When you are just beginning your search for a car, software or consultant, you start with research. Getting online is the most convenient way to research today. You may look for what is a trend, what others think and how the industry works overall. It is the awareness stage and it is largely self-service. You are looking for education to do the following:
- Get oriented. You want to understand what is available and how to ask good questions and make intelligent decisions. You have to understand the context of what you are seeking first. As buyers, we are engaged with multiple markets. In the awareness stage, we are seeking information to help us in our understanding.
- Understand fit. You have a problem to solve. You want to know if what is available can be used off the shelf or molded to provide a specific resolution to your problem. It has to fit into your world.
- Find the leaders. If you are looking at headphones, insurance or fitness memberships, you are assessing who the leader is in the market. The leader promotes confidence and emulates what the market opts for. Leadership defines the category you are investigating.
As a seller, it is premature to engage with heavy-handed selling in the awareness stage. Your buyer is not ready. A well-developed marketing automation strategy and system helps your buyer to get comfortable with your brand and receive the information to help them prepare for their next mindset jump in the buying process.
Your buyer thinks like you do. They start with disorientation and seek to get oriented. The awareness stage is a ripe opportunity to create and build trust that can grow. Serve the people who are in the initial awareness stage with the right information at the right time and it will allow for a movement through the marketing automation funnel.
How are you serving your prospects that are in the awareness stage?
