Deciding on the most effective content for each stage of the buyer’s journey can be a highly challenging task. However, that difficulty won’t longer be an issue after reading this article.
Why?
Because we will assist you in determining the perfect content types to create for every stage of your buyer’s journey to provide them with valuable insights and nurture them to make a purchase.
Don’t forget to refer to this article each time you create new content since no matter how great your content, it won’t mean anything if it’s not aligned perfectly with the desires and requirements of your potential buyer.
Let’s begin.
Table of Contents
Why Create Content for Each Stage of the Buyer’s Journey?
You should create content for each stage of the buyer’s journey for two primary reasons.
Let’s address both of them and see why this is highly important.
Nurturing Prospects Along the Buyer’s Journey Stages
The number one reason to create content focused on the buyer’s journey stages is the ability to nurture potential buyers towards secure conversion instead of aggressively and immediately trying to sell to them. If you attempt to sell them your SaaS services directly, most won’t purchase since they won’t see any value in what you offer.
Most of your potential buyers don’t arrive at your SaaS site with the intention of buying something. Many of them are just seeking information since they have identified an issue or a need, and they are still searching for the most effective solution.
However, by giving them the appropriate content, you can give your potential buyers the perfect information at the right time by gently guiding them toward making a purchase.
This strategy avoids overwhelming them with aggressive sales marketing and convinces them your SaaS services are the perfect solution to their needs.
Lead Qualification Throughout the Buyer’s Journey Stages
Creating content aligned with the buyer’s journey stages delivers a further advantage – you will be able to qualify leads even before they are in the hands of the sales team or before they make contact with your SaaS company.
If a potential buyer determines that your services aren’t suitable for their needs by themselves, even better since your focus must be on selling to potential buyers who are most likely to convert and make a purchase. Of course, your content is going to educate them in the first stage, but we’ll get to that in just a minute.
Since we’ve addressed the importance of creating content for each stage of the buyer’s journey, let’s see the content types for every stage.
Content Types for the Awareness Stage
In this stage, your potential buyer is just becoming aware of the fact they have an issue and don’t know a lot about the ways to solve this issue, so they are in an information-gathering stage, still far from ready to make a decision about what they will purchase and from which SaaS company.
These potential buyers are the least qualified leads, so the resources invested in this stage for these prospects should be focused on nurturing them toward the next stage and developing trust with your SaaS company so that they’ll be more likely to purchase in the near or far future.
To effectively cater to the awareness stage, creating educational content that delivers value and guides potential buyers to your SaaS site is crucial. The content types for the awareness stage are the following:
- Blog Posts: General Industry Trends / Tips
- Blog Posts: How To … (Video Pages)
- Blog Posts: Best Practices … Ultimate Guides
- Educational Content: Guide, Tutorial (Step-by-Step), Walkthrough
- In-Depth Industry Analysis (White Paper / Content Pillar)
- Introductory eBook
- Educational Webinar Pages
- Resource Round-Up (A collection of valuable articles or tools)
- Interview with Industry Leaders
- Data Visualization Pages (Infographic, Study …)
Why are these content types essential for the awareness stage?
Because the ultimate goal in the awareness stage is to educate your potential buyers, provide them with knowledge, and gently guide them through this stage by making them interested in your SaaS services while educating them.
That’s why the main channel for accessing these content types during the awareness stage is organic search since potential buyers in this stage are searching primarily on Google.
Content Types for the Consideration Stage
One thing that you must expect during this stage is a slight decrease in potential buyers engaging with your content, which is entirely normal since the potential buyers who came to this stage are more interested in your content and want to know more about your SaaS services.
Some of them went away during the awareness stage, but they aren’t necessary since you concentrate on those who came to the consideration stage.
This stage is more about defining various options since, here, the potential buyers don’t decide which SaaS service is best for them, but they are considering all their options to make the best possible decision – hence, the consideration stage.
And since the potential buyers in this stage have yet to be ready to purchase, you need to help them decide on how to best resolve their problems and needs. Of course, they are much more qualified than those in the previous stage and already considering SaaS offers, so these are the content types for the consideration stage you should use to nurture them further:
- Interactive Tools (Calculators, Templates, Cheatsheets, Canvases, Questionnaires)
- Advanced eBook
- Catalog
- Case Studies
- Free Samples
- Demo Videos
- Product or Solution Focused White Paper
- Product Specification Sheets
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Customer Testimonials
- Expert Reviews
- Coupon Page
- Integrations
These content types are more focused on showing the actual value of your SaaS services, and the ultimate goal is to nurture your potential buyer toward further interest in the benefits of your SaaS offerings.
Content Types for the Decision Stage
The last one is the decision stage, and the content in this stage helps you position your SaaS company and brand as superior to all competitors.
Logically, when people enter the decision stage, they are undoubtedly ready to purchase SaaS services. They have decided which are the best options in the consideration stage, and now they are looking for the final reason why they should buy from your company.
These are the content types for the decision stage to trigger prospects to make the final step and purchase:
- Comparison Pages (Competitor vs. Competitor / You vs. Competitor)
- Alternative to Pages
- Product Pages
- Case Study Pages
- Use Case Pages
- Free Consultation / Live Demos / Free Trials / Estimate or Quote pages
One of the biggest mistakes many SaaS companies make is putting decision-stage content and pages in front of potential buyers that aren’t in the decision stage and aren’t ready to read them at all.
On the other hand, once you bring them to the decision stage, they will gladly read these content types to see whether you are undoubtedly the perfect solution for their needs and make a purchase. Also, these content types are logical for this stage since the potential buyer wants to compare services and companies, see the product, prices, previous results, etc.
There you have it, content types for each stage of the buyer’s journey to nurture your potential buyers and bring them to the final and most important moment – to make a purchase and use your SaaS services!
