The 5 Ds of the customer journey

As consumers, we all have similar experiences when we realize we have a need for a product (or service) —  we seek it, find it, and acquire it. Whether it’s purchasing a plane ticket or opening a bank account, consumers are sure to appreciate brands that can anticipate their needs.

As a marketer, understanding the hurdles consumers go through and delivering on 1:1 personalization at scale is the foundation to a solid marketing plan. No matter what industry you’re in, you'll want to take these 5 Ds into consideration.

1. Discovery

When you pursue a potential love interest, you want to be suave and subtle, for fear of scaring them away and losing your ‘happily ever after’ forever. It’s the same with pursuing a prospect-by positioning yourself to be there at the exact moment they need you, you have a far better chance of impressing and winning them over than taking a hammer-over-the-head approach. Don’t be the pesky wooer.

2. Deliberation

Now that you’ve got their interest, you have to keep it. While your prospects are carefully considering their choices, you want to make sure that your brand is the one they keep returning to when they weigh their options. Be on top of your game by staying top-of-mind with relevant content, sent at optimal increments of time.

3. Decision

Congratulations! Your prospect has converted and you now have a new customer. The mediocre marketer thinks the customer journey ends here... but are you mediocre? No. There’s so much more you can do to extend the customer journey past conversion to drive ongoing business and facilitate customer loyalty.

4. Delight

A lot of services and products may function just fine as stand-alones, but customers appreciate when a brand can think a step further and make personal recommendations based on their previous purchases and behavior. It’s a win-win situation when you do so: you enhance your customers’ experiences, and you generate additional revenue.

5. Devotion

This is the ultimate goal: to provide services of such great value that you gain brand loyalty from your customers. In order to do so, you have to differentiate yourself from the sea of other competing businesses and prove that you can continually and consistently deliver on exactly what your customers need, whenever they need it.

With a deeper understanding of the customer journey, you now have the means to shape your marketing strategy to anticipate and deliver on your customers' expectations.

Learn more about building exceptional journeys in the eBook: 5 Ways to Boost Customer Journeys Effectively