Building a Marketing Funnel, the Right way.
When it comes to creating a powerful marketing plan, the funnel is the first part you need to understand. The Marketing Funnel should be your ‘Blueprint to Success’. It should tell you who, what, where, why and how your leads are reacting to your brand.
Ask yourself these questions: Are you spending money on advertising but not getting the results you want? Are you looking for more sales and leads but don’t know where to start? That’s most likely because you haven’t learned the foundations of how to funnel to your customers correctly to reach the goal you’re intending. Learning the foundations of how to build a funnel, and how talk to customers at each stage of the funnel is your key to success.
DEFINITION: MARKETING FUNNEL:
“The path users take during their journey with you, from introduction to, ideally, conversion.”
— https://iterable.com/solutions/growth-marketing/
Let me paint you a picture. Imagine you have an ice-cream cone, and you can’t let the top melt before it drips down to your hand. What do you do to the ice cream at the top? You start there, then work your way down until you reach the bottom of the cone. Marketing is a similar experience.
Top of Funnel
In marketing, the first step appears in the form of seduction. This is the step where we capture new leads and bring them into our brand. This is your chance to show people your value propositions, and explain why your product applies to their life. Perhaps even giving your audiences fun and informative free content that keeps users interested and allows them to engage with your brand. During this stage we can use organic tools like Social Media, Word of Mouth Marketing, Blogs, SEO, SEM, SMS/Email Funnels, Influencers, and so much more. But we also have paid tools like: Facebook Ads, TikTok Ads, Google Ads, Pinterest Ads, and Affiliate Marketing. These channels will allow you to drive an audience to your content so you can build leads and generate sales.
Middle of Funnel
The middle step is nurturing the leads you've generated above, and ensuring that the correct ones stay in the funnel. At this point people have taken an interest in your product or service, so it’s important to tell them who you are and why your product deserves to be purchased. So don’t be afraid to engage with your audience. Trickle more content to these leads that showcases who your brand is and what you do. Showcase social proof like reviews and lifestyle photography to help the customer trust that what you do is really worth their time. The biggest goal here is to engage with people enough that they trust you and continue to follow your brand because they’re interested in what you do.
Helpful Hint: 92% of leads prefer word-of-mouth marketing. So try to change your conversation from talking at your customers, to talking to your customers
Bottom of Funnel
The bottom step of the funnel is the most crucial step. At this point, people are beginning to trust you. They’ve taken an interest in your product and are engaged with your messaging. Which means the work isn’t done quite yet.
Think about it like this - the leads ate the ice cream, and nibbled on the cone - but they’re still not quite to the chocolatey bit at the bottom (which we all know is the most delicious part). Maybe they forgot, or they didn’t know about it, or maybe they’re just waiting for the opportune time. Whatever it be, this is our chance to give them a reason to bite into the final bit of the cone. Offer them a ‘personal promotion’ or how their purchase will change their life. Personalize it as much as possible. The ultimate goal is to purchase - so make sure to include call to actions to these customers like ‘Book Now’ ‘Buy Now’ ‘Try Today’ etc. Be explicit, tell them what you want them to do to close the deal.
