The Santa Barbara Web Design and Marketing Blog

Understanding Your Customer’s Journey: Who Has Your Customer Before You Do?

When it comes to building an effective marketing strategy, one powerful yet often overlooked question can completely transform the way you approach your audience: Who has your customer before you do?

This question isn’t about ownership or exclusivity. It’s a lens through which to view your potential customer’s entire journey—from the moment they first identify a need or problem, all the way to discovering your business as a possible solution. By considering not just what your ideal customer wants, but their state of mind, habits, and the different influences surrounding them before they know about you, you can profoundly enhance your outreach and ensure you're engaging with them at the right time, in the right way, with the right message.

It demands that you pause and ask: Where is your customer, physically and mentally, before they encounter you? Who are they interacting with, what are they feeling, and what alternatives or competitors might already be in the running for their attention?

Let’s break down how to analyze and leverage this crucial stage in your customer’s awareness journey.

1. Mapping the Customer Awareness Journey

Before your customer finds you, they exist in a certain state—sometimes unaware of the problem, sometimes searching for solutions, and sometimes weighing their options. Marketers often refer to customer awareness stages:

- Completely Unaware: They don’t know they have a problem or need.

- Problem-Aware: They recognize a problem but not any solutions.

- Solution-Aware: Solutions exist, but not your specific offering.

- Product-Aware: They know about you, but not convinced.

- Most Aware: Ready to buy or take action.

Each awareness stage calls for a specific approach—and knowing where your potential customers are on this spectrum dictates how you engage with them.

2. The Value of Pre-Awareness: Who Has Your Customer Before You Do?

Pre-awareness is where your marketing can gain a powerful, often neglected, advantage. Before customers come to you or your competitors, they are influenced by:

- Daily habits and routines: The media they consume, places they visit, and even the people they talk to.

- Gatekeepers and intermediaries: Professionals, friends, or even apps and technologies they rely on.

- Information sources: Blogs, forums, social platforms, newsletters, or community groups where they seek ideas—even before search engines become part of their journey.

- Alternative solutions: Products or methods they might have tried (or considered), even if they didn’t work out.

Identify what or who is touching your customer’s journey before you do. Sometimes, other brands, advisors, or content creators hold your audience’s attention first. By targeting these channels or establishing partnerships, you can intercept and support potential customers even earlier.

3. Understanding the State of Mind and Lifestyle

Get inside the head of your future customer. Try to answer some key questions:

- What does their day look like? Are they busy professionals, students, parents, retirees?

- What problems are occupying their thoughts—even those only tangentially related to your offering?

- What kinds of messages are they exposed to, inadvertently or intentionally?

- Who do they seek advice from when confronting challenges?

- Are they optimistic about solving their issue, or skeptical?

- Do they realize solutions—let alone your solution—even exist?

Understanding this context isn't just helpful; it's essential for crafting fresh, compelling offers or content that cuts through the noise.

4. Strategizing Your Marketing Based on Early Touchpoints

Every step before a customer even knows your brand is an opportunity. Let’s see how you can leverage it.

a. Target “Upstream” Influences

For example, suppose you run a web design business. Your ideal customers might first ask a friend for advice, read a business startup guide, or seek accounting help. Partnering with those sources of influence can present you as a trusted solution even before they search online.

b. Create Offers for Different Awareness Stages

Don’t only focus on customers ready to buy. For the unaware or problem-aware, educational resources, “Did you know?” content pieces, checklists, free tools, or webinars might make more sense than a sales pitch. For those comparing their options, in-depth comparisons, testimonials, or live demos are more effective.

c. Contextual Messaging

The same offer that excites a ready-to-buy customer will fall flat with someone who doesn’t even know they need you. Tailor your messaging to meet their actual state of mind. For “pre-awake” customers, awareness-building content and trust-building are key. For those mid-journey, emphasize differentiation and proof.

5. Where Are Your Customers Physically?

Physical location still matters, even in the digital age. Are your customers at trade shows, gyms, community events, or in coworking spaces? If so, can you reach them through sponsorships, local advertising, or in-person workshops before they ever search the web?

Online, ask where they “hang out” before searching for what you offer: Are they browsing certain subreddits, engaging in professional Facebook groups, listening to specific podcasts? Get ahead of their journey by showing up where they already are.

6. Audit: Who Has Your Customer’s Attention (and Trust) Before You?

Conduct a “who has them before me?” audit. Make a list:

- Non-competing businesses with the same audience

- Influencers or bloggers your prospects trust

- Industry podcasts or YouTube channels

- Forums or online communities

- Publications or newsletters

- Professional service providers (accountants, lawyers, coaches, etc.)

Once identified, think about ways to cross-promote, collaborate, or get featured. This could be via joint webinars, guest blog posts, referral agreements, or even simple content alliances.

7. Mapping Your Existing Strategy: Gaps and Opportunities

Take an honest look at your current marketing approach:

- Do you only target the last step, when customers are already comparing vendors?

- How early in their journey do you appear?

- Where do your prospects get hung up or fall off your radar?

- Are you missing opportunities in the “who has them before me” space?

Mapping current and ideal customer journeys side-by-side will reveal immediate areas for improvement.

8. Real-World Applications: Examples Across Industries

Let’s illustrate this idea with practical scenarios.

a. Health and Wellness Coaches

Many people begin their wellness journey by reading self-help books, joining support groups, or following fitness influencers. If you only advertise your services on “coach finder” platforms, you miss vast numbers who haven’t reached that stage. Instead, create resources or collaborate with book clubs, wellness bloggers, or mental health podcasts that speak to the subtly aware.

b. Local Restaurants

Before someone tries a new local restaurant, they may turn to food bloggers, Yelp, or local Facebook foodie groups. Rather than just relying on Google Maps, build relationships with these upstream influencers, offer “insider” events, or become active in those online communities.

c. Web Designers and Digital Marketers

Business owners often start by searching for DIY website solutions, business plan templates, or advice from local SCORE chapters. Get your brand into these spaces through resource sharing or affiliate partnerships—capture needs early and gently guide prospects toward your expertise.

9. Evolving with Customer Awareness: Stay Flexible

Your target audience’s habits, knowledge, and influencers will evolve. Their journey will shift. Keep these steps in mind:

- Regularly research new trends, popular online communities, and emerging apps.

- Survey existing customers about their journeys—what was their first step?

- Watch for new competitors or alternative solutions that might capture attention earlier.

By adjusting your outreach and messaging as customer journeys change, you demonstrate not just marketing agility, but true empathy for your audience’s evolving needs.

10. Bringing It All Together: The Competitive Edge

By rigorously considering who “has” your customer before you—their environments, influences, and intermediate solutions—you’ll stand apart from competitors who simply target the most obvious, last-mile customer. You’ll be present at the beginning, offer value long before a transactional relationship, and become a trusted guide every step along the way.

This approach doesn’t just improve your marketing effectiveness; it genuinely serves your audience better. By delivering the right message, through the right channels, at the right stage in their journey, you ensure that your business is both discoverable and indispensable.

Action Steps for Your Next Strategy Session

1. Map your customer’s full journey—including pre-awareness and the “who has them before me” phase.

2. Audit all the places and influences they connect with before you or your competition.

3. Seek partnerships, content collaborations, or sponsorships with these sources.

4. Adjust your content and offers to suit each awareness stage.

5. Repeat this process regularly as new channels and influences emerge.

Conclusion

The question “Who has your customer before you do?” may be simple, but it opens a doorway to deeper understanding and more innovative marketing. By thinking beyond search terms and sales funnels—by exploring your customer’s pre-engagement world—you build deeper connections, capture more interest, and serve your market with genuine insight.

Challenge yourself to look further up the stream than your competition. Show up sooner, empathize more, and reap the rewards of truly customer-centered marketing.

All it takes is a shift in perspective, and your audience will notice the difference. That’s how you move from one of many options to their trusted first choice.