Stages of the Buying Cycle

You need to be aware that there are various stages of the buying cycle.

Stages of the buying cycle:

1. Problem Recognition
2. Informational Search
3. Evaluation of Alternatives
4. Purchase Decision
5. Purchase Completion
6. Problem Solved?

Sellers follow a different process:

1. Prospect for needs/desires
2. Establish rapport
3. Qualify the need/buyers
4. Present to the qualified needs/desires
5. Close on satisfying the needs/desires

Once you understand some of the above ways of mapping out your marketing actions to make them more successful, you can dive into making site adjustments and know your efforts are rooted in strategic thinking.

Ask these questions when mapping out your site conversion architecture:

• What is the primary objective of the home page?
• What is the most visible call to action on the home page?
• Do you have a call to action for the top, middle, and bottom of the marketing funnel?
• Is the most visible action on the home page the most important?

How does it create the following?

• Attention (colors, size, font)
• Interest (words and selling points)
• Desire (how it will make them feel)
• Action (verbiage should use trigger words and have credibility/security)

How does your website address each of these stages of the buying cycle in terms of content?

1. Problem Recognition (Can they find you easily?)
2. Informational Search (Do you have general information about your products that helps them become educated?)
3. Evaluation of Alternatives (Do you have comparisons of your products or services and your competitors’ so they don’t have to leave the site to go find it?)
4. Purchase Decision (Do you make it easy to find the call to action when they have decided to buy?)
5. Purchase Completion (Is it easy to complete the purchase?)
6. Problem Solved? (Will they have buyer’s remorse or will they feel satisfied?)

Who is your audience?

What motivates your customers?

Does your home page talk more about you and your features rather than what is in it for the customer and what the benefits are? (If you answer “yes,” rewrite your copy to focus more on benefits.)

What actions do you need customers to take?

What information do they need in order to feel confident taking action? Consider using some of the following.

• Your years of experience
• Awards
• Case studies
• Testimonials
• Comparisons to others
• Guarantees
• Privacy policy
• More info about the company
• A photo of your warehouse
• Photos of your team
• Free shipping
• Guaranteed shipping in 24 hours

What are your hot selling points when you close a deal off-line?

What are the top three categories, services, or product pages on your site? (Use this same list of questions on each of these pages.)

Is your price conducive to conversions?

Without the right price, conversions will be low. You have to be sure your price matches your brand and has a unique selling position in relationship to other offers people will find online. Sometimes sites with an incredible amount of traffic get no sales and others have incredible conversions based on the price or simply the perception of value.