So you ask, what is the decision stage in the buyer’s journey?
What are the steps in the decision-making process when someone is looking to make a purchase decision?
What marketing strategies should you use to boost your sales with prospects in the decision stage?
Hey folks, we’ve got exactly what you are looking for!
In this article, we will dig deep to understand what is the decision stage and how you should cater to your consumer or buyers’ needs so you can effectively close your deals.
This article is divided into the following sections for your ease of navigation:
- What are the stages of decision making
- What is the decision stage of the buyer’s journey
- What types of questions do buyers ask in the decision stage
- What content to create for the decision stage of the buyer’s journey
- Decision stage best practices
- Takeaways
Let’s get started…
What are the stages of decision making
To understand what is the decision stage of the buyer’s journey, we must first understand what are the stages of decision making in the buyer’s journey.
A typical buyer will therefore transition through three important stages in the buyer’s journey:
- The awareness stage
- The consideration stage
- The decision stage
The buyer’s journey starts when a person becomes aware that they have a need or a problem.
This is the first stage of the buyer’s journey: the awareness stage.
Then, the person will want to research and better understand their challenge and to form an opinion about how to go about dealing with their problem.
Can they solve their problem themselves or should they buy something?
This is the consideration stage.
Eventually, the person is of the view that they need to buy something to solve their problem and so they want to gather the information and data necessary to make a decision about what to buy and from whom.
That’s the decision stage.
Now, let’s look at the decision stage in more detail.
What is the decision stage of the buyer’s journey
The decision stage of the buyer’s journey is the stage when a potential buyer is in the process of making up his or her mind about which product or service to buy that will best solve their problem or resolve their dilemma.
The decision stage is a point in time in a buyer’s journey when the buyer has decided that they are going to buy something, but they have not yet made a purchasing decision about which product to buy through which vendor.
In the decision-making stage, you’ll need to present your company’s products and services as the best option in helping your buyer solve their problem or take advantage of an opportunity and go from the decision stage to the purchase stage.
The decision stage is really the step when you are getting your prospect to make a purchasing decision and moving them to close the deal.
Since the buyer has not yet made a definitive purchasing decision to buy your goods, you’ll still need to work on the buyer and convince them that you’re the best show in town.
So give your best sales pitch possible!
You want to help the consumer reach the conclusion that buying your products and services will be the best path forward for them.
Typically, once the decision stage is completed, the buyer will move into the actual purchasing process which is the selection of the product or services, the selection of the vendor and the closing of the deal.
For example, if the consumer is looking to buy a new car, they may wonder about:
- What car vendor has the best safety features
- What is the price between this vendor and the other one
- How many options do I get from each vendor
- What are the financing models available
- What warranties are offered for the cars I like
These are critical questions for the consumer to make a decision about whether or not they need to buy a car at this moment and from whom.
Your strategy will be to create marketing content and material designed to answer these important questions buyers will have in the process of making a decision to buy.
In the decision phase of the buyer’s journey, you’ll want to produce content providing your buyers all the factual information they need to help them validate that you’re the best option for them.
Content like whitepapers, reports and case studies work really well in the decision stage.
What types of questions do buyers ask in the decision stage
So we know that when a buyer has reached the final stage of decision making when they have already become aware of their problem or need and they’ve completed the consideration stage.
There are some questions that your prospects, consumers and buyers will ask hinting that they are moving into the decision phase of the buyer’s journey.
When a buyer has reached a decision stage, they are in the process of deciding whether or not the purchasing of a product or service will help them and at the same time they are trying to narrow down their product selection to the best one possible.
By closely analyzing the type of questions you are being asked, you can have a good idea as to the buyer decision process and where they are situated.
Here are some examples of questions asked by buyers in the decision-making process:
- Do you have comparison reports
- What are your product specifications
- Who are the other customers that have bought from you
- Do you have a trial version of your product
- Can we get a sample
- Do you have details on your pricing and costs
- Do you have test reports and certifications
These types of questions are highly targetted and are intended to narrow down the buyer’s possible options to the best possible product or service.
The buyer is looking to dig deep and get your product feature list, compare vendors, compare products, do a test run, get demos, understand industry benchmarks, get reviews and so on.
By producing content and strategic material designed to answer these questions really well, you’ll lead the buyer to the right path of buying from you.
What content to create for the decision stage of the buyer’s journey
Writing content to help buyers make a decision in the decision phase of the buyer’s journey is quite important.
It’s with this content that you can reach the finish line and close your deal.
The type of content you will product for someone in the decision-making process is geared at establishing your credibility, demonstrating why your company should be trusted more than others and giving concrete reasons why the consumer should eventually buy from you.
What works quite well to cater to your customer’s need in deciding to make a purchase are informative content such as white papers, reports, case studies or even a free trial if possible.
Providing customer reviews will provide your prospects the social proof they need to have them make a decision to move forward with you.
Here are some example of content you can tailor to help your buyers in their decision-making process:
- Whitepapers
- Case studies
- Customer references
- Customer reviews
- Product demos
- Vendor comparison reports
- Product comparison reports
- Purchasing process information
- Post-purchase services and warranties
- Free trials
- Testimonials
- Product specification sheets
As you can see, the type of content you create here are highly factual in nature.
You are giving details about your products and services, you are digging deeper into the specifics of your products and services, you will demonstrate that you are better than the competitors and you’ll help customers reach the conclusion that your products or services are right for them.
Decision stage best practices
The decision stage in the buyer’s journey must be handled with precision and in a strategic way.
There are some best practices that you can use to make the decision stage as smooth as possible so you can help advance your buyer to a purchase decision.
Understand your buyer’s needs and wants
The first thing you need to do is to understand who is your customer, understand their needs, how they operate, the type of information they need and what problem they are trying to solve.
If you have documented the interactions you’ve had with your customer, you should already have good clues as to who is the decision-maker, what is your buyer’s challenge or need, their purchasing timeline and so on.
Based on what you know about your customer and your customer persona, you will deliver content and material tailored to help them close the deal with you.
B2B transactions will require much more nurturing and information to achieve a sale whereas B2C transactions are faster and involve fewer decision-makers.
Don’t lose sight of your competitors
As you are involved with a prospect in a sales cycle, you should try to find as much intelligence as information possible as to your competitors.
Is your prospect currently engaged with a competitor?
If so, what does the competitor offer that you don’t?
What do you offer that your competitor does not?
If you have information as to who else is competing with you in winning over the prospect, you can deliver product comparison reports or vendor comparison reports in order to set yourself apart.
In some cases, your buyers will not tell you that they are evaluating a competitor or other vendors, it’s up to you to make strategic decisions as to the type of informational content and material you will want to provide your prospect so they decide in your favour.
Do your sales pitch
Now that your buyer is evaluating to make a decision to buy or not, you’ll need to put your sales hat on and go for the kill!
You need to be very straightforward about why you are better than the competition, why your customers will win with you in the long-run and why your products and services offer a perfect fit for your prospects’ needs.
At this point, you can offer a super enticing deal to your prospect focusing on the elements that you’ve understood to be essential for them.
If price is an important consideration for them, give them a price discount provided they make a decision to buy in the next week or this month.
The more creative you are in getting your prospect over the hump, the better you’ll succeed in converting them into actual customers.
Takeaways
Your buyer’s decision-making process in marketing can be mapped out in a few stages:
- The awareness stage
- The consideration stage
- The decision stage
We all go through the buyer’s journey often.
Depending on the complexity of our problem or challenge, we may speed through the three stages of the buyer’s journey in minutes or in other cases, take weeks, if not months.
When a buyer has reached the decision stage in the buyer’s journey, you’ll need to equip them with what they need to make a decision to buy from you.
Tell them how much better you are than your competitors.
Give them a free trial or product demos showcasing the value they can get from your product.
Provide your prospects with statistics, reports and numbers proving the return on investment or cost savings they’ll enjoy if they do business with you.
Show them that even after they purchase from you, they’ll be in good hands just like all the other customers you have.
The decision stage is when the buyer will reach the conclusion that they will need to buy a product or a service to solve their problem or resolve their dilemma but they need to make a final decision on the actual product to buy or vendor to select.
If you really understand the decision stage and do your homework, you’ll be able to convert more and more prospects into actual customers as you will give them exactly the information that they need to make a decision.
We hope you enjoyed this article.
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