Door4’s MD Sean Dwyer explains the importance of the Living, Learning and Buying phases of consumer purchasing, the “messy” middle and value of balancing marketing budgets to influence audiences in and out of market.  

Marketing is messy! The funnel to purchase, and customer journey, is not linear.

So when it comes to buying behaviours, especially with regards to kitchens and bathrooms, no one goes through the same journey.

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Part of the issue is in today’s connected world it’s estimated the average UK consumer is making buying decisions across at least six platforms.

It means businesses of all sizes need to be creating more content than ever before, distributing it across more channels, and making it more personal to buyers, to be in with a chance of even being seen by consumers.

That’s not easy given most marketers are currently faced with less budget and fewer resources, and more expensive advertising.

Efficient marketing can make a big difference to businesses surviving, let alone thriving.

Living, Learning, Buying

We like to simplify the not-straightforward (OK messy!) customer journey process. And we break it down to three phases: Living, Learning and Buying, which in turn are streamlined further into audiences who are either ‘in’ market – or ‘out’.

The Living phase is when customers are out of market – quite possibly doom scrolling, as we call it. They’re consuming media, often bored – but distracted.

So, the important aspect here is about grabbing their attention, being memorable and creating future demand.

The interesting thing to point out here, is across this phase and touchpoints – we’re not necessarily directing people to buy our products; we just need them to know about us, and to be a brand they will consider, when they are in market. The in-market audience are those in the Learning and Buying phases.

At the Learning phase consumers are starting to enter the market, learning about services and products. Here a brand’s content needs to cater for this audience’s requirements – with advice and guidance.

According to HubSpot’s 2024 State of Sales report, 71% of consumers gather information themselves when researching a product or service.

Further studies show the Top 5 sources of products research are:

• Search engines (55%)
• Consumer reviews (41%)
• Product/brand sites (31%)
• Price comparison sites (30%)
• Social Media (26%)

So be visible to your audience when they’re in market, be in the places where your audiences is planning and be there when your audience is searching!

At the Buying phase, when they’re finally putting their hand in their pockets, businesses need to eliminate all barriers to purchase and ensure the marketing leaves no doubt in their minds this is the right choice. Here it’s also ensuring your site includes content your audience is looking for.

At all of these stages, the right and wrong content can make-or-break a decision to continue their journey with you.

Use a framework

Our framework is a toolkit for marketers to validate their approach in campaign execution, not just as a ‘set in stone’ concept how users actually act. You can use similar frameworks – such as AIDA, Google’s See, Think, Do, Care model – as long as marketing teams are thinking audience first.

Frameworks help us to cater for all needs, regardless of how someone is navigating their purchase and research journey.

We do not profess this model compels people from one stage to another, but it ensures we cater for all stages and increases our odds of them taking their next step with us.

It focuses marketing efforts to answer key questions such as “How do we need to talk to our audience when they’re living life day-to-day”; or “If I was learning about what kitchen best suits my needs, what would I need to know?”

But ignore the living phase at your peril – even when it feels like the only way to ‘get sales’ is by focusing on those currently in market. At the living phase you’re investing to be remembered.

A study by OnBuy reported 71% of customers say it’s important to recognise a brand before they make a decision and 82% of customers click on brands they are familiar with.

So while it’s of course important to scoop up customers in the buying phase, keep your marketing focused on creating a brand consumers trust, to lead to better fortune in the long-term.

Go further and find out how to make your advertising work harder in a challenging market.