Using Webinars For Each Stage Of The Buyers Journey

Whenever someone makes a business-related purchase, they inevitably have to weigh-up the pros and cons of purchasing that product or service.

Subconsciously, that person goes through; The Buyer's Journey.

This process, according to business consultants, can be broken down into three stages which prospective clients go through:

• Awareness Stage - Realise they have a problem

• Consideration Stage - Define their problem & research options to solve it

• Decision Stage - Choose a solution to that problem

From a seller's perspective, you need to be clear about what stage the buyer is at on the Journey, at all times. Ensuring you give them the right information to help them progress through the Journey is critical to making a sale.

Webinars are an excellent way to ensure clients get the information at the right time and in the right format.

Awareness Stage

At the Awareness Stage, you need to discover what your clients challenges are and whether overcoming them is a priority.

As the seller, you need to figure out:

• How the client describes their goals

• How they educate themselves on these goals

• What are the consequences of inaction by the buyer

• Any misconceptions they have about dealing with the goal or challenge

• How the buyer decides whether the problem is a priority

Conducting a webinar is the perfect way to gather the above information and start to address these points.

A buyer may need to involve a number of colleagues at the Awareness Stage after alerting them to the problem. Together they will likely begin assessing what the consequences of inaction are.

The spread of those colleagues could be worldwide. Luckily, webinars can be conducted with individuals worldwide. You can engage with potentially hundreds of people simultaneously and collect their shared views.

Plus, any concerns or misconceptions about your product/service can be discussed directly with those involved via live Q&A sessions, facilitating debate between yourself and your customer.

The benefits of using a webinar at this stage over eBooks or Industry Reports are that you can grab your clients attention and focus them specifically on your offering, rather than generic industry information.

Of course, you can bring in references citing independent reports, but you get to showcase your information in an exciting and interactive way.

Consideration Stage

Buyers at the Consideration Stage will be evaluating what approaches they should use to solve their problem. Webinars take a much greater precedence here.

They enable you to educate and inform your client in an interactive, interesting and varied way. Also, you can record these presentations and make them available On Demand.

The benefits of making them available in this format include:

• Clients can revisit your presentation anytime

• Individuals unable to attend the live event can catch up on information missed

• Complex or technical information can be digested in multiple sittings

Webinars are interactive by nature, so they present a fantastic opportunity to quiz the buyer on whether you have provided enough information for them to evaluate the pros and cons of your offering.

To do this, introduce Polls into your online event and gather information and opinions on your prospective clients.

By holding an online event, you are interacting with them throughout the Consideration Stage and building a relationship with them.

The customer is more likely to view you as a trusted advisor if they have the ability to ask you questions directly, rather than them flicking through a manual or PowerPoint presentation.

Decision Stage

Clients reaching the Decision Stage will be evaluating which solution best suits their needs. At this point, webinars are invaluable. This is because while assessing your offering, the buyer will be comparing it to the alternatives available.

This is the perfect opportunity to utilise presentations to their full potential by:

• Answering questions from the customer and addressing any concerns

• Highlighting past case studies and testimonials

• Inviting existing clients to discuss your product/service

Running webinars during the Decision Stage enables the buyer to involve other colleagues who may have a vested interest in the purchase. These individuals may have vastly different concerns and questions compared to those involved at the Consideration Stage.

Hosting an online event means they can all attend, regardless of their location, and ask questions. It's a brilliant way to address any outstanding concerns.

Furthermore, webinars can be used to deliver training strategies and implementation plans at the Decision Stage. These extra features can help further close the sale.

Organizing online events to pinpoint and define the stages of the Buyer’s Journey ensures you are by your client’s slide throughout the process. This should help guarantee you’re in the right place, at the right time when they make a purchasing decision!