Customer Journeys: The Awareness Stage - Where it All Begins

In part 2 of this 6-part series Mike & Nevin dig into the Awareness stage of the Customer Journey. How do you get your brand in front of a large, interested audience without blowing through budgets? Also, what's happened to the Snoop Dogg/Solo Stove partnership? Episode Summary: The Importance of Brand Awareness in Marketing In this episode of our marketing miniseries, we delve into the crucial first stage of the customer buying journey: awareness. We discuss the significance of brand owners and decision-makers understanding how to differentiate their brand in the market. We explore the customer journey map and its relevance across various marketing types, emphasizing the importance of speaking the same language as clients, marketing teams, and partners. The episode recaps the five phases of the customer journey, highlighting why each phase is vital. The focus then shifts to the awareness phase, where we explain the need for potential customers to become aware of a brand's existence and the solutions it offers. We touch on market education and the challenges of introducing new products with unique features or materials. We stress the importance of messaging and using various mechanisms to communicate what makes a product stand out. The conversation also covers the pitfalls of overspending during the awareness phase and the importance of targeting the right market to avoid diluting the effectiveness of subsequent marketing efforts. The episode further discusses the role of brand marketing in the awareness phase and the delicate balance required between broadcasting a brand story and capturing attention spans. We emphasize the need for creativity and the challenge of delivering a succinct message in a world of diminishing attention spans. We also examine the potential pitfalls of big branding campaigns, using the example of Solo Stoves' campaign with Snoop Dogg, and the importance of having a plan to convert the audience generated by such campaigns. The mechanics of broadcasting a brand message are explored, with a focus on the flexibility and power of Demand Side Platforms (DSPs) for targeting and testing different sets of creative. We debate the effectiveness of TikTok for brand awareness and suggest that it might be better suited for the consideration and conversion phases of the customer journey. Finally, we conclude by reiterating the importance of measuring reach metrics rather than conversions during the awareness phase and the necessity of testing everything, including unconventional ideas, to see what resonates with the audience. Listeners are encouraged to engage with us on social media platforms and visit our website for more content. Remember, without awareness, potential customers can't discover your brand, and without discovery, there can be no conversion.