Marketing is not advertising: the customer journey

Many people think marketing means paid ads on Instagram. An ad is only one tool. Marketing is everything that makes the right person know your brand, then trust it, then buy, then return.

The customer journey in five stops

1. Attention: They see your name or one of your pieces for the first time.
2. Interest: They visit your page and look over the photos and prices.
3. Trust: They read reviews, compare and ask questions.
4. Purchase: They complete the order without obstacles.
5. Return: They buy a second time and tell others about you.

Where new brands get stuck

Most brands spend their effort on the first stop only, then wonder why people do not buy. Sometimes the problem is trust, such as missing reviews or an unclear returns policy, and sometimes it is the purchase itself, such as a complicated checkout. Find your weakest stop before you spend on any other.

How this course runs

Content and social channels serve attention and interest, the store and email serve trust and purchase, and service, drops and the plan serve return.

Exercise

Draw the five stops and write honestly where people stop with you today. Do they even know you? Visit but not buy? Buy but not return? Write your answer in two lines, and come back to it in the last lesson.