Mapping Mind & MethodThe Buyer’s Journey in the Age of

Inbound Commerce

#InboundCommerce

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Sam@MallikarjunanHead of eCommerce at

HubSpot

Danny EssnerMarketing at Magento

Ask questions at any time:

Use hashtag #InboundCommerce

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Price competition isn’t working anymore – there’s always someone willing to make less money than me. What can I do?

The fundamental nature of relationships between buyers and sellers has changed. Well, the buyers have changed – we’re still catching up.

The Buyer’s Journey

So easy, pretty, and simple to understand, ain’t it?

The Conventional LinearBuying Process

Getting FancyTying methods to the phases

Reality is more complicated:The inbound relationship lifecycle

Reality is more complicated:The inbound relationship lifecycle

– Missing key phases of the buying cycle and marketing process

– Considers “Influencers” an end-state

– Considers “Buyers” and end-state

It’s not an end-stateIt’s an infinite loop

This breaks the classiceCommerce Funnel

eCommerce marketers are late to the game – always focused on the sale. If you’re waiting until the customer is ready to buy to engage them, you’ve already lost them.

So we started converting people earlier

And we realized thatrepeat business is key

We even targetedour evangelists

Let’s not overcomplicate things – but let’s respect that the relationship between buyer and seller is more complex. Give people more credit.

What is Inbound Marketing?

Instead of interruptingexperiences people

love…

Inbound Marketing is…

Inbound marketing focuses on creating

them.

#InboundCommerce is about creating an

end-to-end user experience that people love.

#Smarketing is aligning sales (e.g. @Magento)

with marketing (e.g. @HubSpot) so you can

make decisions based on the whole picture.

Lazy Tweets

It All Starts With

Buyer Personas

Know YourCustomer

Narrative Buyer Personas

Uses psychographic dimensions to predict behavioral responses

Computerized Buyer

Profiles

Uses automated numeric correlations to predict behavioral responses

Customer Cohort Analysis Methods

How many personas should a company have?

Multiple Persona Disorder

How many personas should a company have?

Short answer: As many as needed andas few as possible.

Multiple Persona Disorder

Buyer Personas tell us who our customer is:

What makes an experience they’ll love

What influences their behaviors

Customer Example

Could you write a blog article after looking at this?

Could you craft a persuasive email with this info?

Could you define a qualifying question to identify Sam amongst the crowd?

meetcharlie.

• Age: 25• Gender: Male• Income: $77,000• Sites he visits: BostInno, NY Times,

Gizmodo• Social Accounts: Twitter, LinkedIn,

Facebook• Likes: Marketing, Star Wars, tech,

gadgets, etc.

Computerized Buyer Profile

Narrative Buyer Persona

Narrative Backstory:

Choosy Charlie is a 29 year old marketing manager for a software company in Cambridge Mass. Charlie has an MBA from Sloan at MIT. His favorite hangout is Courtside Karaoke bar. Charlie is an Android guy – Google basically owns his life. He’ll be first in line to buy Glass. He was raised from birth to be a Green Bay Packers fan. He’s technically savvy as a user but doesn’t know the jargon (though he won’t admit it).

Psychographic Dimensions:• What he’s looking for:

• HDTV (product)• Better experience

(emotion)• Pain Points:

• Uninformed about specs• Short on time

• Communication Preferences:• E-mail (short, no

graphics)• Twitter @replies

• Decision influencers:• Friends, “expert” advice

• Responsiveness to humor:• Very receptive

• Responsiveness to urgency:• Not receptive

Anonymous, generic transactionsIn gray we’ll talk about what the marketer’s engagement

with Charlie looks like in each Phase.

We’ll include tools, tactics, channels, metrics, and more.

In white we’ll narrate Charlie’s Journey on his way to purchasing his HDTV.

We’ll talk about what factors of the buyer persona affect

each phase.

This is the big weakness for sellers focusing on marketplaces – the relationship you’re building is with the marketplace – not your company.

A lasting, valuable relationshipHi! I’m Charlie! I have things I love and hate. I have vague personal goals.

Hi! I’m Corey, head of HDTV Product Marketing for Fakasonic. I have clear business goals.

You’ve already lost the battle for the one-night-stand customer to discount and long-tail inventory sites. But they wouldn’t have been loyal to you anyways. You deserve to be loved.

At this point, Corey knows Corey pretty well: Primary marketing goal: Audience

building Content types: Blogs, share-bait Key Metrics: Reach, Net-New

Contacts

Corey only know Charlie as a friend of a friend: General Interests “Talking About”

Relevance PhaseThe largest bucket, the Relevance Phase includes anyone who could be interested in or affected by your product.

Corey’s job is to create content that will attract Charlie, either through organic search results social referrals.

General topic blog articles Visual content Social interaction/monitoring Leveraging promoters

Relevance Phase

I like sports!

The largest bucket, the Relevance Phase includes anyone who could be interested in or affected by your product.

Corey’s job is to create content that will attract Charlie, either through organic search results social referrals.

General topic blog articles Visual content Social interaction/monitoring Leveraging promoters

Relevance Phase

I like sports!

The largest bucket, the Relevance Phase includes anyone who could be interested in or affected by your product.

Moving between phasesTo move Charlie from the Relevance Phase to the Awareness Phase, Corey needs to create and share an aspirational content experience that helps Charlie realize what his life as a sports enthusiast could be like.

I like sports!

I wish I could see the game better.

Moving between phasesTo move Charlie from the Relevance Phase to the Awareness Phase, Corey needs to create and share an aspirational content experience that helps Charlie realize what his life as a sports enthusiast could be like.

I like sports!

I wish I could see the game better.

Awareness PhaseThe Awareness Phase of the buying cycle starts when Charlie has identified – become aware – that he has a pain point to begin with. In this case, Charlie hates that his old, tiny, yet somehow still bulky TV “sucks”.

Primary Marketing Goal: Attract problem-sensitive traffic, and/or build problem awareness

Content Types: Blogs, visual content, early-stage downloadable content

Key Metrics: Website Traffic, Net Promoter Score, Product/Feature Awareness Surveys, Pre-Transactional Conversions

Moving between phasesTo help Charlie move from the Awareness Phase to the Research Phase of his buying cycle, we need to help educate Charlie so he can articulate his desires and know what factors or features are relevant to them.

I wish I could see the game better.

Moving between phasesTo help Charlie move from the Awareness Phase to the Research Phase of his buying cycle, we need to help educate Charlie so he can articulate his desires and know what factors or features are relevant to them.

I wish I could see the game better.

I wish my TV had a better contrast ratio and definition.

Research PhaseWe’ve been told since we were kids to “look before we leap”. Every product, no matter how small or large, involves some level of research.

Primary Marketing Goal: Position specific Fakasonic HDTV’s as solutions

Content Types: Blogs, visual content, buyer’s guides, feature guides, etc.

Key Metrics: Website Traffic, Net Promoter Score, Product/Feature Awareness Surveys, Pre-Transactional Conversions

Research PhaseThanks to the exposure I’ve had to Fakasonic’s inbound marketing, I’m familiar with them. They’ve also given me something valuable without asking much in return through their “Football Fan’s Guide To Find Fellow Fans”.

Primary Marketing Goal: Position specific Fakasonic HDTV’s as solutions

Content Types: Blogs, visual content, buyer’s guides, feature guides, etc.

Key Metrics: Website Traffic, Net Promoter Score, Product/Feature Awareness Surveys, Pre-Transactional Conversions

Ethos: The Appeal of classical rhetoric that states that the authority or credibility of the speaker has a direct impact on the willingness of the audience to be influenced by the message.

Research PhaseCorey’s not just building her contact list, she’s generating predictable future sales revenue that she can analyze and optimize:

C = # of new customers, D = # of downloads, V = Average LTV

Moving between phasesTo move Charlie from the Research Phase to the Comparison Phase, Corey needs to create content that helps Charlie define and articulate his wants and needs.

I wish my TV had a better contrast ratio and definition.

Moving between phasesTo move Charlie from the Research Phase to the Comparison Phase, Corey needs to create content that helps Charlie define and articulate his wants and needs.

I’m trying to decide between a Fakasonic VT30 and a Fony Braavos TV…

I wish my TV had a better contrast ratio and definition.

Corey knows a fair bit about Charlie’s behaviors on her site as well as the persona segmentation questions she asked when he downloaded his eBook.

She can send him content that helps him make decisions.

Comparison PhaseOnce Charlie has a fair grasp on the his wants and needs, he can start to compare options. He might be comparing your product to a competitor’s, or even just comparing product options that you sell.

Comparison Phase“What is simple and obvious to you may be mind blowingly amazing to your customers.” – Tom Schwab (@TMSChwab)

This is typically the earliest that many eCommerce marketers engage relationships with blogs like “Why You Should Buy a Fakasonic VT30” or bidding on competitor’s product keywords in PPC

Comparison Phase

Note that Buyer’s Guides and other late-stage content will have a different value of pipeline revenue than earlier stage content.

Analyze it separately to measure your marketing team’s effectiveness in this phase.

Comparison Phase

C = # of new customers, D = # of downloads, V = Average LTV

Moving between phasesTo move Charlie from the Comparison Phase to the Intent Phase, Corey has to help and empower Charlie to make decisions between his multiple options.

I’m trying to decide between a Fakasonic VT30 and a Fony Braavos TV..

Moving between phasesTo move Charlie from the Comparison Phase to the Intent Phase, Corey has to help and empower Charlie to make decisions between his multiple options.

I’m trying to decide between a Fakasonic VT30 and a Fony Braavos TV..

I want to buy a Fakasonic VT30

In the Comparison Phase, Corey captured information about what really matters to Charlie and when he’s planning to make a move. Now she can leverage that.

Intent Phase

In the intent phase, Charlie knows what he wants to buy. Now he just has to decide when and from whom.

Moving between phasesFor Charlie to take that final leap from the Intent Phase to the Purchase Phase, Corey has to make sure that trust, logical, and emotional considerations have all been addressed.

I want to buy a Fakasonic VT30

Moving between phasesFor Charlie to take that final leap from the Intent Phase to the Purchase Phase, Corey has to make sure that trust, logical, and emotional considerations have all been addressed.

Awesome! I own a Fakasonic VT30!

I want to buy a Fakasonic VT30

Logos: The appeal of rhetoric that addresses logical concerns, such as functionality and price.

Logos: The appeal of rhetoric that addresses logical concerns, such as functionality and price.

Ah, but what of Pathos – those emotional concerns that guide our actions so strongly.

A sale is not the result of a magical closing marketing tactic, it’s the inevitable result of a well-designed and properly executed buyer education process.

The purchase process contains within it all the normal concerns that eCommerce has focused on – trust seals, easy checkout process, shipping costs, fulfillment, etc.

Purchase Phase

That magical moment when Charlie goes from being a Pre-Transactional Contact to being a customer.

The transaction is just the first kiss – it’s the start of the long and sometimes rocky road that lasting relationships are built on.

All of Corey’s activities and tools to this point add up to the Cost Of

Customer Acquisition

Now her focus shifts to increasing Charlie’s Life Time Value

eCommerce marketers are going to have to stop thinking in terms of COCA:ASP and start thinking like SaaS companies – COCA:LTV. That second half being the most important.

-Matt Lauzon, former CEO @Gemvara

The Fundamentals of eCommerce eConomics

Have changed forever

Moving between phasesTo move Charlie from being a one-night-stand to having a long term relationship where Charlie purchases again and again, Corey needs to build ongoing value by getting to know him better and providing even more highly targeted content around more of his desires..

Awesome! I own a Fakasonic VT30!

Moving between phasesTo move Charlie from being a one-night-stand to having a long term relationship where Charlie purchases again and again, Corey needs to build ongoing value by getting to know him better and providing even more highly targeted content around more of his desires.I wish I could

hear the game better…

Awesome! I own a Fakasonic VT30!

Re-Purchase PhaseIt’s an infinite loop - a never ending cycle. Starting a relationship is easy, growing and maintaining it is hard.

Moving between phasesFor Charlie to go from being a customer to being a promoter, he has to be delighted. Proactive customer service, solving problems proactively, and creating content that’s useful to Charlie and makes his life easier will encourage him to recommend you.I’ve purchased

from Fakasonic once or twice.

Moving between phasesFor Charlie to go from being a customer to being a promoter, he has to be delighted. Proactive customer service, solving problems proactively, and creating content that’s useful to Charlie and makes his life easier will encourage him to recommend you.I’ve purchased

from Fakasonic once or twice.

I actively recommend Fakasonic when I can.

Corey needs to help Charlie has a personified relationship with Fakasonic and actively remain engaged in his life as a brand.

Promotion PhaseCharlie “loves” you – and he’s willing to help you grow as a business.

“But I get my business through word-of-mouth…”…there’s a math for that!

On a scale of 1 to 10 (one being very unlikely and 10 being very likely), how likely are you to recommend the Fakasonic VT30 to a friend looking to purchase a new TV?

Average NPS

I'm convinced that in price-competitive industries, eCommerce companies need to position themselves in their customer's minds as the group of people who can help them with their needs and questions (not just about the company's products but about the industry as a whole – perhaps even helping them with competitors' products) and that if successful, sales will follow. But I think I'm in the minority at our company in that conviction. <grin>

- Frank, eCommerce Marketer

Key Takeaways

Define your buyer personas using a narrative

Define what characteristics or data identifies

your customers in different phases

Target the right content, engagement, and

experience to people in each phase

Be sure you’re tracking the right metrics in

each phase

Calculate and track your LTV:COCA and segment

by buyer persona

What can you do?

You can request a free eCommerce Marketing Assessment by going to www.HubSpot.com/eCommerce

Confused? Excited? Ready to go?

And don’t forget to download Magento’s Ebook:http://bit.ly/MagentoEbook

THANK YOU

QUESTIONS?