There are many ways to analyze customer behavior in marketing to then lead them to purchase. One of them is the Ben Hunt ladder. We explain what it is and how to use it.
What is Hunt’s Ladder of Recognition
Ben Hunt’s Laws
Stages of the Hunt Ladder
How to Use the Ben Hunt Ladder
Possible errors
Example of use
Expert advice
What is Hunt’s Ladder of Recognition
Table of Contents
The Hunt’s Ladder of recognition, awareness, consciousness or Hunt’s ladder are all names of one model proposed in 2010 by American marketer Ben Hunt. He described the customer’s path: from complete indifference to the product to purchase.
Ben Hunt’s Laws
Ben Hunt’s Laws are four basic principles that describe the consumer’s relationship with a product:
The customer does not recognize the need for the product, does not understand his problem and, therefore, does not know how the product can solve it.
After the need is recognized, all stages before the purchase are related to information – the client studies it to make a decision. At each step of the Hunt ladder, there are marketing tools that bring the user closer to the purchase.
The purchase occurs only at the fifth stage, but not earlier.
The client cannot jump over one or several steps of the ladder of awareness at once. He goes through them one by one.
You can understand how to use the Hunt ladder and other marketing tools in your work on the course “Content Marketer” . Students also study the characteristics of customer behavior, learn to influence their decision to buy at different stages, and manage the creation and promotion of selling content.
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Stages of the Hunt Ladder
The Hunt ladder consists of five stages:
1. Lack of need
At this stage, a person is not aware of his problem. For example, a bank manager calls an entrepreneur and offers a loan for business. The entrepreneur refuses, because he does not yet understand why he needs borrowed money.
2. Awareness of need
A person has realized that he has a problem or need. An entrepreneur has decided to expand his staff, and additional money is needed for this. He sees advertisements everywhere about how convenient it is to run a business on borrowed funds and not spend personal funds.
3. Search for information
A person begins to search for information about possible solutions to his problem. An entrepreneur thinks about where to get a loan. One option is to borrow from partners. Another is to take out a loan. He asks colleagues for advice, reads articles about the economic situation, and monitors how interest rates change.
4. Selecting a solution
A person chooses the most suitable solution to his problem. An entrepreneur has decided to take out a bank loan. He studies the conditions in different banks and chooses a suitable credit program.
5. Purchase of goods or services
A person purchases a product or service to solve his problem. The entrepreneur signs a loan agreement, and the bank credits the money to his account.
Ben Hunt’s ladder is similar to CJM — customer journey map. The difference is that CJM has more stages. For example, there is a sixth stage — consumption, when a person has already bought a product, uses it and draws conclusions. After the consumption stage, there is also an evaluation stage, when the client compares the value of the product with its cost and promised benefits. He can leave reviews or give recommendations to his friends and acquaintances.
How to Use the Ben Hunt Ladder
Marketing works at each step of Ben Hunt’s ladder: from the formation of a need to a purchase. Let’s look at the example of promoting a CRM system product for business.
Stage 1: No need
The company supplies equipment for food outlets. It has a development and sales manager, who records all customer contacts in an Excel file. The company has few clients, and there are practically no repeat requests. There is no need to record these contacts in any program.
Marketing actions
the main task is to create content that describes various situations on issues of interest to the manager. For example, increasing the efficiency of the team and sales department. This content natively integrates information on how the use of CRM affects business results. This can be an article, interviews with experts or entrepreneurs.
Stage 2: Recognizing the need
The sales manager decided to leave the company and took all the customer contacts with him. The company’s manager wants everything to be stored on the organization’s information resources, but a solution to the problem has not yet been found.
Marketing actions
at the stage of realizing the need, it is important to “highlight the problem” and add evidence in favor of its solution. This can be material with research results, facts, statistics. You can also use thematic queries on a similar topic to capture the attention of “warm clients” who have already realized the problem and want to solve it.
Stage 3: Search for information
The company has the opportunity to scale to other regions. Consequently, there will be more clients, interaction with them needs to be planned, and the actions of the sales department must be transparent and manageable. There was a need to organize a system for working with clients. The head of the company began to look for solutions, including: 1C , various CRM systems or dashboards based on data from the client base.
Marketing actions
at the solution search stage, you can create content that will allow you to weigh and compare proposals. Marketing tools include video reviews, articles, quizzes, tests, and publications from opinion leaders.
Step 4: Choosing a Solution
The manager compared different options and decided that the CRM system is the best one. He starts to inquire about offers from different developers, compare their characteristics and tariffs. He initiates presentations from representatives of these products to understand their features in more detail. At business events, he asks colleagues and partners who uses which systems.
Marketing actions
the moment the client begins to narrow the search, it is important to hook him. The tools will be SEO, contextual and media advertising. It is also necessary to lead the client to the company’s resource, which will present the characteristics and advantages of the product – a landing page, website, social networks, an online store or an article about the brand. The task of marketing is to convince that the decision to buy the product is not optimal.
Stage 5: Purchase of goods or services
The company decides on a supplier. The manager studies the connection options and tariffs that may suit his team. At first, he decides to use the free version to evaluate the ease of use of the program.
Marketing actions
at the last stage, it is necessary to give the client the opportunity to seamlessly reach the purchase. The convenience of the site and payment options, the speed of service, the quality of the sales department service or the ability to quickly and easily install the CRM system itself are important here.
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Possible errors
The Hunt Ladder is a useful marketing tool
But it is important not to make mistakes in its use. For example:
Lack of work at the first stage
Many owners and marketers do not want to spend money on forming the client’s needs. This requires a lot of time, effort, and the effect is not immediately obvious. But in this case, buyers will be lured away by competitors.
Incorrect determination of the stage the client is at
It is possible to mistakenly assume that a person is ready to buy, but in fact he is still at the stage of searching for information.
No content adaptation for different stages
The company can provide the same content to all customers, regardless of what stage of the Hunt ladder they are at.
Using one communication channel
At different stages, it is necessary to communicate with the client in different ways. For example, at the information search stage, you can publish informational articles, and at the decision selection stage, launch media advertising.
Lack of work at the fifth stage
If a person has decided to buy a product, it does not mean that he will actually buy it. For example, he came to the store for a specific brand of marmalade, but at the checkout he saw another one, in a more attractive package. In such a situation, a person can change his mind, and it is important not to lose the client: for example, hire a merchandiser for the store.
