Funnel Marketing: The ‘purchasing funnel’ is a traditional marketing model.

It described the stages that a consumer is coerced towards buying a product or service.

Marketers used the funnel metaphor as a simplified way to visualise touch points in the consumer journey.

According to the traditional model, the journey followed roughly four basic linear stages:-

awareness,
interest,
desire and
action.

Consumers, start at the wide end of the funnel, with many products or brands in mind. Then gradually narrowing them down to a final choice.

Traditionally, marketers used push marketing at certain points along the funnel to build customer awareness, trigger consideration and finally drive the action that would result in the purchase.

Along came the Internet and upended how consumers engage with brands and make the old way of marketing unsustainable.

Why is funnel marketing so important. Up to 90% of the buyer’s journey is complete before a prospect even reaches out to a salesperson.

So what are the areas of this sales funnel that we should consider?

Funnel Marketing | REACH within the new sales funnel

This is where marketers actually “reach” their target audience with brand messages. Consumers ARE spending more time conducting independent and anonymous research. They ARE carefully evaluating information before reaching out to a solutions provider. The goal here is to convey –

what your company does,
why your products are unique, and
why prospects should care about your company.

Funnel Marketing | NURTURE within the new sale funnel

This is where marketers “nurture” prospects. People who have expressed an interest in their product or service.

New technologies and new thinking have definitely expanded then current concept of nurturing.

Your goal as a marketer is to give them the tools and resources to educate your consumer. Tell them about your solution. How can it assist them? Remember to include planned calls to actions! Steps that will help them find the most relevant information.

Tell them about your solution or product.
Tell them how can it assist them.

As already mentioned, include the all important – planned calls to action. Steps that will help them find the most relevant information on their path to the important sale.

The ultimate goal is to ACQUIRE.

FACT: Marketers can no longer simply invest in traditional marketing channels. Mediums such as direct mail, trade shows, and vertical industry magazines. This is no longer enough to prompt new calls from prospects.

How does Content Marketing fit into Funnel Marketing?

Content marketing is a definite funnel tactic. In the top of the marketing funnel and includes things such as relevant blog posts or LinkedIn content updates. This form of information helps to establish either yourself or your brand as knowledgeable and helpful.

In the lower funnel (NURTURE), whitepapers and videos can educate and engage your prospects.

Where does Social Media fit into the marketing funnel?

In today’s social media age, the buying process is no longer linear. Consumers don’t just enter at the top of the funnel; instead, they come in at any stage.
Screen Shot 2016-01-20 at 12.41.28 pm Think of items recommended on a website, discovered in a tweet, Facebook post or on a Pinterest board. With a simple click, you can add them to your shopping cart. Moving a consumer straight from awareness to interest, desire and buy – all within only a few seconds.

Consumers are more informed, connected and empowered. Bombarded by social media and swamped with multiple choices. They often reduce the number of products they consider at the outset.

Recommendations from friends have always been important. But these recommendations spread quicker, faster and further at every stage in the funnel. Increasingly, the decision on what to buy, fueled as a result of advocates of products. People who share their experience in a multitude of ways, pulling in new customers. What’s more, you no longer even have to be a customer to be an advocate of a product or brand.

But when does the marketing sales funnel end?

Brands not only have to create repeat customers – they also have to create customers who will be brand ambassadors. Customers willing to vouch for them online on social media.

Did you know that research shows that more than 70% of online shoppers consult ratings or reviews before they make a purchase?

It is now more important than ever that your sales funnel extend beyond the sale.

Moving social media leads into the sale funnel.

Social media enables you to reach potential buyers. But now you can touch a consumer earlier than you would have been able to do so in the traditional sales process.

But what’s the catch? Online consumers tend to be fairly lazy – if they have to do too much work to be able to buy, they won’t.

Here are two tips to help ensure people who connect with you via social media become customers.

Online marketing Purchase Tip 1:

Have conversion points in your social media sites.

If a potential buyer finds your Facebook page but cannot find your website easily. Or reaches your website but cannot work out how to buy your product. The chances are they won’t bother any further and that opportunity is lost.

Success in social media relies on sharing strong content on social networks.

Often your blog or news is the natural place for this sort of content. So consider the potential value of this content if you include a call to action. This conversion point or call to action in your blog will, in fact, turn every blog post into a valuable website landing page.

Online marketing Purchase Tip 2:

Garner social media soft leads. Soft leads are people who are willing to give you their email address. All in exchange for valuable or relevant content, i.e. they become email subscribers. These people are valuable. Why? They’re saying they’re interested in your content, just not your product, yet.

How can you use this information? You can then use e-mail marketing campaigns to build on their trust. Providing valuable information and decision-making content to ultimately convert this soft lead into a potential buyer.

So what does our new Funnel Marketing in the digital age look like?

A potential full funnel marketing plan might look like this:

Reach Funnel Marketing:

Display advertising
Videos
Public relations
Social media engagement
Website Design and Development
Blog content generation

Nurture Funnel Marketing:

In Summary

Do not over focus on the lower aspects of your funnel marketing. Invest in awareness and other reach funnel tactics to ensure your funnel is full of prospects. People who will be ready to buy in a year, 18 months, or two years from now.

If you’d like to know more, or need help in setting up your funnel marketing programs give the team at Net Branding a call.