JUMP TO A SECTION
LET’S SIMPLIFY
The easiest way to picture a digital marketing funnel is to imagine the full journey a customer takes with your business. It plans out the individual steps to transform a stranger into a lead, a lead into a customer, and a customer into a loyal customer.
In short, it’s your anticipated sales process. You may picture the layout of a funnel as an inverted triangle. But, a good digital marketing funnel actually looks more like an hour glass.
To break things down further, the funnel can be made up of 4 segments:
- Top of the funnel (awareness)
- Middle of the funnel (interest & consideration)
- Bottom of the funnel (action)
- After purchase (customer retention)
An efficient digital marketing funnel will be planned with these 4 points in mind, but the tools used to power the funnel will differ for each business. For example, one business might use Facebook for the top of their funnel, another might use LinkedIn or Google. One business might rely on blogs and infographics, while another might rely on articles and case studies.
The main point of a funnel is to continually drive customers towards an ACTION. This can also differ for each business. It could be an online purchase, a sign up, a download, or a telephone call. Some businesses have many funnels in place in order to get more actions from their customers.
In this piece, I would like to briefly discuss what each segment of the funnel does and how your business can benefit from it.
TOP OF THE FUNNEL
AWARENESS
This part of the digital marketing funnel is focused directly on gaining more brand awareness. It is the first, and widest, stepping stone for your potential customers.
At this point, people might not be aware of your business – they could also be completely unaware of the problem they have. So, it’s important to create content that entices people to find out more. This is where your customer research comes into play.
Let’s say that you sell luxury pillows and you want to start a campaign that reaches out to people who are UNAWARE of your brand. The top of your funnel could contain a series of ads, which specifically target your desired ‘audience’.
The ads wouldn’t be after a hard sale. Instead they would be more focused on introducing your brand and product. If the ad were to ask, ‘When was the last time you changed your pillow?’, it would be highlighting a problem that the customer might not have been aware of.
The top of the funnel can also get the attention of people who have a good idea of what they’re after, but are still unaware of your brand. They could be searching on Google for ‘comfy pillows’. The top of your funnel could then contain relevant posts, infographics, and videos that show up on those searches. This is where your SEO and keywords come into play.
The most important point here is to create interest in what you offer. Once someone has gained that interest, they have taken the first step into your funnel. The next step is to turn them into a lead.
MIDDLE OF THE FUNNEL
INTEREST & CONSIDERATION
When people have become aware of the problem they have, they search for more information. In today’s day and age, that search is almost always done online:
For 72% of buyers, they’ll turn to Google. The first stage of research begins with general search terms as buyers explore the options at their disposal.
Their interest will need to be fed with high quality content. They will have lots of questions at this point and you will need to provide the best answers. You are still not asking for sale; you are focused on providing helpful advice in a form of content they prefer. You are showing your vertical knowledge of the subject in hand and are building confidence in your reader.
It is at this point that you start to show your solutions to their problems. More than that, you’re slowly demonstrating how your brand can be trusted, relied upon, and considered when the reader decides to buy.
The next step is to generate a lead. Let’s say that your customers have visited your website and have been engaged with your brand and the helpful advice you offered. They are now CONSIDERING buying from you.
Creating leads can occur in a number of ways, an example would be a lead magnet or a sign-up form to your blog. Once you have obtained a visitor’s information, they have taken the next step in your funnel and have now become a lead.
BOTTOM OF THE FUNNEL
ACTION
Your leads are now fully aware of who you are and what you offer; they are interested in your product or service, but just need that helping hand to turn them into customers.
That is what this stage focuses on. Your leads are 90% convinced and it’s your job to quell any last-minute worries they may have. Social proof, case studies, whitepapers, emails, and sales pages can all play a part in this.
Case study content, showcasing the success of a previous or current customer, is very effective, especially when the case studies are relevant to, and reflect, the lead. Create case studies with customers that reflect different customer profiles, verticals, business sizes, etc.
Once your lead is convinced, you will hopefully get an action or conversion, and your newly made customer moves onto the final stage of the funnel.
QUICK TIP
Once a customer has purchased from you, they need to feel completely happy about it. This is vital if you are interested in re-sales and generating word-of-mouth. If they are not fully convinced, they will doubt their purchase and, by extension, your brand.
AFTER PURCHASE
CUSTOMER RETENTION
After your sale, you will need to continue nurturing you customers to maintain a profitable relationship. This is also essential for developing your brand beyond a sale.
By doing this, you will increase the likelihood of better reviews, more word-of-mouth, and repeat custom. It is also extremely useful when it comes to getting valuable feedback from your past customers.
Once a customer is completely happy and has spread the word about your brand, more people will enter your funnel and the process starts again.
HOW THIS HELPS YOUR BUSINESS
A digital marketing funnel not only helps streamline your sales process, it also helps you build your online authority. By planning your buyer’s journey, you are also planning the type of content they will want to see and read. Remember, they have to see the right content at the right time in their journey.
If you can integrate a detailed content strategy into your plans, you will have the makings of a highly efficient digital marketing funnel.
7 responses