By Molly Heitz
The marketing funnel is a crucial part of the marketing process. This model of marketing outlines the most straightforward process that customers take in their purchasing process. The marketing funnel helps you provide the most relevant information on the most effective channels at the right time. This model’s most significant benefit is simplifying the customer journey while making it easier for companies to follow.
So, what is the marketing funnel?
The marketing funnel, or the conversion or sales funnel, represents your buyer’s journey from expectation to a customer, combined with the tools and processes you use to lead them through effectively.
The marketing funnel uses the AIDA model:
Awareness: The potential customer is made aware of their issue and possible remedies. At this stage sits a mass of potential customers who have problems and are looking for solutions.
Interest: The potential customer indicates interest in a specific range of goods or services that address their unique issue.
Desire: The potential customer expresses interest in a specific brand or product and starts to determine whether it will fulfill their demands.
Action: The potential customer chooses whether that product or brand suits their demands. If it does, they will choose to become a buyer. If not, they keep looking until they find a company or product that does.
The marketing funnel is separated into three main categories: the top, middle and bottom of the funnel.
TOFU, top of the funnel: At the top of the funnel, the Awareness Stage, potential clients learn about your company and the particular issues you resolve.
MOFU, middle of the funnel: The middle of the funnel, the Consideration Stage, is where a customer seeks a solution to an issue they have recognized. They might be aware of you, but they may need some persuasion to decide that your brand fits them best. They must be persuaded.
BOFU, the bottom of the funnel: The bottom of the funnel, the Decision Stage, is where your brand must convince a potential customer to proceed through the last stage of the sales funnel resulting in your potential customer converting.
Another type of marketing funnel is growth loops. Growth loops maintain themselves. They are designed as a closed-loop system where every action or input must pass through a series of processes to produce an output that can then be used again as an input. This has the benefit of exploiting exponential development because it is a loop and functions as a never-ending process. A new or returning user is generated at the input, where the Growth Loop begins. The user is then urged to take action, and ultimately, output, where the user generates the output that results in the input of a new customer. Thus, it is a continuous loop that results in continuous growth.
Marketing funnels are helpful because they provide a graphic representation of the steps you want potential customers to take before converting. What local business owners want prospects to do after they become customers and support product growth will be determined with the aid of growth loops.
These are just the basics of the marketing funnel that small business owners can utilize to increase their marketing strategies. If you need help with your marketing strategy, TLC Marketing Consultants is here to help!