Expert The Most Expensive Business Mistake Is The Customer’s Path That No One Verified
Authors
Businesses increase advertising budgets to compensate customers they lose inside their own system
Most entrepreneurs believe that marketing is advertising, social networks, a beautiful website and a recognizable brand. Therefore, companies invest in content, shooting, design, targeted advertising and new promotion channels.
But there's a problem.
Often a business loses money not because the advertising is poor or doesn’t work well, but because the customer is uncomfortable buying.
It is useful for each owner to go through the path of his client at least once. After all, one small problem can negate the entire marketing budget.
What is the customer journey?
The path of the client is the whole route of a person from the first acquaintance with your brand to the moment of purchase and further interaction with the company.
For example:
Saw the advertisement → went to the site → left the application → waited for the manager’s response → paid for the order → received the goods → used the product.
Each action affects the impression of the company.
The client evaluates not only the quality of the product – he evaluates the entire experience of interaction with the business.
The first interaction often determines whether a person will become a regular customer or go to a competitor.
Why doesn’t good marketing always work?
Take the clothing brand.
In social networks - cozy photos, beautiful models and stories about caring for customers. The site says about high service, love of detail and fast delivery.
Everything looks professional and trustworthy.
You get inspired and place an order.
After payment, you do not receive confirmation and do not understand:
- Did you even take the order?
- Will it be delivered?
- With whom can the question be solved?
After a few days of silence, the parcel arrives in a regular SDEC package - without a note, without instructions, without any attention to the client.
What emotions will you experience?
The same delight in beautiful photos and promises of impeccable service?
Nope.
It will be a disappointment in its purest form.
That’s why marketing stops working when brand promises don’t match reality.
How much does a bad customer journey cost?
Many entrepreneurs perceive the inconvenience of the customer as something insignificant.
"Everybody does."
Right?
This is actually a direct financial loss.
Imagine that a company spends 100,000 rubles a month on advertising.
Advertising leads to 100 applications.
If a business loses at least 20% of potential customers due to an uncomfortable website, a long response from a manager or an incomprehensible buying process, then in fact 20,000 rubles of the advertising budget simply burn.
Every month.
How many customers do you lose because of poor customer experience?
However, most companies continue to look for the problem in advertising, contractors and product, although it is much closer, and it often costs almost nothing to fix it.
It turns out that a business increases its advertising budget to compensate for customers that it loses inside its own system.
The Leaky Bucket Effect
There is a simple metaphor that describes this situation very accurately.
Imagine a leaky bucket.
Most companies are trying to pour more water into it:
- increase the advertising budget;
- launch new channels of promotion;
- changing contractors;
- hiring new managers.
But as long as there are holes in the bucket, the water keeps leaking.
The same thing happens with customers.
If a person is uncomfortable placing an order, if the manager responds too long or the customer doesn’t understand what happens after payment, some people will leave regardless of the amount of advertising, cool specialists and huge budgets for shooting.
Therefore, sometimes the quickest way to increase sales is not to attract more customers, but to stop losing those who have already come.
Where do businesses lose customers the most?
In practice, problems are rarely where they are sought.
Most often, leaks occur in the simplest places:
- complex and overloaded website;
- inconvenient form of application;
- The manager's long response;
- lack of confirmation after payment;
- incomprehensible terms of execution of the order;
- errors in delivery;
- lack of contact with the customer after the purchase;
- Indifferent communication of employees.
And many of these problems go unnoticed for years simply because the owner has never made it on their own.
Non-obvious points of contact that affect sales
When talking about customer experience, many people only think about the site, store and advertising.
But the impression of the company consists of dozens of small things.
For example:
- tone of communication of the manager;
- packaging of goods;
- instructions within the order;
- feedback after purchase.
For business, it's details.
For the customer, it’s part of your brand and overall impression of the company.
Sometimes it is these little things that determine whether to buy again or not.
Quick Audit of the Customer Path
Try to be your customer for a day.
Imagine that you know nothing about the company’s internal processes and first encountered your business.
Ask yourself a few questions:
- How quickly did you know what the company was doing?
- Can I submit an application in less than a minute?
- Did you receive confirmation after placing the order?
- How long did the manager get in touch?
- Is there any clear information about the timing?
- In what form did you receive your order?
The answers to these questions often reveal more than any marketing audit.
And most importantly, this test does not require additional investment.
Main conclusion
Before you increase your advertising budget, follow your client’s path.
Perhaps the problem is not that they know little about you.
Perhaps the problem is that those who have already come do not want to return.
Retention in modern realities really saves business.
Sometimes the most effective marketing starts with fixing one uncomfortable step in the customer’s path.
And it’s this move that can make the company more money than another month of advertising experiments, new contractors or the next consultation of top experts.
