Today we have a veritable cornucopia of ways that we receive information. For instance:

• The average person in the US has 7.1 social media accounts (Backlinko)
• Email users check their inbox between 1 and 20 times a day (OptinMonster)
• US adults spent about 3.5 hours per day watching TV video content, plus 1.75 hours per day watching digital video (Statista)
• The majority of US adults listen to 1-2 hours of music on streaming services per day (Comparitech)

As marketers this may seem amazing, but there is a catch: Fragmented consumer attention.

Breaking Through the Noise to Reach Your Target

“Basically, the two key tools for any good marketing campaign,” says Garrett Gingerich, Group Director of Channel Marketing at Pathfinders, “are Target Personas and Customer Journey Maps. Target Personas help you know what stories to tell. Customer Journey Maps tell you which channels, tactics, topics, sequence, etc., through which to tell those stories in a compelling way that will convert your target from passive awareness to action such as purchase.”

Effectively Impacting a Customer’s Decision-Making Process

Consider this scenario –
Someone seemingly randomly walks up to you on the street with products in their hands and shouts “shop now” in your face. More than likely you’re not going to shop the products they have in hand, and we’d venture to guess you’ll share some strong language with the individual.

Alternatively, after visiting a website and exploring a brand’s products, you’re then presented with an ad on Instagram from the brand with a “shop now” call-to-action link. More than likely you click on it.

The message is the same; the reaction to it is on opposite ends of the spectrum. What’s the difference?

Where you are receiving the message, how you’re receiving the message, the relevance of the offerings, and at what point in your decision-making process the message is shared with you makes all the difference in the actions that you take. That’s what Customer Journey Mapping lets you identify.

Don’t Risk It

Recent research shows how consumers have little patience for receiving the wrong messages at the wrong time on the wrong channels. (parcelLab)

Thinking about you, your team, and your bottom line, executing a campaign without personas and customer journey maps greatly increases the risk of spin, which burns budgets in order to gain (re)alignment. That can mean less time and resources that otherwise would have been invested in activities to meet, and exceed, your business objectives.

Set Yourself Up for Success

Learn the steps to build an effective customer journey here.