Funnel Programs – What Every Marketer Should Ever Require

Funnel Programs are among the fastest rising tool not only in funnel building, but also in advertising.

And why wouldn’t it be?

It’s got almost everything a marketer may possibly require.

With new integrations and features rolling in, it is pretty much what every marketer should ever require.

You need to be able to identify every pain point of the customer journey to figure out where people are losing interest in your offering.

Then, you’ll want to adapt your product based on their feedback and assess whether the problem is solved.

The marketing funnel will give you all the tools and data you need to do so.

Most people would pay top dollar just to have high-converting funnels in their marketing strategy and that includes using expensive tools.

What Is The Marketing Funnel?

The marketing funnel, also known as the purchase funnel, is a visual representation of all the steps a visitor has to go through before they purchase a product or service.

This buyer decision process included the following stages: Problem/need-recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision, and post-purchase behavior.

Over time, this idea evolved into the contemporary marketing funnel, which focuses on the different stages from the moment people first hear about a business to the moment they make a transaction.

Marketing efforts don’t involve getting people to buy right away. Instead, they start with capturing leads – potential customers who show interest in the brand.

When companies turn anonymous strangers into leads, they’re drawing them into the mouth of the funnel. Then, they continue marketing to these leads with the goal of getting some of them to buy.

Only a fraction of leads will actually purchase the product. As they advance through the different stages of the buyer decision process, some of them will abandon the effort without ever getting to the purchasing stage.

Thus, the crowd thins, and the resulting visual representation of this process forms the shape of a funnel.

Benefits Of The Marketing Funnel

Now that you know what the marketing funnel is, you’re probably wondering if you should start using it as part of your small business marketing strategy.

Ask yourself the following question: Do I have a service or product I intend customers to purchase? If the answer is yes, then you definitely should.

As a business, your success does not only depend on the quality of your offering, but also on the way in which it’s presented and marketed to consumers.

Everything from your website layout and color scheme to the packaging of your products also plays a huge role in your customer’s journey through the marketing funnel.

Having a clear view of a customer’s journey will allow you to identify any roadblocks that hinder their progress through the funnel.

Based on this data, you can make changes to eliminate these barriers and improve your conversion rate – whether it’s by making your website more user-friendly, creating a social media campaign, or promoting on different channels.

That’s why funnel marketing is so effective.

Stages Of The Marketing Funnel

While the overall framework of the marketing funnel has remained mostly unchanged for more than a century, there isn’t a global consensus on the different stages.

Here, we’ll discuss the various stages represented in the marketing funnel template above.

Awareness

Interest

Consideration

Intent

Evaluation

Purchase

Awareness & Interest

Awareness – This is the point where customers first learn about your brand, and it’s where lead generation takes place.

To build awareness, develop targeted marketing campaigns that are geared toward people who may need your product. Be sure to use market segmentation to create tailored campaigns for each customer type.

Use lead capture forms to get their contact information (typically their email address) so that you can continue marketing to them.

This is one of the most important lead generation strategies, as you’ll be using their contact information to reach out to them and guide them through the rest of the marketing funnel.

Interest – Leads who show an interest in your business move onto the next stage of the marketing funnel. At this point, lead generation turns into lead nurturing as brands start to establish a connection with all the contacts gathered during the previous stage.

One of the most effective ways to build interest is through email marketing. This allows you to start building relationships with leads by reaching out to them directly with relevant, branded content.

Consideration & Intent

Consideration – in this stage of the marketing funnel, the consumer is evaluating the different methods that are available to them to address their needs.

At this point, they already know about your offering and are familiar with your brand.

Now, it’s your job to convince them that a product like yours presents the best solution to their problems.

To do this, try using marketing automation to send targeted email campaigns with actionable intent, such as free trials and sales announcements.

Another popular funnel marketing technique is to offer them informational content, such as blog posts and webinars, that addresses their needs while gently guiding them toward your product.

Intent – Ever left something in your online shopping cart and received an email about it a day or two after? That’s what entering the intent stage feels like.

Prospective customers (known as prospects) move to the intent stage once they demonstrate a clear intent to purchase a product, such as by contacting a customer service representative, trying out a product demo, or adding an item to their shopping cart.

This doesn’t mean that they are going to buy right away, but it does indicate that they are primed for the purchase.

The intent stage is the time to prove why your offering is the number one option for the prospective customer.

You’ll need to target them with marketing materials that make a strong case for why your product is better than your competitors.

Evaluation & Purchase

Evaluation – This stage of the marketing funnel, is where lead nurture meets sales.

Here, the prospective customer is making the final decision about whether or not to buy your product.

In this stage, marketing and sales teams must work together to convince prospective buyers to take the leap and make a purchase.

Much like the previous stage, the focus is kept on positioning your business’s offering as the ideal choice.

Purchase – The pot of gold at the end of the marketing funnel rainbow is known as the purchase stage.

This is where prospects finally decide to buy the service or product. At this point, sales teams take over to manage transactions.

Final Thoughts

I hope this article has clearly explained what marketing funnels are and how they work.

If you don’t have a marketing funnel yet, it’s time to start building one. Begin with baby steps and focus on making a simple funnel, fixing issues and identifying opportunities for growth.

After that, you can look at expanding beyond the traditional funnel with more stages, like Retention and Advocacy.

For example, you might decide to create a wonderful onboarding experience or a customers-only community that encourages discussion and offers help when needed.

Remember: it’s not just about acquiring new customers. You want to encourage them to be loyal and refer all their friends too.