The See – Think – Do – Care model helps us understand our interaction with our target audience from discovery of our brand to purchase and hopefully brand loyalty.
The Model was created by Google’s Avinash Kaushik and is a customer-centric framework to visualize our audience’s journey using 4 specific stages:
The SEE stage
The SEE stage is the initial stage where our audience discovers us and our brand for the first time.
As an entrepreneur you may feel that building a brand is beyond your reach.
This is not true.
You will most likely not be able to create brand awareness like a major Fortune 500 company. Still, your brand may simply be defined as your overall design, look, feel and tone of language.
Really anything that makes the visitor trust you enough to engage with your content.
The SEE stage is characterized by a broad approach where we want to reach the largest audience possible.
The THINK stage
The THINK stage uses a slightly more narrow approach. Here we target an audience that is showing an interest in our offered products or services.
This interest may for example take the form of considering a purchase in the near future.
Whereas we broadcast general values and strengths in the SEE stage we are now more focused on our specific comparative advantages.
What is it exactly that we do better than our competitors?
Which value proposition are we in a unique position to offer?
We narrow our scope and use a more targeted message. Our goal is to convince the visitor to choose us over any other alternative.
The DO stage
The DO stage is where we further narrow our scope and work to close the deal.
Here we have already convinced our visitor that we are the best alternative to solve their need or problem.
Now we work with triggers designed to convert the casual browser to an action-taker or buyer.
Common practices include introducing a sense of urgency or even actual discounts or offers on for example price or shipping and handling.
The CARE stage
The CARE stage is one of the most important stages but unfortunately often overlooked.
Here we work to create and increase brand loyalty with customers or visitors that have already demonstrated a willingness to purchase from us or engage with our website.
This could be members on a mailing list or customers who have already purchased a product or service from our website.
3 perspectives on SEE – THINK – DO – CARE
The SEE – THINK – DO – CARE model gives a complete framework to follow the customer from discovery of brand via purchase to establishing brand loyalty and a loyal customer.
But needless to say is this customer journey not typical for all internet businesses or entrepreneurs.
Different stages of the SEE -THINK – DO – CARE model carry a different level of importance depending on the goal and objective of your business plan.
Here we will look at three different types of businesses and how the SEE – THINK – DO – CARE model supports your specific business goals and objectives.
Which of these business models fit your business plan?
SEE – THINK for the advertising driven content publisher
The advertising revenue driven website has a very straightforward goal and objective.
The website seeks an audience to show ads and generates an income when the ad is shown. Typically we talk about CPM (Cost Per Mille) where the website is paid a fixed amount for every 1000 views or impressions.
The advertising revenue driven website is a content provider.
There is no direct goal or objective to create buyers or transactions for any given advertiser.
Instead the website takes on the role as an information provider and needs large numbers of visitors to make money.
An advertising revenue driven website should primarily focus on the SEE and THINK stages.
The SEE stage holds importance as the brand needs to communicate trust to deliver engagement from the audience.
The focus in the THINK stage is primarily focused on delivering quality content compared to other available sources.
Using a clear language and by offering complementary information the website can try to show how it stands apart from other alternatives.
But the main way to win in the THINK stage is to offer complete solutions and to over deliver. Do not give the audience a reason to visit alternative sources.
The CARE stage does however also play a role in attracting repeat visitors. Depending on your audience it could be important to communicate with loyal readers about news, updates and developments.
Mailings, newsletters and competitions are only a couple of examples on how we can increase engagement among loyal readers where applicable.
THINK – DO for the affiliate marketer
The affiliate marketer makes money when visitors make a purchase with a featured partner.
The affiliate marketer is primarily focused on the THINK and DO stages. And as the affiliate marketer is promoting someone else’s products or services there is always a risk that the THINK and DO stages blend into one.
Affiliate marketers use the THINK stage to show comparative advantages and benefits for the brand and solution they have chosen to represent.
But as the affiliate marketers do not own the offer they need to work with the offer at hand. And there is no guarantee that there will be DO stage type converting benefits like free shipping to communicate.
As the affiliate marketers do not own the brand they are promoting they are of course not particularly interested in the SEE and CARE stages.
Affiliate marketers do not get involved in building the brand for the product or solution they represent.
By the same logic affiliate marketers have no say or input during the CARE stage as the customer is long gone from the affiliate marketers perspective.
Affiliate marketers do however benefit from strong brand names as it makes it easier to convert the visitor from browser to buyer.
But for the activities the affiliate marketers perform themselves it is all about comparative advantages and a strong, solid message why the visitor should buy today.
SEE – THINK – DO – CARE for the online course publisher
Website owners selling e-books or offering online courses benefit from a solid performance in all four stages of the SEE – THINK – DO – CARE method.
SEE stage: Trust is an important part of any website’s journey to success. It is important to ask oneself why a visitor should purchase your course or e-book?
And make sure you view your website and operations from a customer’s point of view. Use your outside-in perspective and do not get lost in internal jargon.
Creating a trustworthy brand may be as “easy” as customer testimonials or affiliations with trusted national organisations.
Think outside-in and ask yourself what would make you feel secure in a similar situation.
THINK stage: Here the website owner focuses on how the course or e-book will address the needs and wants of the target audience.
We do not want to invite competitors into the space using an analysis of comparative advantages. It is almost impossible to make a fair and juste comparison of courses and e-books and instead we focus on the value proposition we offer.
Instead we use the THINK stage to stimulate motivation while removing friction from the buying decision.
Using Chris Gowards LIFT Model® we focus on increasing Clarity and Relevance while minimizing Distraction and Anxiety from the buying process.
Clarity refers to a clear design and an easy to follow flow. Relevance is simply aligning the content on the page with the user’s expectations.
We can minimize anxiety by showing why the decision to buy is right for your customer. Removing distractions means making it easy to purchase and return if need be.
DO stage: In the DO stage we use all the tools and techniques to create urgency while maintaining the integrity of our brand.
We use techniques such as limited time offers, time based discounts and free shipping and handling to create urgency and a will to buy now.
CARE stage: In the CARE stage we focus on looking after our customers and finding ways to turn them into return buyers.
Offering superior customer service, continuously updating our products and creating dedicated Facebook groups are just a couple of examples of how we can create brand loyalty.
Summary and conclusion
Look at the image below to help you start thinking about how the SEE – THINK – DO – CARE model can benefit your online business.
Regardless of where you are in the process of developing your online business it is important to have a clear understanding of your purpose.
What type of content should you focus on producing to reach your goals and objectives?
When you have arrived at an answer you simply need to ensure that your keyword analysis and content writing match and support your journey to success.
