back guarantee doesn’t work for all business and for all products or services, but is definitely something to consider.

 

7. Make it easy for people to buy

 

This might seem like an obvious one, but if you want someone to buy from your quicker then make it easy for them to buy. If you aren’t currently taking payments online then look into being able to take payments online. If you are already taking payments online ensure that you are giving buyers as many options as possible such as credit card, Paypal, Apple pay etc.

 

There you have it! You now know how to shorten the buyer’s journey.

 

Turning a prospect into a client is a process and it takes time, but hopefully, now you can see how you do have the ability to make changes in your marketing and the buying process to try and speed that journey up.

 

I hope by reading this blog post you are inspired to shorten the buyer’s

 

In the comments, I would love to know what you are going to try in your business.   

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