Your marketing funnel acts as a visual representation of the consumer journey from prospect to customer. Consequently, as a roadmap, it’s a valuable resource. However, it’s important to maximize each stage of your marketing funnel. That way, you can enjoy the highest possible level of conversions.
How many marketing stages are there?
In general, there are four overarching stages. These include the awareness stage, the consideration stage, the decision stage, and the action stage. Each stage has a basic purpose. As a result, this means that every action (or reaction) within that stage should point to the stage’s purpose.
For instance, during the awareness stage, consumers are introduced to the brand. Their pain points are acknowledged and the brand’s products or services are introduced. The goal is to pique their curiosity so they move to the second stage where they’re actively learning more.
The third stage is when consumers make up their minds. Are they going to invest in your brand? If so, they will take action—and move to the lowest level of the funnel where they become full-fledged customers.
As you might guess, the faster you can move someone through your funnel, the faster you can earn sales dollars. Additionally, the fewer people who “drop out” of your funnel, the higher your revenue. You can start tightening your processes by applying the following tips to improve your marketing funnel results.
1. Maintain brand consistency across the funnel.
All brands are being scrutinized by consumers more than ever. According to one recent survey, only 34% of people say they trust brands. One way you can improve trust between you and the people in your funnel is with consistency.
Having a consistent appearance and voice ensures consumers that what they see is truly what they get. On the other hand, inconsistency can make them confused and reluctant to put their faith in your brand.
For example, let’s say your awareness stage content is very formal. You’re putting forth an image that’s professional, focused, and succinct. What if you were to make your consideration stage content unpolished or humorous? The sudden change in tone could cause a loss of interest—and of possible sales.
Review all your consumer-facing marketing assets used throughout your marketing funnel. Do they match up? Are they reflections of the brand face and voice you want the world to see? If not, make the necessary changes so you aren’t undermined by a lack of brand authenticity.
2. Keep testing and tweaking.
Every marketing funnel stage is made up of several embedded consumer touchpoints. One of your goals should be to keep testing those touchpoints. Making subtle changes to headlines, graphics, and more can mean the difference between hitting or missing your numbers.
Digital marketing agency Matter Made shows just how significant a small touchpoint improvement can be. The firm examined what would happen if a company dropped its number of visitors-to-leads from 1.9% to 0.9% and marketing qualified leads from 38% to 15%. Making only those changes caused a dramatic 82+% annual loss in retained customers.
Testing and using analytics ensures you keep demand and interest high across your funnel. Just make sure that you use best practices including isolating your changes. You need to know exactly which aspect of what you’re doing is causing your numbers to go up or down.
Having trouble figuring out how to test correctly? It may be helpful to work with a professional team of marketers that can help.
World-class marketing firms use high-end technology to obtain both macro and micro insights. For example, their team members can show you how to use the data to make accurate attributions so you can increase interest.
3. Add personalization to touchpoints.
Consumers are demanding personalization from companies. In fact, McKinsey reports that around seven out of 10 people expect personalized brand engagements. Keeping that statistic in mind, look for opportunities to personalize all your marketing funnel consumer touchpoints.
Many marketers worry that they’ll be unable to use automated systems to provide customization. However, you don’t have to go overboard or return to manual processes to give the personal touch.
Personalization doesn’t have to mean writing unique emails or texts. It simply means showing the consumer that you understand where they are and you’re ready to serve their needs.
Looking for ideas to personalize your marketing funnel? For one, use consumers’ names as soon as you learn them. An email that begins “Dear Sam” sounds friendlier than “Dear Visitor”.
You should also keep detailed information in a CRM or similar system. As a result, anyone in your company can “grab” pertinent data like shopping history.
Remember to jot down any personalization you experience as a consumer yourself. Keeping track of how other brands are personalizing their marketing funnels can inform your future decisions.
4. Tell consumers what to do next.
Never underestimate the power of “call to actions” (CTAs).
Your consumers aren’t mind-readers, after all. This is why you need to be clear about what you want them to do next. No matter which marketing funnel stage or step they’re in, they deserve your guidance.
Spend time looking over all your touchpoints and content. Are your CTAs clear and understandable? Do you have just one CTA per engagement to avoid confusion and indecision? Reviewing your CTAs for clarity and pertinence can be a huge benefit to moving people deeper into your funnel.
If you’re running out of CTA ideas, go with the basics. Have visitors fill out a simple form. Ask consumers to click on a link. Tell followers to share a message. Just be sure that your CTAs are very upfront.
However, the CTAs that worked one or two years (or even months!) ago might no longer produce fruit. Consequently, this is another reason to keep track of your conversion numbers and the demand they’re producing, as noted in tip #2 above. Sometimes, varying a CTA can have a surprising effect on a funnel stage.
Marketing is an evolutionary process. As a result, be certain that you’re spending time improving your marketing funnel to get the most from each stage.
