Marketing happens everywhere on the internet, and it comes in various forms. Sometimes, it is overt—you see a banner ad along the bottom of an app, or a company hosts a giveaway on their Facebook page. Other times, it is indirect, as is the case with marketing funnels.

Even if you have never heard of marketing funnels before, you have likely gone through one online.

It is vital in helping a brand grow its reach online, and funnel mapping and tracking help brands learn more about its audience. Keep reading to learn more about this strategy.

What a marketing funnel is, and what it does

Marketing funnels are collections of stages that make up a customer journey. These convert people from strangers to consumers by delivering the right types of messages at each stage.

A funnel does not need to be complex at first; businesses building their first ones can have only the fundamental parts—awareness, consideration, and decision—at the start of their campaign.

You can optimize your funnel according to the data you gather from repeat runs and adjust your key metrics accordingly.

What happens in a marketing funnel

Building a marketing funnel starts with identifying leads or prospective customers. A critical factor in successful conversion is differentiating how you interact with leads at different phases.

For example, people at the top of the funnel should receive a different type of content than the ones at the bottom. Since they are at the start, you should focus on awareness.

Giving them a discount for your products will backfire at this stage. They do not know your brand, and most things that are sold at a discount come across as subpar or suspicious. Alternatively, they might be familiar with your brand, but not be open to buying yet.

Meanwhile, if you give this discount to someone at the bottom of the funnel, they will be more likely to purchase since they have gone through the other phases of your funnel and are ready to buy.

Note that this is not an automatic process; people are not machines, and they need time to make a decision. Just keep nurturing your prospects by delivering high-quality content and making a case for your brand.

The top of the funnel - awareness

During this phase, you have people who have not heard of your products, or those who do not know much about them. Furthermore, they might not even know that they have a problem or an issue that they should resolve.

Since they are new, you must introduce your brand. In the awareness stage, you must reveal a problem or a “pain point” that they might have but are not aware of, and why they must address it. 

Do not make the mistake of assuming that people are ready to buy your products at this point. Pitching your products while building awareness for them will not be effective; they will likely see it as a pushy sales tactic. Instead, slowly build a case for the urgency of solving the pain point, and save for later your product's introduction.

Additionally, try to capture the right people, instead of focusing on getting the greatest number of leads at once.

For instance, if you are a brand selling office supplies your target market would likely be adults and professionals. A funnel mapping tool can help you identify the target audiences for your brand.

An example of a pain point you could bring up is not knowing how to the right chairs, ergonomic or low-back. Send your audience how-to blog posts about office chairs, guides for choosing the best ones for various occasions, videos of these posts, and similar content.

At this point, your audience does not have a relationship with your brand specifically yet. As such, you must provide value to them and establish yourself as an authority in your niche.

The middle of the funnel - consideration

At this point, your lead is aware of their pain points, and they are actively looking for solutions. When they reach the consideration phase, they will already be interested in learning how to fix their problem. However, they are not 100 percent sold on choosing your brand as a solution.

These leads have visited your website and are familiar with your brand. They have most likely browsed your offerings, but they have not purchased anything. Your prospects are probably comparing various brands and considering different solutions similar to the one you provide.

To get them to the next phase, you must convince them that you offer superior products or services. At this point, you can introduce free webinars, e-books, case studies or FAQs about your product. You must prove to your leads that they will make the best choice when they decide to choose your brand.

Taking our example earlier, a office supply company looking to move their leads through the consideration stage can send their prospects a free chair sizing pdf for different heights and weights, or sign them up for regular newsletters offering the latest updates in the industry or any special offers & deals.

The bottom of the funnel - decision

Here, your customers are ready to make a purchase. They have done their research, and they understand the costs and benefits of choosing one product over another. They have probably narrowed down their list to two to three brands.

In this phase, one of the most valuable things you can do is provide positive customer reviews about your product.

Hearing success stories can convince someone to make a purchase. Social proof drives action, and people want to know that your product has been useful for others. Aside from reviews, you can also provide bonuses when they make a purchase.

For example, you could give the first 100 people to buy through your link a five percent discount on their items. You can also offer bonus items to those who purchase within a certain timeframe. This part is about closing strong; it is time to convince your leads that you have the best deal.

Conclusion

Guiding your customers through a marketing funnel takes time and requires plenty of collateral. However, if you use it correctly, you can reap great results. Help your marketing team plan and execute the best funnels by giving them the right tools for the job, like specialized communication and mapping software.

Ensure your team’s success with MarketPlan.io. Our funnel mapping and tracking tool lets you visualize the customer journey, acquire customers, collaborate with your team, and so much more. Get a free account today or contact us for more details.