Do you have a picture of your marketing funnel?
You’re probably losing out on leads and sales if you don’t. According to Salesforce data, 68% of businesses have yet to identify their marketing funnel. Those that do will, nevertheless, see results. According to Semrush, 72 percent of marketers who use “how-to” manuals as a top-of-funnel strategy receive positive results.
We’ll go over the various stages of the marketing funnel and also what businesses need to do to improve leads and sales at each one in this blog post. We’ll also discuss marketing funnel strategies to help you convert more leads.
What are marketing funnel stages?
Many businesses have their very own marketing funnel stages. HubSpot’s Flywheel model, for instance, has grown in prominence in recent years.
Here are the primary steps of the marketing funnel for the purposes of this article:
- Top of Funnel: Awareness/Attention
- Middle of Funnel: Interest/Consideration
- Bottom of Funnel: Intent/Action
- Post Funnel: Loyalty/Advocacy
Awareness and attention:
The first and most critical stage of the marketing funnel is awareness. According to a poll conducted by the Content Marketing Academy, 88 percent of executives believe that content marketing is the most effective way to raise brand awareness.
When potential buyers become aware of your brand or product, this is known as brand awareness. They can come across your website in the search results or encounter one of your advertising on social media.
You really would like to focus on getting your brand in front of as many individuals as possible during the awareness stage. This could be accomplished through activities such as content marketing, SEO, social media marketing, and paid advertising.
Interest and consideration:
Interest or contemplation is the second stage of the marketing funnel. Potential clients are aware of your brand and are beginning to learn more about it at this point in the marketing funnel. They may have seen a video about your product or visited your website after reading one of your blog pieces.
You want to keep giving valuable content to potential clients at this point to assist them understand more about your product or service. Blog posts, videos, infographics, case studies, ebooks, and webinars are all good options.
Intent or action:
Intent or action is the third stage of the marketing funnel. Potential clients are considering purchasing your goods or service at this point in the marketing funnel. They may add your goods to their shopping or request a demo for additional details.
Loyalty and advocacy:
Loyalty or advocacy seems to be the fourth and final stage of the marketing funnel. According to the Content Marketing Institute survey, 78 percent of marketers believe brand loyalty is one of the most effective uses of content marketing.
Customers have made a purchase and are using your service or product at this point. It’s critical to keep offering good material and help to your clients at this point. This would continue to stay devoted supporters of your company.
Now we will discuss the top 4 marketing funnel strategies in detail.
4 marketing funnel strategies:
You generate awareness and interest in your product or service at the top of the marketing funnel. TOFU strategies are what they’re termed (top-of-funnel).
As per Semrush, 95% of businesses rely on TOFU techniques, giving this the most common step in your marketing funnel.
At this point, your target is to reach out to as many prospective clients as possible and pique their interest in what you have to offer.
TOFU KPI’s includes:
- Traffic sources
- Organic sessions
- Ad impressions
- Ad frequency
- Pages per session
Blog articles, social media material, videos, and paid digital ads are among the greatest content forms for this stage.
Concentrate on building awareness and interest while creating content for the top stages of the marketing funnel. This means your material must be helpful and informative. You could also utilize storytelling or humor to grab people’s attention.
Note that your purpose at this point isn’t to sell your product or service, but to pique people’s curiosity in how much you have to contribute. You’ll produce more leads and sales at each level of your marketing funnel if you create engaging and helpful content.
The basis of your marketing funnel is your brand story. It’s the story you want consumers to connect your products, services, and marketing to.
Brand stories, according to studies, drive ROI. According to data from Headstream, customers are more likely to buy from a brand if they appreciate its story. Furthermore, 44% plan to tell people about the story in the future.
Your brand narrative can be told in a variety of ways. You can share your company’s story through blog entries or social media material. You can also create films or podcasts that showcase the personality of your company.
Make absolutely sure your tale is genuine, relatable, and engaging when telling it. Share examples of your company’s culture, values, and mission.
Patagonia, for instance, is a company noted for its ecological dedication. Their story is one of discovery, preservation, and excitement. This brand story has helped them attract customers who are interested in the outdoors & care about climate change. People buy from them not only because of the quality of their products, but also because of their belief in Patagonia as a trademark.
Get to be an ambassador for causes that matter to your brand and customers:
According to an Edelman research Earned Brand discovered that values-based communication can drive purchase intent just as well as product-based communication.
This means you’re more likely to gain your clients’ business if you advocate for topics they care about.
Toms, for example, is a corporation founded on the principle of giving back. They put a third of their profits into grassroots organizations dedicated to long-term change. By marketing to people who wish to make the world a better place, Toms has grown into a billion-dollar corporation.
You may accomplish the same thing by identifying issues that matter to your target market and promoting them through marketing campaigns.
It could be anything from environmental concerns to social justice concerns. The crucial step is to match your marketing efforts with causes that your target market cares about, and to demonstrate that you care as well.
This increases the possibility that they might conduct business to you and that they will become brand champions and encourage your company to their friends and family.
Running paid ads:
Paid ads are indeed an important component of your digital marketing strategy. They may target specific demographics, interests, and even places in addition to helping you reach a larger audience.
According to eMarketer data, paid advertising is a reliable approach to raise brand awareness.For your top-of-funnel marketing plan, there are several paid ad possibilities, including:
- podcast advertisements
- Social media ads on YouTube
- Google advertisements
Consider where your target audience spends their time online when deciding which networks to advertise on. This research would help you avoid squandering your marketing cash on ineffective adverts.
If you’re addressing young folks, for example, concentrate your paid marketing approach on Snapchat and Instagram. If you’re targeting an older population, though, Facebook and LinkedIn are better choices.
Design your ads with brand recognition in mind once you’ve decided which platforms to employ.
This could entail developing a story-driven advertisement or employing emotionally charged language. The idea is to pique potential customers’ interest in your product or service so that they can progress through the stages of your marketing funnel.
Developing an SEO rich blogs:
Include important keywords throughout your blog entries to make them more effective.
This will boost your search engine ranking, allowing people to find your blog while searching for information on the topics you cover.
Include calls to action (CTAs) throughout your blog content as well.
A call to action (CTA) is a prompt that encourages readers to do something particular, such as visit your website, sign up for a newsletter, or download a white paper or e-book.
You may move readers along your marketing funnel phases by incorporating CTAs to guide them to the next stage of their buyer journey.
Middle of the marketing funnel strategies:
The purpose of the middle stage of your marketing funnel is to nurture leads and move them closer to making a purchase decision. Filtering out leads that aren’t a good fit is also important. MOFU is another name for this stage (middle-of-funnel).
At this point, your KPIs are all about cost savings. You would not want to send information to anyone who isn’t interested, so make your ads more targeted.
Middle funnel KPI includes:
- App installation
- Downloads
- Direct message replies
- Lead volume
You should also consider how to retain people coming back for more.
Some of the strategies used during this stage includes:
- Generating lead magnets that require an email address to download, such as ebooks or white papers.
- Offering free product trials or demonstrations.
- Creating email marketing strategies to keep prospects interested.
- Making retargeting advertising for visitors who haven’t converted on your site.
Here are the four important marketing strategies for the middle funnel. They are:
- Creating FAQ content
- Including the case studies on the website
- Leverage retargeting
- Showcasing the customer stories
Bottom of funnel strategies(BOFU):
At this point, your goal is to convince prospects to take the desired action, such as signing up for a free trial, joining your email list, or purchasing anything.
The following are KPIs for the bottom of the marketing funnel:
- Sales
- Conversions
- Store visits
- Customer lifetime value
The marketing strategies that drive conversation at the bottom of the marketing funnel are:
- Creating the demo of your product
- Publishing or posting highly customer targeted posts.
- Provide discount coupons and offers
- Delivering customizable and clear pricing structure
Post marketing funnel strategies:
Your job isn’t finished once clients have converted. At this point, your main focus should be on keeping clients satisfied so they return back for more and tell their friends about you.
Here are four long-term growth options to consider.
- Utilize the surveys to learn more and more
- Creating referral programs
- Implement session recordings
- Making customer service priority
Marketing Funnel stages Frequently Asked Questions:
Distinguish between the sales funnel and marketing funnel.
Ans:A customer is guided through a sales funnel from marketing efforts to conversion. The process of converting a potential lead into a paying customer is known as a marketing funnel.
What content categories are appropriate for each level of the marketing funnel?
Ans:Blogs, explainer videos, ebooks, and webinars are examples of content that can be used at any level of the marketing funnel.
How long would it take to develop each stage of a content marketing funnel strategy?
Ans:A full content marketing funnel strategy might take anywhere between six months to a year to develop. Each stage should be constructed separately before being joined to form the entire funnel.
Conclusion: Marketing Funnel Stages
Now that you’ve learned about all of the steps of the digital marketing funnel stages, it’s time to start planning your approach.
Now understanding who your customers are, what they want, and how you can provide that experience is the first step.
Begin developing content that will lead them through each stage of the marketing funnel from there. For optimal impact, remember to personalize your marketing message and methods to each level of the marketing funnel. The sooner you get started, the more leads and sales you can produce.
Leave A Comment