What is a Marketing Funnel?
“Marketing Funnel” is a very common phrase used in the digital marketing world but the truth is, most business owners don’t fully understand what a marketing funnel is and how it works.
This post will provide you with the age-old question, “What is a marketing funnel?”
To begin, there are 4 primary steps to a successful funnel:
Attract Your Customers!
Every relationship begins with attraction, whether we’re talking about love, friendship, or business.
There’s just something about a certain person or company that speaks to you on an emotional level. They have something that you need or desire.
Your Marketing Funnel begins the same way – by creating an emotional connection with new prospects.
There are many ways to do this:
- Social Media Posts
- Paid Social Ads
- Google Adwords
- Business Cards
- Referrals
- However a new person learns about you!
Having a clear, strategic message delivered to your prospects is the key to successfully attracting new customers and taking them to the next level of your Funnel.
Your Digital Headquarters
We would be foolish to immediately put all of our trust into someone we just met. It takes time, communication, and interaction before we start to share a real bond.
It takes many interactions to prove that you’re trustworthy by developing a real relationship with your customers, and a marketing funnel allows you to develop these interactions.
You’re going to nurture a relationship with your newly acquired prospects using your website, which you will now refer to as your “Digital Headquarters.”
Your website is the place where people go to determine your professional status, learn what you do, and see how you can improve their lives.
There are 2 Primary Actions you want customers to take on your website:
- Collect Contact Information
- Sell Your Products or Services
Relationships grow from a back-and-forth conversation. Your new prospects start the conversation when they share their contact information. It is now your turn to reply. How do you do this?
Communication is Key
It’s virtually impossible to maintain a close, personal relationship with someone if we never talk to them.
The same is true with prospective customers. It’s said that it takes at least 8 interactions with a company before someone will buy. If your prospects aren’t given the opportunity to share their contact information with you, how will you be able to keep in touch?
From your website, you want to provide an opportunity for your visitors to exchange their email for a “lead generation.”
Your “lead generator” can be anything that you feel benefits your customers and continues to show them how your product or service will change their life.
Some examples of a lead generator include:
- PDF Checklist
- EBook Download
- Training Series
- Webinar
- Audit
- Any Creative Asset your customer would love!
Manage Your Leads
The right Customer Relationship Management (CRM) application will allow you to collect, organize, and use your very valuable contact list to nurture and sell to individuals who have shown genuine interest in your business.
The value of a contact list doesn’t come from simply holding names in an Excel spreadsheet. It comes from “working it!”
With the right Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, you can even segment your contacts into groups – targeting individuals with a messages tailored to their specific needs. My personal favorite, and the system that I use, is Keap.
For example, a home improvement business can send emails to individuals who show interest in roofing products as opposed to those needing plumbing work.
Many business owners fail to see the value in subscribing to an Automated Email System. But the missed opportunity far outweighs the cost.
According to Digital Strike, the median ROI of email is 122%!
Automated Email Systems can do more than manage your contact list.
It can work as a powerful sales team that operates 24/7! Automation simplifies your workload by eliminating all of those time-consuming tasks – like routine phone calls, texts, and emails, as well as scheduling reminders and more!
Conclusion
Automated Marketing Funnels are ideal for growing your business and simplifying your workload.
A properly designed funnel will work for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – attracting prospects, collecting contact information, educating and nurturing, to finally converting people into customers.
