Customer Journey Mapping: An Analysis of ’Active Senior’ Buyer Personas

The aim of this research is to develop an in-depth psychological understanding of the buyer journeys (pre-purchase, purchase, and post-purchase) of Active Seniors, based on the development of multidimensional (cognitive, affective and conative) marketing personas. Specific questions include: What role does mobile technology play in the buyer journey? What are the focal and pivotal "Moment of Truth" touch points on the journey? Who ’owns’ the touch point? How do customers (and organisations) rate ’successful’ journeys? What does the ideal customer journey look like?
The population is ageing and the older, active generation (aged 50-70) have greater amounts of free time and discretionary income to spend than many other groups in society and additionally are healthier, wealthier and more willing to take risks than previous generations at this age. However, comparatively little is known about the buyer behaviour of this important generation.
There is growing awareness in marketing that, particularly in the digital age, traditional marketing approaches need to be supplemented by a focus on the customer’s journey and an improved understanding of the needs and behaviour at each touch point (Lemon & Verhoef, 2016). Market segmentation needs to be supplemented by the development of buyer personas which provide “A thumbnail summary of the characteristics, needs, motivations and environment of typical website users” (Chaffey & Ellis-Chadwick, 2012, p.76).
While there have been studies examining online search behaviour (Palau et al. 2012) they have not focused exclusively on the older generation. Beldona et al (2009) studied generational cohorts’ use of technology in travel search, underpinning his work with technology adoption theory, e-commerce and sociology, however he did not study the engagement with technology by Active Seniors. The research will test the efficacy of theoretical models from psychology (e.g. Maslow’s (1954) Hierarchy of Needs and Fishbein & Ajzen’ (1975) Theory of Planned Behaviour) as well as theory from Customer Engagement Behaviour (Bijmolt et al. 2010) and Relationship Marketing (Kumar, et al. 2010).
A mixed methods approach will be used, drawing on the framework of Mulder and Yaar (2006) to investigate and evaluate customer journeys and to design and evaluate personas using three phases:
1. The first qualitative phase will involve studying around 15 Active Senior’s buyer journeys and engagement with online media through pre-purchase, purchase, and post purchase. In addition to in depth interviews, this phase will involve participants using ’Customer Experience Journey Mapping’ software, including ExperienceFellow and Smaply to map their journeys. The interview and textual data will be analysed using the journey mapping software and Nvivo to analyse buyer journeys and refine the buyer personas.
2. Creating personas. Key themes identified from the qualitative research will be used to develop marketing personas using segmentation to create groups of similar users, mainly with the goal of finding patterns in users’ behaviours or requirements.
3. This final phase is quantitative; a questionnaire will be developed to test the hypotheses underpinning the journey mapping and persona development in the previous phases. Cognitive, affective and conative responses will be collected from Active Seniors

How to apply:
Applications are made via our website using the Apply Online button below. If you have an enquiry about this project please contact us via the Email NOW button below, however your application will only be processed once you have submitted an application form as opposed to emailing your CV to us.
Candidates for funded PhD studentship must demonstrate outstanding qualities and be motivated to complete a PhD in 4 years.
The PhD Studentships are open to UK, EU and international students. Candidates for a PhD Studentship should demonstrate outstanding qualities and be motivated to complete a PhD in 4 years and must demonstrate:

• A 1st class honours degree and/or a relevant Master’s degree with distinction or equivalent.If English is not your first language you’ll need IELTS (Academic) score of 6.5 minimum (with a minimum 6.0 in each component).

In addition to satisfying minimum entry criteria, BU will look closely at the qualities, skills and background of each candidate and what they can bring to their chosen research project in order to ensure successful completion.