Search engines, social media, opinion leaders, other customers' reviews and, more recently, artificial intelligence tools have radically changed how people look for information and decide what to buy. We wrote this article in 2019 and updated it in October 2026.
The figures come from Eurostat: online shopping in 2025 and generative AI use in 2025.
With so many metrics and so much data, it's easy to get lost in a stream of information you're supposed to mine for what works for your brand and what doesn't. Drawing conclusions you can act on has become hard work.
The most important step in organising your digital marketing strategy is understanding the now-famous customer journey: what people expect at each touchpoint, and what they're after as they move towards buying and beyond.
Every category and type of business has its own version of the customer journey. Below are six questions that hold for most of them.
01The consumer's point of view
Looking at your product or service from your organisation's point of view is very different from looking at it from the consumer's.
Your digital marketing team needs to understand every touchpoint with consumers, from the first interaction to the decision to buy and beyond. The hardest part of working with the huge amounts of data modern marketing generates is asking the right questions, the ones that lead to concrete action. Questions like these are the basis of any strategy:
- Discovery. How do people find out about your brand?
- Barriers. What might stand between interest and the decision to buy?
- Solutions. How do you clear the obstacles that come up along the customer journey?
02How long is the customer journey?
How long it takes to go from intent to purchase depends heavily on the category your company works in: a few minutes for impulse buys, several weeks or even months for a car or for pricier products people use for a long time.
- Impulse buy
- You're at the office and fancy something sweet. You pop into the nearest shop, look at the shelf, weigh things up and pick a brand. From intent to decision takes a few minutes.
- Expensive, long-lasting product
- For a new car, you start online: you configure the model, compare prices and read reviews. A few weeks later you go for a test drive, perhaps head back online for more information, then go over the finance with the salesperson. It can all stretch over several months.
The same goes for a home or a smartphone: the pricier the product and the longer it lasts, the longer the decision takes and the more factors come into play.
03What the consumer is after at each stage
At every stage of the customer journey, the consumer is after something. For example:
- Information. Details about your product, such as specifications and price.
- Opinions. How happy other customers are with what you sell.
- Comparisons. What your product offers compared with others in the same category.
Once you know what they're after, you can see whether your communication meets their expectations at each stage of the decision.
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04What makes the consumer happy
Find out what makes your customers happy, and don't stop at their basic needs. Create experiences they'll remember and tell other people about. The small things that please them can spark ideas for memorable moments at each stage of the decision, for example:
- A personalised parcel. Packaging or a note that shows you know who placed the order.
- An answer in advance. A message that answers their next questions before they ask.
- The right discount. Money off a future order that complements what they've already bought.
05What the consumer wants next
When a consumer gets in touch with your company, it's rarely the last step on their way to buying. Think about what they'll do next and how you can help. Ask yourself the question several times over, so you can see the next 3-4 steps.
06The KPIs that show your marketing works
Every stage of the customer journey throws off a mass of data. Picking the metrics that really show whether your actions work is no small task, from purchase intent to purchase and even after the person has become your customer.
A report that doesn't quickly lead you to conclusions you can act on is a waste of time and of opportunities. Everyone on the team should find your metrics easy to understand: brand manager, marketing manager, CEO, the media agency and the creative agency.
And the numbers you track should tell a story: how well you're convincing potential customers that your brand is the best choice.
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