Marketing funnel strategy: What is it

The aim of a marketing funnel strategy is to adhere to potential customers, with the goal to change them into paying customers.

A marketing funnel strategy works by funnelling in a large amount of data for business leads in relation to customers. It does this with 6 stages: Awareness, Interest, Consideration, Intent, Evaluation and Purchase. This process helps us understand the marketing of turning leads into customers.

For instance, let’s say you run a cryptocurrency site. The first step is to use adverts to draw in potential customers. If they show interest in the site, marketing needs to try and change the lead into a potential customer. Once they show intent, it is up to the marketing and sales team to start trading. Then, if this is a positive sale, it will increase retention and hopefully gain more customers.

Below we will talk about how the marketing funnel works and how you can apply it to your business.

What to look out for with a marketing funnel strategy?

As stated earlier, there are 6 stages to a marketing funnel strategy, however, this can be simplified. Another common model is “Attention, Interest, Desire and Action”, this would be the same as any other strategy.

Here are some key points and advice to keep in mind.

Conversion rate – As the first step is to raise awareness, you may see a lot of feedback and gain a lot of interest. Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean you will get the same conversion rate, and some will lose interest before engaging further.

Loops – Imagine a diagram where certain actions lead back to the start of the process. That is also true for the marketing funnel process. Certain customers may be disinterested in one part of the business, however, they may find interest elsewhere. This means that they move to an earlier step in the process, and you need to keep interest again.

The creation process of your marketing funnel would not be too difficult. You can start by brainstorming and sketching it out.

1. Attention – How will you spread awareness for your funnel? Note down how you can gain business leads, through a marketing campaign or adverts. Work out what the target audience will desire from you.
2. Examine the process – After identifying the audience, work out what they are interested in, and make a note of what advertising brought them in. Brainstorm how you can build retention and interest to draw in sales.
3. The end of the process – What can you offer at the end of the sale? This step is important as it can keep customer loyalty. You could give them discounts to keep them engaged or let them subscribe to an email service. The aim here is to start a relationship with the customer so they keep coming back.

Improvements for your marketing funnel.

1. Increase attention – Find where in your funnel you might be losing interest. Once you have done this, you could work out how to keep them on board and gain sales. Ways to improve this are to try and build trust at an earlier stage
2. Audience segmentation – After the attention stage, you should have a wide audience range. This is an issue as the audience could vary widely, so from here you should segment it. You can do this by age groups, by habits or by geographical segmentation.
3. Measure your metrics – The key metrics to follow are sales conversion rates and ROI. Measuring these will show the success of your funnel and also show why you might be losing leads.
4. Web page conversion rates – Make sure the content and design on your landing pages are optimised. These pages should include contact information and an email opt-in option. The landing pages will be bringing in the interest for the potential sales.
5. Expand – Once you have confirmed that the marketing funnel is successful, you should think about expanding it. Try and reach a larger audience, or after defining your audience, make it appeal to the correct segmentation.

With any luck, these tips will help you grasp the fundamentals of the marketing funnel. Your start-up can start searching for the right audience.