What a consumer's marketing journey looks like in 2025

Simply putting out an advertisement for your brand is no longer enough to convince a consumer to make a purchase, especially during today’s economic crisis. 

Most likely, a consumer is going to buy a product when they are in need of it, not just because they saw an ad. 

Google is our best friend - both when it comes to finding solutions to our problems and increasing brand visibility for your company.

For consumers, this process is called the Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT) - the moment they find out they have a problem and look online for a solution.

The ZMOT is crucial for marketers as well, as this will be your brand’s first impression to the public’s eye.

In response to this shift in consumer behaviors, companies are investing in search engine optimization (SEO) strategies and engaging content creation. These strategies help your brand appear at the top of the search list when being Googled.

Related: The importance of SEO in the digital realm 

Since the effectiveness of advertisements has changed in 2025, so too has the way products are promoted. Traditional advertising does not hold the same power it does now than 20 years ago.

Thanks to Google, Yelp and TikTok, consumers can now easily find reviews to any company or product online. In fact, over 99.9% of consumers check for reviews before purchasing a product, with only 23% of them trusting digital ads. 

Even more powerful that written reviews are the power of social media influencers. Key word here? Influence.

If a review posted online is big enough to sway a customer’s decision, imagine what seeing it in real time by somebody online can do. 

That’s why the marketing funnel has also changed in the current day.

The marketing funnel has been used by marketers since the 1890’s to track where a consumer is in their journey - starting from awareness of a product to a successful sale.

Back then, process was linear from A to B. Today, however, not so much for a handful of reasons.

Aside from the influence of online reviews, brands also lack complete power over their messages. 

No matter how well-crafted an advertisement can be, the public’s word of mouth holds more weight. One negative review can overshadow the ten positive reviews you have.

That is why marketers track every analytic they can at each segment of the marketing funnel.

• For awareness, they focus on brand visibility. This can be investing in SEO strategies and engaging social media presence. 

• Following awareness, companies begin to invest in promotional content such as SMS and emailing incentives to showcase their product at a more personal level. 

• From there, they hope you make a purchase by streamlining an easy checkout process, offering you a limited time discount or having an AI chat box help you with you purchases.

• Finally, during the post-purchase phase, they hope they become loyal customers to the brand and even more, free brand advocates.

Although a consumer’s journey has changed over the past decade, the company’s goal  still remains the same: engage with customers, offer a solution and turn them into a recurring buyer.