Customer journey touchpoints: These are the nine most important touchpoints

Addressing prospective customers throughout the customer journey

The former boundary between marketing and sales no longer exists in many companies. And for good reason: the better marketing fulfills its task of generating leads and developing them to sales maturity, the greater the chances for sales to actually acquire a potential customer. In order for both areas of the company to actually enter into the symbiosis that is required in many places, they must deal with the most common customer journey touchpoints. Consumers have become accustomed to being able to access information about companies, products and solutions anytime and anywhere - thanks to smartphones, mobile internet and search engines. In order to meet the highly heterogeneous requirements of their demanding target group(s), sales professionals are required to communicate with customers and prospects at various analog and digital touchpoints.

To ensure that the customer really is king, modern sales departments must be aware of the complexity and multi-layered nature of digital shopping experiences. Prospective customers research online and encounter a variety of providers at different touchpoints during the customer journey: they visit the company website, browse the blog, read published specialist articles, look around the online store, stumble across a search engine ad, subscribe to the newsletter, watch image videos on YouTube, view glossy product images on Instagram, use the chat function on the corporate website, request further information and so on. One thing is certain: Prospective customers engage with a company at various points of contact long before it realizes it. In order to stand out from the crowd, arouse the interest of potential customers and make it onto their shortlist, companies need to be convincing in all channels - with target group-specific content that is available at all relevant customer journey touchpoints. Dario Waechter, Managing Director and Partner at atlantis dx, shows what these are in the following overview.

1st customer journey touchpoint: corporate website

The corporate website is the linchpin of digital communication. On their corporate website, companies present their product and service portfolio in a useful way. It is important that the website functions technically flawlessly and is intuitive to use. Ideally, it addresses not only the interests and wishes but also the pain points of visitors and presents customized solutions that - in the best case - are integrated into an exciting and convincing story (storytelling).

Those who give visitors a look behind the scenes and credibly present their values in terms of tradition, vision, company specifics, sustainability, corporate and work culture (purpose) also cultivate their image as a responsible company and actively engage in employer branding. Search engine optimized landing pages, microsites and blog articles ensure a good ranking of the website in the hit lists of Google and Co.

2nd customer journey touchpoint: online shop

Running an online store is now mandatory in the vast majority of industries. Since 2018, the proportion of Germans who shop online has remained constant at around 70%. This puts Germany in sixth place in Europe. And e-commerce is also on the rise in the business customer sector. B2B marketplaces are becoming increasingly popular - especially as they are becoming more and more similar to B2C marketplaces. No wonder, as they not only provide easier access to comparable price and product information. Thanks to private shopping experiences, B2B users are also familiar with them. Accordingly, business customers want convenient, B2C-like processes: from simple checkout to the option of conveniently reordering products.

For reasons of usability, the online store and corporate website should be seamlessly integrated. This allows visitors to go directly from the website to the store, where companies present their entire product range - including informative product descriptions, appealing product images, available configuration options and the like. Topic-specific landing pages for browsing ensure full shopping baskets and a long dwell time.

3rd customer journey touchpoint: support and customer portal

Companies should not only know the needs of customers and prospective customers, but also do everything they can to meet them - not only before the purchase, but also afterwards. Important components of professional support are support and customer portals in which companies manage portfolio-specific information, for example, and make it available to customers: from product brochures and product sheets, upcoming maintenance dates and contact persons to installation and operating instructions as well as multimedia content, such as video tutorials that demonstrate how to use a particular product.

If the information is available in self-service, users can order spare parts independently and, in the event of a complaint or claim, not only create tickets but also receive service-specific information, for example regarding delivery dates for ordered goods, delivery costs or canceling orders. In order to be able to determine the (potential) customer's concerns as precisely as possible, companies should provide targeted questions, appropriate answers and transparent information in the self-service portal. Professional customer service not only benefits brand building, but also has a positive impact on sales thanks to increased customer loyalty and satisfaction.

4th customer journey touchpoint: search engine

Especially in highly competitive environments, many companies cannot avoid professional search engine optimization. This is because research for products, services and solution providers almost always begins online these days. Companies are therefore well advised to gradually improve their organic ranking with the help of on-page and off-page SEO (Search Engine Optimization) measures. It is important to carefully examine in advance which keywords have a high search volume and are attractively priced. Depending on how strong the competition is, it makes sense to focus on a product niche and focus on less competitive long-tail keywords.

Accompanying ads (Search Engine Advertising, SEA for short) that appear above the organic hits increase visibility. It is also crucial to consider the needs and pain points of the buyer persona when designing online ads. SEA is also suitable for highlighting available download content and upcoming online events in addition to products: Anyone who clicks on the ad lands on a special landing page or microsite integrated into the corporate website. Interested parties can use landing pages to register for events, subscribe to the newsletter or download content, for example. Microsites, on the other hand, are part of larger campaigns: As stand-alone mini websites, they provide campaign-specific information about products and services.

5th customer journey touchpoint: online marketing measure

Online marketing has long since established itself - also in B2B. According to the "B2B Online Marketing Trends 2022" study, 77% of respondents are increasingly relying on online channels. The corporate website is the top channel for lead generation. Other important measures include newsletters, mailings, product-specific video tutorials and topic-specific webinars, online tutorials and lectures. Whenever the measure is accompanied by data collection, the content offered must be of such high quality that users provide their personal data for it. Under these conditions, the main advantages of online marketing are that user data can be used to tailor individual measures to the needs of the respective addressee (targeting) and to optimize them on an ongoing basis.

In order to select target groups, personalize content and automate email marketing, it is advisable to use a specialized newsletter or marketing automation system. Integrating relevant systems into a customer experience platform and consolidating customer data centrally is important in order to obtain the required 360-degree view of all contacts. Based on seamlessly linked systems, it is also possible to automatically trigger predefined processes - a significant efficiency gain, also for sales.

6th customer journey touchpoint: social media platform

Similar to the corporate website, social media platforms are also indispensable for self-marketing. On the one hand, companies can draw attention to their newsletters, webinars and tutorials there. On the other hand, LinkedIn and the like offer the perfect platform for sharing company insights and presenting your own product and service portfolio. With a tailored social media strategy, companies gradually increase their reach and establish themselves as a trustworthy provider for customers and interested parties. At the same time, social media allows a direct exchange with your own target group.

It is important to pay attention to the specifics of each platform: Companies can publish product tutorials on YouTube. Instagram is suitable for presenting high-quality product images together with useful and humorous texts, while Facebook is used to generate participants for events.

7th customer journey touchpoint: download content

Helpful, high-quality content such as white papers, e-books, checklists and best practices, which can be downloaded from the corporate website in return for contact details, are a key component of digital customer acquisition. Content marketing of this kind is suitable for generating leads and qualifying them at various touchpoints along the customer journey until they are ready for sale. At the same time, companies use their content to position themselves as topic-specific experts and potential solution providers - for potential and existing customers alike. Companies can promote their download content in all channels and at all customer journey touchpoints.

8th customer journey touchpoint: (digital) press release

The media have always been regarded as the "fourth power in the state". Professional press relations are therefore an indispensable element of sales communication. Whether print or online: As part of their public relations work, B2B companies can publish target group-specific specialist articles, user reports, interviews, statements and commentaries in relevant specialist and industry media - thus regularly drawing the attention of their target group and boosting new customer business. After all, those who are present in thematically relevant media demonstrate the relevance of their offering to customers and are considered by potential customers as solution providers.

9th customer journey touchpoint: messaging/chat

Messaging apps are also gaining ground in sales customer service. Because most customers are familiar with WhatsApp & Co, there are no barriers to use. This is why such sales applications can be integrated into consumers' everyday lives as a matter of course. They can use messaging apps anywhere and at any time: on the sofa, in the garden or on public transport. When used correctly, messaging apps enable quick, simple and uncomplicated processing of customer inquiries.

Chatbots, in turn, open up completely new possibilities for optimizing the service experience. A chatbot-based sales process could work as follows: On the corporate website, a chatbot asks for the data required to create a quote: Product, product specification, quantity and the like. In the background, i.e. while the data is being entered, data is automatically mapped against the customer information stored in the CRM system. Depending on the type of information entered, predefined processes are set in motion. It is important that the point in time at which a person receives the inquiry is precisely defined. Thanks to mapping, all relevant and verified data is then available.

How sales shines at all touchpoints along the customer journey

In times of digitalization, companies are required to provide prospective customers with a unique customer experience. After all, the competition is only a mouse click away. It is important to present your own brand at its best at all customer journey touchpoints. You can read how to do this in the white paper "Customer Experience from A to Z", which atlantis dx provides for free download.

Dario Waechter is a member of the management board and partner of the digitalization and IT service provider atlantis dx. As a former business junior, he is also a volunteer for economic and social issues in Hamburg and is a founding member of the Smart Datalytics event series.

Author: Dario Waechter