Customer Awareness Ladder

What is your target audience's level of awareness of the product you sell? In simple terms, what do potential customers know about you and your company? Who are they? What do they want? Why do they want that particular item? Once you know the answers to these questions, it is easy to adapt your business to the needs of your customers and find non-standard solutions.

The marketing model of the customer moving from complete ignorance to purchase in five steps was proposed by Ben Hunt. In his book "Convert! Designing Websites for Traffic and Conversion, he describes a now popular idea - the concept of the Awareness Ladder, a strategy that can be used to rank potential customers according to their level of interest in a product.

What is the purpose of consciousness analysis?
"The man who goes to the hardware store to buy a drill doesn't need a drill - he needs a hole." Ben Hunt

The man who goes to a hardware store to get a drill doesn't need a drill - he needs a hole. Ben Hunt

Most people are used to analysing customer awareness and behaviour:

Creating landing pages on a website
E-commerce marketing
Social Media Marketing (SMM)
Drive traffic to a website
Create advertising campaigns
Create commercial offers
Advertising mailings

Stage 1: Awareness
No sales at this stage, potential customers aren't even thinking about the problem, aren't aware of it, don't have information, aren't looking for solutions. The salesperson's goal is to use content to intrigue, grab their attention and get them to recognise the problem. Yellow press-style articles and content work well at this stage. Clickable headlines pique curiosity and encourage people to click on the link.

Expand your audience reach by posting articles on blogs, partners' social media accounts and topical forums.

Stage 2. Recognises a problem but does not know the solution
At this stage, the customer is aware that they have a problem or need that needs to be solved. They are actively seeking information and comparing reviews. They have not yet made a decision. The task at this stage is to help the customer understand the depth of the problem and to stimulate their interest.

Where before the customer had a general idea of the product, now they need more detail. Expert reviews, infographics and recommendations based on statistics work well. Expert content is a priority: guides, manuals, recommendations. If the customer was in the general information area in Stage 1, they should already be going to the website (or a social network account) in Stage 2.

Stage 3. Comparison of available solutions
The customer starts to actively search for information about possible solutions to the problem. He or she compares different products or services, studies reviews, looks at testimonials and gathers the necessary data to make a decision. At this stage, your job is to provide the customer with useful, specific and reliable information about the product. Tell them about the features and highlight the benefits they can get.

The third stage of the awareness ladder is characterised by social activity: users join various social media groups dedicated to the topic; they subscribe to email newsletters; they use search engines to gather more information on the topic.

The main marketing tools at the third level: SEO, contextual and targeted advertising, retargeting. Retargeting tools are set up to show ads to users who have left the site and have not placed an order. Contextual advertising is displayed in search results, and targeted advertising is displayed in social networks.

Step 4. The decision
The final step and concrete actions: order, payment, signing the contract. The customer makes a decision and chooses a particular product or service that meets their needs and expectations. Convincing them of the right choice is the task of this stage.

The salesperson must intensify his work and act without delay. Respond to user comments and questions on social media. Deal with any negative comments and encourage people to write reviews.

It is necessary to develop and implement the UTP, paying special attention to the optimisation, usability and design of the website or online shop. It's time for sales and image content.

Step 5. After sales service
Dropshipping (cross-selling) is an effective tool for after-sales service. Dropshipping is good for extra sales if you have a promotional and popular product. With a third party supplier offering delivery, there is an opportunity to sell more and not miss out on extra income. It is worth looking at products that are a perfect match for your online store's top sellers.

The aim is to satisfy the customer, build their trust in your business and create the basis for a long-term relationship.

Take note

Steps one to four - the consumer is looking for the best option, they want information.
A consumer will not make a purchase until step five.
All potential customers start at step one.
A customer always goes through all the steps of the ladder and only in that order.
There is no point in sending an offer if the customer is not ready to evaluate what is being offered.
If your statistics show low click-throughs or conversions on a particular call to action, ask yourself if a step has been skipped.

Halla Systems Co. Ltd effectively adapts marketing and sales processes on all rungs of the customer business awareness ladder and provides the necessary information support.

Using an awareness ladder helps you better understand customer needs and motivations. It allows you to develop personalised content and marketing strategies. It is a powerful tool that allows the salesperson and the customer to be on the same page, increasing sales conversion.