How To Successfully Achieve The Marketing Funnel
The marketing funnel, also known as the purchasing funnel or customer-focused funnel, is a customer-focused marketing system that exemplifies the theory that the customer reaches the buying point at one stage, typically after a buying decision, and then again later on in the process as the buyer makes repeated purchases. This is true for all marketing models, but particularly true in multi-stage marketing systems such as MLM (multi-level marketing) and network marketing. Although most network marketers I know are committed to continual marketing and recruiting, it is easy to see the costs involved in this and begin to question the validity of this marketing model. In this article I will present some of my thinking on the validity of the marketing funnel and look at the implications for the MLM industry.
The marketing funnel begins with the creation of prospect lists. These lists usually contain the names of friends and family, local contacts, email addresses or websites, but can also include lists of potential prospects that you have developed through your own marketing efforts. These prospect lists are used to begin the customer journey through the buying phase. In my opinion, if a company can be successful at creating a prospect list using these methods, then they can also be successful at the second stage of the funnel by helping the prospects to navigate the third and final stage of their journey – the decision to become a paying customer.
In my opinion, the marketing funnel only really becomes relevant after the third stage of the funnel has been completed. At this point, the company should be focusing its attention on building relationships with the prospects through autoresponders, content and other internet resources, and offering something of value to the audience. For example, many network marketers operate webinars which allow the audience to ask questions and gain knowledge and information about the product, as well as being able to listen to a presentation by a salesperson. Through these methods, the relationship between the marketer and the audience has deepened and is now at the fourth stage of the sales funnel.
In addition to the above techniques, there are some additional ways to increase at the fourth stage of the funnel. The most effective way to increase at the fourth stage is to use customer satisfaction surveys. The reason why this works so well is because the customers are giving their opinions in an honest and truthful manner. By taking advantage of this valuable information, marketers can fine tune their strategies and find areas where they can make changes to increase conversion rates.
The fifth stage of the marketing funnel is called the customer experience funnel. During this stage, the marketer has already built a solid reputation based on interactions in the previous stages. At this point, more of the relationship is formed based on trust and customer loyalty. At this point, the marketer can start crafting specific messages and campaigns in order to further engage the customer. This could involve anything from email marketing, to email campaigns, to special deals, to special discounts, and more.
Finally, the final stage of the marketing funnel involves building the targeted audience. In order to reach this audience, a variety of tools and tactics are employed by the marketer. The most common technique used for this stage is content marketing. It generally involves creating content for websites or blog sites that are relevant to the business and then featuring these sites in the marketing funnel.
In order to successfully complete the marketing funnel in five simple steps, a marketer needs to carefully consider which tools to use, what tactics to employ, and how to track those efforts. One of the most important things to consider is the identification of the targeted audience. Successful marketers always list their target audience when defining the stage of the funnel. By identifying the key performance indicators, the marketer can ensure that the strategies being employed to fit the needs of the prospects. In addition, he can also measure the progress of each strategy and see if it is resulting in measurable results.
The five stages of the marketing funnel all have different requirements, but they are all intended to build awareness of the company to the prospective customers. Each stage may seem relatively insignificant, but if these issues are not dealt with properly, there will be no noticeable benefits from the efforts. For example, if the company fails to build enough credibility with potential customers, it will not be able to move ahead and achieve its goals. Therefore, starting at the introduction stage, by building the awareness, and working through to the fifth stage, which is the build the trust level, is the ideal way to go about it.
Deepak Wadhwani has over 20 years experience in software/wireless technologies. He has worked with Fortune 500 companies including Intuit, ESRI, Qualcomm, Sprint, Verizon, Vodafone, Nortel, Microsoft and Oracle in over 60 countries. Deepak has worked on Internet marketing projects in San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange Country, Denver, Nashville, Kansas City, New York, San Francisco and Huntsville. Deepak has been a founder of technology Startups for one of the first Cityguides, yellow pages online and web based enterprise solutions. He is an internet marketing and technology expert & co-founder for a San Diego Internet marketing company.
