Kotler’s 5 A’s of Creating an Effective Customer Journey

Creating an effective customer journey map is essential to converting leads into paying clients.

Have you taken the time to consider the journey that your ideal client takes from that first interaction with your business to accessing and participating with your online course, programs or services?

How do they get from point A of becoming aware of your business to point B of purchasing and becoming a loyal client?

This customer journey that our ideal clients take is often not a linear journey going straight from A to B. Rather, it is more of a meandering of different interactions with you and your business over a period of time before they make that commitment to purchasing your product or service.

It is important to take some time to map out your customer journey and identify the different touch points or interactions that someone may have with your business, and to consider how each touch point makes them feel. And most of these touch points fall under the area of marketing and the content you publish.

Are they having a positive experience with your brand to continue on this journey?

Research shows that people’s attention spans have steadily decreased, shrinking nearly 25% in just a few years to 8 seconds. As more and more things are vying for the attention of our ideal clients, we need to make sure that our marketing content connects with our target audience in authentic, meaningful ways.

Marketing is the art of creating genuine customer value. It is the art of helping your customer become better off. The marketer’s watchwords are quality, service, and value. ~ Dr. Philip Kotler

I love this definition of marketing as it makes it seem less daunting and focuses on connecting with your ideal client in a humane way that focuses on connection and value.

When we take the time to understand the different stages that our ideal client will go through as they interact with our business, we can develop a marketing strategy that focuses on creating authentic, meaningful connection at each touch point along this journey.

If you have done any research into customer journeys, you will know that there are a number of different ideas out there with varying definitions of the stages people go through. Today, I am focusing on the 5 A’s of Marketing as taught by Dr. Kotler, and how we can use these phases to map out the journey that our ideal client will take. Dr. Kotler is known around the world as “the father of modern marketing” and has taught marketing for over 50 years.

Dr. Kotler’s 5 A’s of Marketing

The digital world has influenced and changed how our ideal client interacts with our business and our brands. There are many alternatives vying for their attention and it is even more important to find ways that allow you to stand out from the crowd to get their attention and deliver a message that meets their emotional needs.

Following Dr. Kotler’s 5 A’s of Marketing you can identify the path that your ideal client will take from that point A to point B. This is a framework that outlines the five stages someone will take on their customer journey with your business.

The five A’s of marketing are:

Aware | Appeal | Ask | Act | Advocate

1. Awareness. This is the first stage in the journey your ideal client will take. It is the stage that they become aware of a need or problem that they have and are wanting to find a solution for. As well, as the stage that they become aware of your business and your brand. It is the first time that they notice your business and begin the journey to learning more about your business, your brand and your products and services.
2. Appeal. In this stage of the journey, your ideal client is continuing to get to know you and your business. They consume information published on your website, on your social media channels, from testimonials, and other mediums that you are using to share valuable and educational content. They are continuing their research to learn more about your business and the services/products that you offer and how they may be able to help solve your ideal client’s problem.
3. Ask. This is the stage of the customer journey where your ideal client is ready to learn more. They have gathered the information that they can and they are ready to reach out to you to get more information on the specific details of the services or products you offer. This is where they (and you) decide if they are the right fit for your services or products.
4. Act. At this stage, your ideal client acts on their decision by moving from a lead to a client. They make that choice to purchase your course, to sign up for one of your service offerings, or to purchase your product. This is where your marketing efforts of nurturing that relationship come to fruition as your ideal client is ready to move forward. They have chosen your business to work with.
5. Advocate. The goal of this final stage within the customer journey is to turn your clients into brand advocates for your business. You have worked hard to nurture the relationship with your ideal client, and you want to continue to work hard to retain your clients as loyal consumers of your business and brand. As a result, they will share their positive experiences and refer others to you and your business.

Now that we have a better understanding of each stage within the customer journey, how can we practically apply these five stages within our marketing strategy?

Let’s walk through an example that outlines the customer journey for one of my core services: Kajabi Course Set-Up Tech Support

1. Awareness = My ideal client becomes aware of Tiel Virtual Solutions as a Kajabi Expert as I create content around the topic of Kajabi and course creation. Within my content marketing plan, I am creating content that shares educational tips, answers questions, and promotes my offers. This comes through in consistently publishing new content on my website in the form of blog posts, and then repurposing that content by sharing the article with my email list and pulling out shorter, tip-style posts that I can use on my social media channels. Just like a first impression holds so much importance, consistently marketing on topics that fit with the services and products you offer plays a huge role in creating awareness with your ideal client.
2. Appeal = As I continue to consistently create new pieces of marketing content, I am engaging with followers, sharing tips and tricks, and staying top of mind to those who are looking for help with their course set-up in Kajabi. I am piquing their interest to discover more by having a free offer available for them to sign-up for – something that further educates and helps them with a quick win. And once they are on my email list, I continue to engage and nurture that relationship through a series of emails that provide more educational content and shares additional information about how I can help them further through my Kajabi course set-up packages.
3. Ask = At this stage, my ideal client books a discovery call with me to further discuss the areas that they need support with and to learn the benefits of working with me. Following the call, I send out a follow-up proposal that outlines my offer for them to review, along with additional testimonials from previous clients.
4. Act = My ideal client makes the decision to move forward with my offer. An agreement is signed and the payment or deposit is provided. The on-boarding process begins with a welcome email going out to my new client that explains all the information needed to begin the project, how to access our project management system, and tips on working together.
5. Advocacy = Following a smooth and positive experience, they have turned into an advocate for my business by providing a strong testimonial, and referring others within their network to Tiel Virtual Solutions. To continue working with them, they are offered to sign up for a monthly maintenance package to continue receiving the support of Tiel Virtual Solutions with their monthly Kajabi needs.

When we take the time to work through these 5 stages of a customer’s journey, it really doesn’t have to be daunting. You are simply guiding your ideal client through each stage from that first interaction, and giving them numerous opportunities to learn from you, showcasing how you can help them even more.

You can’t expect to just have an amazing online course, membership program or service and expect people to come running to join with no marketing effort on your part. You need to be growing an audience of warm leads and this all starts with people becoming aware of you ... through your marketing efforts!

If you are struggling to be consistent with your marketing, I encourage you to book a quick teatime chat with Natashia and let’s discuss how we can help you save time, remove the overwhelm of having to do it all, and gift you confidence that your message is getting out there. 

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