The marketing funnel
The marketing funnel is probably one of the very first things any great marketer will learn. I remember learning this concept in my first marketing class in college. Let’s be honest I kind of zoned out when I should’ve paid more attention because I will learn later on how important this all is!
What you’ll come to find out when Googling the steps of the funnel is that you’ll see a variety of different names for each step as well as differing amounts of steps which can be really confusing.
To keep things simple I will be going over the most easiest to understand and the one that I learned which was the 4 level funnel.
Awareness
The first step in the funnel is awareness. Brand awareness is pretty self explanatory but it’s pretty much familiarity with a brand which can include culture, tones, and styles. The objective of the awareness step is to show your future consumers that you exist. If you are a dog food brand and someone is looking to change and try a new dog food you want them to think of you. Marketing initiatives for this can include radio ads, tv ads, and other forms of general awareness campaigns.
Consideration
The consideration stage in my opinion is probably the most vital and most important part of the entire marketing funnel. This is the stage where you pretty much prove to the consumer that you are better than them. Marketing messages at this stage should address and answer pain points, highlight interests, and answer very sensitive or important topics about a product or service.
Here is an example. This is something me and you do every single time when we are interested in buying a product. We look at reviews! Reviews are something that can either make or break a buying decision. As consumers we tend to trust others like us and anyone that is not the brand. When other consumers are happy with their decisions this will naturally put us at ease and make it easier to convert into a buyer. I know when I see a bunch of positive reviews on Amazon advocating for a product my mind is pretty much made up on whether I want to buy it or not.
Conversion
The ultimate goal in the conversion stage is to encourage someone to purchase a product or service. At the conversion stage you want to make sure that all doubts are out of the question. It’s important to have a well written FAQ page as well as product page. Friendly and knowledgeable customers service representatives can also make a difference in this stage by answering any questions that someone may ask. Confidence is key in this stage. You want people to know that they are making the right decision by choosing you!
Loyalty
This is it… This is the gold at the end of the rainbow for every single brand or company. Loyalty is a reward for creating a seamless experience as well as offering a quality service or product. Positive interactions with the consumer helps influence whether someone buys once or becomes a repeat customer. The loyalty stage is vital because on average it costs companies five times more to acquire a new customer than keep an existing one.
Loyalty initiatives can include email campaigns and loyalty programs that will assist in ensuring people keep coming back. The end of the funnel is ultimately the success of earning a lifelong customer that will advocate to their friends and family that you are the one that is better than all of the other brands.
For more in depth information about the funnel as well as other valuable tips my go to resource is always semrush!
