ChicExecs Senior VP of Elevate, Lydia Vargo, shares the five steps to understand a buyer’s journey in a multi-touchpoint society on Forbes blog. Enjoy this highlight from the piece.

Gone are the days when customers would stroll into a store and chat with a salesperson to learn about your products. Today, Shoppers discover brands on their own, conduct online research and either shop online or in-store only after they’ve educated themselves.

Not sure what to make of the new status quo? Follow these five steps to master the buyer’s Journey in a multi-touchpoint environment.

1. Log all potential touchpoints.

With the modern buyer’s journey, shoppers learn about you through touchpoints such as press, social media, influencers and endorsements. From there, they will often check out your website or social platforms to educate themselves on your offerings.

2. Boost Awareness.

Once you identify the most common touchpoints in your business, it’s time to optimize each one. Begin with the first stage of the buyer’s journey: Awareness.

At this stage, buyers are just becoming aware of your brand and products. They aren’t ready to buy yet because they need more information to make an informed decision.

3. Optimize for Consideration stage buyers.

In the Consideration stage, shoppers have acknowledged a need or problem and are looking for a solution. Consideration-stage shoppers often compare multiple products before buying—which means that at this stage, you are competing against other businesses.

4. Remove friction for Purchase stage buyers.

In the Purchase stage, you’ve persuaded a shopper to buy your goods. The primary touchpoint here is your website or primary e-commerce platform(s).

Getting to this point, however, does not mean your work is done. Plenty of shoppers fall out of the funnel at this stage. It is time for you to convince them to click the “Pay Now” button.

5. Map touchpoints for Loyalty.

For companies performing at their best, the customer journey is never truly done. You need to continue nurturing shoppers long after they make their first purchase. The goal is to surprise and delight these shoppers so they not only continue buying from you, but also promote your products to their friends and family.

Read Lydia’s entire blog on the five steps to understand a buyer’s journey in a multi-touchpoint society here.