As customers have become more attuned to their buying choices and preferences, the need for businesses to understand the customer journey and connect with them on an individual level has grown significantly. This has led to the development of the Kotler 5As of Customer Path, which is an effective tool that allows businesses to gain a deeper understanding of their customers and tailor their strategies to their needs. The 5As stands for Attention, Acquisition, Activation, Retention and Re-Engagement, each of which is necessary for businesses to maximize their customer engagement and provide the best possible service to their customers. In this blog post, we will discuss the different stages of the customer journey, what each of the 5As means and how businesses can use the Kotler 5As to better connect with their customers.
Stages of Kotler’s 5 A’s of the customer path
The steps in Kotler’s customer path cycle are explained in more detail below:
Aware
The first phase of the customer journey is Awareness, during which a prospective client learns about a business. Customers typically learn about a business through paid advertisements or social media posts, though they may also discover it through a personal recommendation from a current or former customer. The potential customer may not be prepared to make a purchase at this time, but they are still interested in the goods or services the business provides.
For instance, a parent of a middle school student might start researching local tutoring services in case their child needs assistance with math later on in the school year. They may look at websites or social media feeds, read articles that list nearby tutoring agencies, or request recommendations from friends and family. Parents may become aware of a local tutoring business if it sends direct mail or sponsors school events.
Appeal
At this point, a potential customer is aware of a brand’s or business’s advantages and finds it intriguing. The business might land a spot on the buyer’s list of potential vendors if its marketing or website appeals to them. During this time, they could visit the business’ website to learn more about its various solutions, read reviews, and look for special offers or other deals. For instance, a prospective buyer of a new car might browse an auto dealer’s online inventory to learn what brands and models are offered by that retailer.
Depending on the sector, potential clients may also participate in free company activities like webinars or promotional events. The parent of the middle school student could participate in free webinars on study skills offered by the tutoring service, where they could pick up resources and advice from company experts. These actions could influence a prospective client’s perception of the business in a favorable way.
Ask
The potential client may then research the company’s goods and services in order to contrast them with the alternatives they are considering. They could use the company’s website’s chat feature, call or email a sales representative, or both. The prospective client is now interested in the specific attributes and advantages of the product they’ve gotten in touch with the business to talk about. For instance, a parent looking for math assistance might question the sales representative of the tutoring business about the credentials of their tutors, the format of the lessons, and any success guarantees the business might provide.
Additionally, prospective customers might assess the business and its offerings using outside sources. They might read testimonials on the websites of consumer advocacy groups or launch a poll in a relevant social media group. For instance, a pet owner seeking boarding in a new city might join a social media group for dog owners there and inquire about a number of nearby facilities. The objective is to learn more about their options and reduce their list until they arrive at the best option.
Act
The potential client purchases something from the business during the Act stage. This purchase could be a one-time transaction for a product or a monthly fee for a service that they use repeatedly. The sale might be made over the phone with the sales representative if the potential customer has already spoken to one. Even after speaking with a salesperson, some potential customers prefer to make purchases online. Following their purchase, they become the business’s clients and use their product or service.
Advocate
Due to their purchasing experience, the customer supports the business in this final stage. They might post testimonials or user reviews for the good or service, share company posts on social media, and recommend the business to their friends and family. The customer may upgrade their service with the business or make additional purchases depending on the product or service they purchased. A client who purchased a basic lawn care service from a landscaping business, for instance, might be satisfied with the service to the point where they upgrade to a premium package.
What are Kotler’s 5 A’s?
A customer’s journey through the sales process is mapped out using Kotler’s five stages of the customer path framework. Named by Dr. According to Philip Kotler, the five stages—Awareness, Appeal, Ask, Act, and Advocacy—let marketing and sales experts map out the needs and priorities of customers at various stages of the buying process. With the aid of this map, they can create procedures that facilitate and enhance the purchasing experience for customers.
Depending on the length and complexity of their sales purchase, some customers might skip some of the five stages while others might go through all five. To choose a grocery store, for instance, a retail customer might not go through all five stages because everyday purchases frequently happen quickly and may not require an emotional investment from the customer. When customers purchase a big-ticket item like a car or a refrigerator or a durable service like tutoring or lawn care, they are more likely to go through all five stages.
Tips for using Kotler’s 5 A’s in marketing and sales
You can use Kotler’s five As in your sales and marketing processes by following the following strategies:
Track metrics for each stage
One advantage of this framework is that it categorizes customers clearly, making it possible to evaluate the effectiveness of salespeople and processes at each stage. For instance, measuring the conversion rate between interested parties during the ask and act phases can provide insight into how successfully the sales team closes deals. In order to determine whether a potential customer will make a purchase, you could also monitor how much time they spend at each stage of the process.
You can create custom labels for sales leads on many customer relationship management (CRM) software platforms, which can help you track metrics automatically. You could use a CRM to make graphs and reports that examine the metrics at each stage of the funnel if you work in sales or marketing management. You can identify weak points in the sales process using these reports.
Focus on individual stages for improvement
Managers of marketing and sales who monitor the metrics for each phase of the customer journey may use that data to create improvement strategies. They may decide to focus on improving one stage of the customer journey each month or quarter. They can measure the impact of new processes accurately and identify the most effective methods by concentrating on a single stage. By giving workers a small number of new processes to concentrate on at once, it can also make the process of improvement easier for them.
For instance, you might oversee a project to persuade clients in the action segment to promote the business. The project may evaluate the efficacy of a fresh customer loyalty plan that offers incentives for referring new customers. You can gauge the effectiveness of the loyalty program by counting the number of new referrals that have increased in the following sales cycle. For businesses to best serve their customers, the sales cycle should go through gradual changes at each stage.
Customize messaging for different segments
In many industries, email marketing is a crucial component of the sales development process. Using Kotler’s five As framework, you can tailor your email communications to potential and existing clients based on where they are along the sales development path. You can categorize leads using a CRM and send emails with specific messages to each stage. By focusing on the requirements of particular populations, customized email messages can increase the effectiveness of a marketing campaign.
As an illustration, the marketing department of a tutoring business could send potential clients in the Appeal stage an email highlighting the credentials and guarantees of their tutors. People in that stage may find this information particularly interesting as it could aid in their decision-making process by allowing them to compare various businesses. The business’s marketing department may send details about referral bonuses, family discounts, and continuing education programs to customers in the Advocate stage. The marketing team can increase the proportion of people who open and read their emails by highlighting the details that people in each stage might value most.
Work with other departments
While the Kotler framework may be used by the sales, marketing, and business development departments in their daily work, other departments may have different influences on the customer at different stages. Teams may collaborate to enhance the customer experience at each stage. For instance, the landing pages and online resources developed by the company’s software development team may have a big impact on prospective clients in the Aware stage. The marketing team may collaborate with the development team to create lead captures or other digital tools to improve how potential customers interact with the business in order to increase the conversion rate from Aware to Appeal.
Please note that Indeed is not affiliated with any of the businesses mentioned in this article.
Kotler’s 5 Product Level Model
FAQ
What are the five stages of the customer journey?
Modern Customer journey is categorized in 5 A’s. Aware, Appeal, Ask, Act & Advocate.
What are the 5ps?
- Awareness phase. The majority of potential customers begin during the awareness stage, when a user has a problem or need and searches for a solution.
- Consideration phase. …
- Purchase/decision phase. …
- Retention phase. …
- Advocacy phase.
