Sales are essential to any business, but the constant pressure on sales teams find new customers and selling more products fails to recognize an even greater revenue driver. While acquiring new customers, increasing sales and being sold are important, believing that these are the only ways toIncrease in income is wrong. This mentality can be observed in both startups and large corporations. So why this narrow focus on acquisitions? new customers a concern and what can be done to change this opinion?

MOST entrepreneurs recognize that their business must seek to solve a problem or fill a gap in their markets. Through pitch and funding rounds, as founders prepare and present their pitch outlining their paths to revenue, detailed emphasis is placed on building a customer base and continuing to grow that base. However, not enough time is spent on the journey their potential customers will take between the first measure of awareness and purchase.

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How your brand is failing your customers

or the customer journey with a brand it starts with the first brand awarenessconsidering purchase from that brand, actual purchase and then transition to loyalty and patronage of that brand. Building a customer journey map and having a solid understanding of the most basic points of contact in a customer's journey is vital. Without this, many missed opportunities will result sales AND customer loyalty over time.

The most basic touch points in the design of the customer journeyincluding understanding why customers are buying, their negative experiences, and how positive experiences can turn customers into advocates are some of the most valuable insights a business should research and implement.

Without an actual customer journey strategy adequately developed and implemented, it is only a matter of time before failure occurs within the brand. What does this failure begin to look like?

Below are eight common ones signs of customer journey failure:

1. A brand without an actual awareness strategy

One direct way to tell if your company lacks an awareness strategy is if it is too dependent on its sales team without first building an awareness campaign and key messaging strategy. All the pressure to build a customer base is put on sales without the apparatus to build awareness efforts consistently.

2. Awareness is not built around the right messages

Your customer's problems, needs and/or requests are not being met. Little or no effort is made around problems solved, solutions provided or experiences that make a difference. Instead, messages are about product features and benefits.

3. The reason to buy your product is not compelling enough

Moving from awareness to consideration, there aren't enough compelling reasons to continue buying. Two versions of this can happen: either no purchase is made at all, or a single purchase is made and no value is determined in the purchase process to continue to drive repeat purchases. Additionally, there may be no supporting message to drive repeat purchases.

4. The road to purchase is very complex and has many obstacles

Unfortunately, complicated shopping processes are all too common. From the many layers, the many steps within those layers, the confusion in the delivery and end result, the timelines, the list goes on. Without a clear, concise and simplified shopping experience, a lot of confusion can arise, reducing the value of the purchase.

5. The purchase process under-delivers, under-promises or does not match the messages

The most significant sign of this is failure to meet expectations, especially when expectations were defined by brand messaging. If the process presents surprises, is inconsistent, or doesn't take feedback on the buying process seriously, this part of the process can ruin the entire experience.

6. The brand does not have a clear incentive process to drive brand loyalty consistently

It's not enough to just drive repeat customer loyalty. If no campaign is created to consistently tell loyalty stories, no additional awareness will be created. Further, maintaining loyalty is at risk without clear incentives.

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7. There is no comprehensive review of the brand advocacy strategy every quarter

Many businesses miss out on the benefits of strategy review. Done correctly, a deliberate quarterly review will help identify market changes and changes needed to raise awareness, while ensuring that the other steps are smooth and build upon each other.

8. Lead brand advocacy efforts to ensure it is heard. Too often, advocacy messages are lacking and not delivered consistently enough to make an impact.

By spotting customer journey failure early, brands can realign (or reevaluate) their customer journey strategy and make sure they don't fail themselves and their customer base. By working through an honest assessment of the brand and competitive offerings in the marketplace, a unique differentiator, compelling key messages, and a powerful and consistent process of driving purchase and repurchase awareness can be built and refined. With a constant review of the strategy, the success of the customer journey is maintained and scaled.