When customers journey from a need to a purchase decision and beyond, they rarely do so alone. In this session, Professor Ryan Hamilton will discuss the social customer journey, which extends prior perspectives on the path to purchase by explicitly integrating the important role that social others play throughout the journey. The importance of “traveling companions” is highlighted, with a focus on those who interact with the decision maker through one or more phases of the journey. The social customer journey concept integrates prior findings on social influences and customer journeys and highlights opportunities for new research within and across the various stages. The session will provide actionable marketing implications relevant to organizations’ engagement in the social customer journey, including managing influencers, shaping social interactions, and deploying technologies.

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View the slides

Read the paper: Traveling with Companions: The Social Customer Journey

Commentary: The Case for a Healthier Social Customer Journey

Commentary: Toward Formalizing Social Influence Structures in Business-to-Business Customer Journeys