How To Build A Marketing Funnel That Works
Are you ready to dive deep into the juicy world of marketing funnels?
First things first, let's define what we're talking about. A marketing funnel is a model that illustrates the customer journey from awareness to purchase. It's like a journey map for marketing.
A marketing funnel is super important as it helps businesses understand their customers better and optimize their marketing strategies. It breaks down the customer's journey into different stages, making it easier to spot areas for improvement. By knowing where customers drop out, for instance, businesses can address those areas and improve customer retention. It also helps forecast sales and revenue, so businesses can make informed decisions. Basically, a marketing funnel is not just a theoretical concept but a practical tool for effective marketing and business growth.
Now, let's get into the meat of it. The marketing funnel consists of four elements, and they're all important. Here they are:
Awareness:
This is where the customer becomes aware of your product or service. Think of it as the first impression. You want to grab their attention and make them curious enough to want to learn more. This is the time when your prospects don't realize they have a problem yet, but you want them to be aware that you're available when they're ready. The awareness stage is at the top of the funnel because it should offer the biggest range. The larger the pool of people that become aware of your brand, the better the chances of them purchasing your offer.
Examples of awareness tactics include social media, ads, influencer marketing, and content marketing.How to apply it:
Optimize your social media accounts. Make sure they're branded well, give value to your audience, and have clear calls to actions. Utilize the tools within the platforms you use to show up anywhere your audience hangs out online.
Build your audience. Share, network, and invest in ads to grow your reach. Utilizing keywords, hashtags, and the location feature will help expand your reach as well. Tagging related brands in a collaborative or appreciation post will also get your name out to a wider audience.
Ask people to share your product or reach out to an influencer. Brand ambassadors - ask previous clients/customers to leave a review or encourage them to take a video of them using your product or sharing how you've helped. Incentivize this by giving them free product or services, send them a gift, or add them to a VIP group.
Content. Content. Content. Dude - you gotta stay visible, on brand, and consistent. This doesn't mean post every day... it means that what you DO post is on brand, gives value, and provides a clear call to action for your audience to take.
Interest:
Once you've got their attention, it's time to pique their interest. This is where you start to educate them about your product or service. You want to provide value and show them why your product/service is better than the competition. This is the time when a prospect is aware that they have a "problem" and is now looking for a solution. Your potential customer is looking for more insight, education, and inspiration here.
Webinars, email campaigns, and blog posts are all examples of interest tactics.How to apply it:
Videos/Reels! Show your product in action or provide valuable education. Show how easy it is to use your product, or provide insight on what all goes into fixing a "problem".
Nurture and build trust by giving your audience value through posts, email marketing and follow ups! I call this the "Oh, Really?!" or the "Hmmm" strategy - Share some key tips or tricks that they may not have known or forgotten about. Educate them on how to do it themselves - which may sound counterproductive, but by sharing everything involved in fixing something, you may inspire them to just hire you because they realized this is a bigger project than they thought.
Blogging is not dead. Not only does it boost your SEO, but it provides another way for your audience to receive value and learn more about your products or services. Think about it, how many times have you searched how to do something and read a blog or watched a vlog/video? I read countless blogs a week on how to do something. You could even use this to share your story behind the brand, your vision, your mission, the process on how to do what you do... anything.
Webinars, ebooks, and downloads = VALUE! When they discover how valuable it is to use your products or services, they'll be more motivated to purchase from the source that they learned the most from... which should be you. The more you make yourself - er - your knowledge and expertise more readily available, the quicker they will think of you when they're ready to make the decision to purchase a solution.
Desire:
Now that they're interested, it's time to turn up the heat. You want to create desire for your product/service. This is where you highlight the benefits and features of your product/service and show them how they'll benefit from it. This is where you're allowed to brag. They're aware they have a problem, they're convinced that your solution will work, but what makes you different from the other brands that offer the same solution? This is where you tell them the outcome when using your product/services. Why? What happens when...? How does their life get better when they choose your brand?
Share relatable stories, testimonials, and demos are all examples of desire tactics.How to apply it:
Story telling is the key to selling without being salesy. Put yourself in your customer's shoes and try to relate to their everyday problems. Then use your product or service as the solution. End your story with how much better their life is since they used your solution.
Testimonials are a great way to earn trust and have your past customers refer you. People are highly influenced by their peers. If they see 10 people similar to them use your products, it's likely they'll follow the crowd.
Samples and demos - Use videos to showcase how your product is used. If you're a service based business, give them some processes or DIY information they could use. Make it so plain and simple. Give them no reason to question whether purchasing from you is a good idea or not.
Action:
Finally, it's time to seal the deal. This is where the customer takes action and makes a purchase. You want to make the buying process easy and seamless. But, just in case, you'll also want to put into play a follow up process for those who haven't quite committed yet. Follow up is key here and you want to make sure that you do it in a way that encourages them to make a decision without sounding desperate.
Examples of action tactics include clear call-to-actions, retargeting ads, and follow up.How to apply it:
A call to action (CTA) is simply an invitation to make them go somewhere or do something. It could be inviting them to comment, share, visit a website, message, call, etc. Whatever it is, there should always be some sort of CTA attached to every offer.
Retargeting ads focus on the people that have already seen you and remind them that you're still around. It helps keep you at the top of their list. It's hard for some to do this, but you want to keep the spot light on you. Don't give your competitors a chance to take your customer because you left them hanging as bait.
Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. This could be many forms such as abandon cart emails, checking in emails, special deals/offers, etc. Check in on them after a week or so and see if they're still interested.
Make it as simple as possible to make a purchase. Don't have them work hard to give you money. They should be able to get to "confirm purchase" within a few clicks. Or, if you're a service based business, they should be able to hear from you or get a free quote within a day - or as quickly as possible.
Remember, each element is important and needs to be done well in order to convert those leads into loyal customers. Have a set strategy for each element and make sure it aligns with your branding. Now go forth and conquer the world of marketing!
