TOOL

A Brief Guide to the

Customer Journey
Buy Enjoy

The ...
Advocate
Loyalty
Loop

Evaluate
Bond

?
Consider

Good marketing requires careful assessment of the customer journey that is likely to be experienced
when a typical member of a target segment identifies a potential need for a product like yours. Each
of the six steps provides opportunities for marketing efforts customized for maximum results.

Introduction to Marketing and Marketing Analytics

© 2022 Cornell University 1
Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management
 ?
...
1. Consider

The journey begins when a customer recognizes a possible need. To consider your
product, the customer must be aware that it exists or be made aware of its existence.

?
...
2. Evaluate

After identifying one or more products that might address a need, the customer
proceeds to the evaluation stage. The customer tries to predict the benefits of
each product and assesses how important different benefits or costs are to them.

3. Buy

Having evaluated one or more products, the customer decides whether or not to
make a purchase and, if so, which product. Customers often need a little nudge to
make the final purchasing decision.

4. Enjoy

The customer enjoys your product — or doesn’t enjoy it. Their experience consuming
and using the product will affect what happens next.

...
5. Advocate

Customers who enjoy your product will likely speak or write favorably of it and
influence their families and associates, both offline and online. Those who have a
bad experience may advocate against the product.

...
6. Bond

The final stage of the journey occurs when a customer enjoys a product so much
that they bond with the brand. They form a strong sense of loyalty to the brand,
become less price-sensitive, and are willing to pay more in the future to buy this brand over a
competing brand. When the time comes to buy again, they usually don’t go through the whole
decision journey again. Instead, they go straight to rebuy. This is the so-called loyalty loop.

Introduction to Marketing and Marketing Analytics

© 2022 Cornell University 2
Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management