your customer’s journey starts the minute they first hear about your brand.  from their first awareness to telling their friends about you after they’ve worked with you, there are things you can set up now to ensure that their journey is exactly as you intend it to be. in this post, i’ll list out some things to think through when crafting your customer experience strategy.

awareness

what it is: aka “top-of-funnel” – your social media, paid ads, word-of-mouth marketing, direct mail, landing pages, etc. this is the first thing your potential customers will see when they hear about your brand for the very first time.

some things to think about:

• your brand voice – what do you want your business to sound like when someone comes across it? 
• visual content – what does your brand look like?  what graphics, colors, images, or fonts do you use?
• first impression – think of this as your brand’s first impression. how do you want your potential customer to feel afterwards? what’s the next step they should take?  make it as easy as possible for them to move down the funnel.

consideration

what it is: the next piece of your customer experience strategy should be your “middle-of-funnel” – your website, blog posts, long-form videos, email newsletters, etc. This is the content that your potential customers will learn more about you & your business and how you could help them, and convinces them to work with you.

some things to think about:

• your values – let your potential customers see what you’re really about. Show some behind-the-scenes, tell them what you value, let them get to know the you behind your business.
• social proof – what have others said about their experiences with you? Having testimonials clearly displayed on your website and social media will allow potential customers to see what it’s really like to work with you.
• case studies/portfolio – what results have you gotten clients before? displaying a few examples of work you’ve done before can help to further convince them you’re worth your price.

purchase

what it is: your “bottom-of-funnel” – the very last part of the funnel your customer goes through before they decide to make a purchase, and the purchase itself.

some things to think about:

• purchase process – what does your purchase process look like?  How can you make it as easy as possible to move from potential customer to actual customer? 
• clear offers – be super clear about what exactly is included in your offer. Make sure you’re listing everything they’ll get when they decide to work with you.
• pricing – provide upfront pricing as often as possible.  We’ve all seen it – there’s nothing worse than going through an entire purchase process just to get to the end to see that there are $50 in fees added to your $10 purchase (ugh, concert tickets).  Help them avoid this by giving it to them straight.

retention

what it is: keep them coming back for more. it’s said that 20% of your customers provide 80% of your business, so those repeat clients have a lot of power, and you want as many as you can get.

some things to think about:

• support – it should be as easy as possible for your customers to reach out to you should they need support.  Whether this be through email or a phone number, make sure your contact information is displayed clearly and working correctly.
• product – put simply, just give them a good product.  Whether it’s an actual physical or digital product or a service, make sure what you’re selling is worth their time and investment. If they’re getting the results they want off of one of your products, they’re more than likely going to buy more from you.

advocacy

what it is: your customers are the biggest promoters for your business.  no matter if they’ve had a great experience or a terrible one, they’re definitely going to be telling people about it. help them to advocate for you by showing that you value their opinions.

some things to think about:

• feedback – do you have a process to get feedback from clients after they’ve worked with you? make this as easy as possible.
• implementation – once you get the feedback, how do you make sure to implement any changes? build an implementation plan into your routines.

when crafting your customer experience strategy, it’s important to think through each piece at a time to figure out exactly what the journey your customers go through should look like. if you’re looking for a few more ways to show your clients some love throughout their journey, don’t forget about my guide of 30 ideas to improve your customer experience! you can download it here.