What are marketing funnels? (A guide for creators) |
Want to boost your conversion rate, and also sell more digital goods? Marketing funnels is a great tool. Here's how it works.
It's a digital creation which you are confident that your customers will enjoy. It's packed with actionable advice and knowledge, and can make a real difference in your customers' lives.
Why isn't it flying across on the (virtual) shelves?
Your marketing plan could be the culprit -- especially if you don't know how to move your customers from point A (discovering the product) from point A (thinking about buying it) up to the point of C (becoming happy and loyal customers).
This is where funnels for marketing are useful.
In this piece we'll go over the reasons how marketing funnels are an absolute must-have for creators. We'll also discuss the best marketing tactics to employ in each step of the funnel.
First, let's look back and address the issue that's on everyone's minds How do we define what is an effective marketing funnel?
What is a marketing funnel?
A marketing funnel maps the path a prospective client (or "lead") is on beginning with your company until they buy.
The place a lead falls in the funnel depends on their level of familiarity with your product or brand and the degree to which they're close to making a purchase decision.
Different marketers break their marketing funnels down into various phases. The funnel we'll keep simple by using a funnel with three stages mapping the customer's journey from awareness until the final decision.
Awareness:They're just starting to discover your brand or product. These leads know they have an issue, but don't know what solutions are available.
Take into consideration:These leads are evaluating different solutions. They're trying to figure out whether your solution will address their issue, and whether they're confident in your product.
The decision:These leads are ready to purchase -- they just need additional push in order to be customers.
You'll also often see the phases of the funnel broken down into MOFU, TOFU and BOFU, meaning top of funnel middle of funnel and the bottom of funnel. The farther down the funnel leads are further down, the more close they're to being converted.
Once you've figured out the definition of a funnel and what it is, how can you tell it's a marketing must-have?
What are the reasons you require a marketing funnel?
Using a marketing funnel will help make your marketing more effective and effective.
Let me explain as a creator your time is among your most precious assets.
Most small-scale businesses spend fewer than five hours per week working on marketing. When you have limited funds and time in marketing your business online, you can't afford to speculate on what content might be a hit with your customers.
So, you don't get caught trying to pitch a tough sale to someone who knows your name.
Brian Clark, digital marketing expert and the founder of Copyblogger, explains: Copyblogger, explains :
"We aren't directly offering a product to everyone that interacts with our material. Instead, we employ various strategiesthat are both indirect and direct in order to present an argument for our offer at the right time."
Plus, customers expect relevant content:
91% of customers prefer to shop with brands which offer offers that are relevant.
63% of users are more positive of a brand if it gave them more valuable and interesting content.
If you can send leads appropriate content at the right time It pays off by focusing on users with content relevant to where they are at in their buying process may result in an increase of 72% in rate of conversion .
Ready to turn more cold leads to paying customers? We'll look at the most effective marketing tactics for each stage of the funnel.
How can you promote your digital product at every step of the funnel
Awareness: Draw leads in by using lead magnets as well as advertisements on social media.
In the awareness stage it's not yet time to even contemplate purchasing a product. They're just looking for more about their pain points and what solutions might be offered to the problem.
Provide these leads with the data they're looking for by sharing quality material that addresses their concern areas. The valuable content will help to promote your company's image and establish yourself as an authority in your area of expertise.
Take Ryan of Signature Edits For instance. Signature Edits offers templates, presets and training for their target audience of photographers.
Ryan is aware that different photographers run into many different issues. That's why Ryan offers two freebies for photographers for photographers: a guide to candid poses as well as an gratis sample pack of presets for editing photos .
Once someone has downloaded one of these lead magnets Ryan forwards follow-up emails to tell them more about his brand and products. Offering two lead magnets will help Ryan to make his follow-up emails more specific and pertinent.
If, for instance, someone opts to sign up for one of the photo editing presets, Ryan knows that editing can be a source of fascination (or maybe even a problem- for that person. If he has that information, Ryan can confidently promote his editing software to the person.
Creator Minessa Konecky of Direct to Success utilizes interactive quizzes to attract new leads into her funnel for marketing and offer them a personalized experience for customers.
Utilizing the quiz tool Interact , Minessa created an online lead generation game for finding your business blocker to attract and learn more about potential prospects.
If someone is able to take her quiz, Minessa segments them into one of three groups:
Overwhelmed:Small business owners with many things to accomplish and don't know how to spend their time everyday.
Professional midlifeEntrepreneurs who know what they need to know, yet are unable to figure out how to integrate the action elements into a plan.
Perpetual procrastinators:People who are aware of the things they must do yet aren't able to start by themselves.
Based on the group each lead falls into, Minessa moves them through the funnel by sharing one of three free mini-courses.
Once they are at the end of her funnel, she will introduce leads to her two primary products and encourages them to buy one of her items or sign up for her program, The Squad Academy .
Another thing to consider prior to moving on to the middle of the funnel How can you make sure that you are able to ensure that these lead magnets get placed in front of your prospective buyers?
Ads on social media are the most effective method to market your lead magnets, specifically on Facebook.
Here's why: Facebook ads generally have an lower price and better return on investment than other channels, making it one of the most effective social media platforms available to small-sized businesses.
Plus, Facebook has some of the most specific audience targeting tools available. For example, Lookalike Audiences can help you find people who are who are similar to your existing customers.
Choose one of your current audiences, like your blog subscribers or students in online courses and then tell Facebook to connect with more users similar to that audience.
Learn more about how Facebook ads can help complete your marketing plan take a look at these tools:
Okay, now that you have the uppermost part of the funnel in place, you're now ready to move on to the next stage: consideration.
Consideration: Nurture leads with email marketing
In the consideration stage the potential customers are looking up and comparing a handful of items. They know what their problem is, and they know there are multiple options out that can help solve the issue.
Your task is to make them realize that your product is the most effective choice. Now is the time to cultivate those leads.
It is hard to overstate the importance of lead nurturing. In a time when 80percent of all new leads never convert into sales, taking care of your leads can make the difference between soaring profits and low sales.
Are you still not you are convinced? In the average, leads who have been nurtured make more purchases by 47% and generate a 20% increase in the number of sales prospects than those who aren't nurtured.
And with an ROI of $42 for every one dollar invested Email is among of the most affordable and scalable marketing tools available particularly for small-sized business proprietor with a budget to back it.
Now that the leads you've enrolled on your mailing list now is the time to put the leads in a nurture sequence.
Email 1:Introduce yourself and get your customers to begin thinking about the issue you're planning to resolve for them.
Email 2:Now that your prospect is thinking about the problem and has some ideas, you can share them for them so that they can to take the first step towards solving it.
Email 3:It's time to introduce your program. Write down what your course can offer and why it could be a great solution to their needs.
Email 4:You've created your very first pitch, but your potential buyer may still have reservations. Be prepared to answer some of the most important questions they might have about your program.
email 5:Make one final pitch. Tell them why they must take action now, and encourage them to contact us with any concerns.
Every email has a distinct function. Once we get into emails four and five, your lead is at the stage of decision making, but the hard sell doesn't happen until the final email. It is important to guide your lead toward converting -and not force them to the middle of the ocean.
The middle part of the funnel is a good opportunity to promote the social proof you have with your leads.
It was invented by Dr. Robert Cialdini in his famous book Influence , the idea of social proof is "we consider a behaviour to be appropriate in a particular context if there are others who perform the behavior".
In other words, when leads see that people like them are buying and getting results with your product, they'll want to join in this action.
In the case of marketers, using social proof can mean including reviews and feedback all through the funnel of marketing, but especially during the consideration phase. Here's why:
90% of buyers review online and read customer testimonials or reviews when they're considering buying.
Eighty percent of consumers consider online reviews to be in the same way as personal suggestions.
72% of customers affirm that positive reviews and reviews make them trust an organization more.
You've got through the thought phase, and now the purchase is just so near that you feel it. Let's cross that finish line.
Decision: Convert leads with Retargeting and offers
The stage where you decide to make a decision is the end of your funnel for marketing. In this stage, your marketing should make converting a no-brainer for your audience.
However, how do you bring them over the finishing line?
One of the most effective BOFU tools for marketing is retargeting.
Have you ever glanced at shoes on an online retailer and then hopped over to Facebook, just to see the same pair of shoes on your newsfeed? That's retargeting.
This particular type of retargeting is done through Facebook Pixel. Facebook Pixel , "a piece of code for your website that helps you analyze, improve and create the audiences you need for your ads". It helps you retarget BOFU leads who have been to your site and are have been engaged by your posts.
This is how Facebook Pixel works: Facebook Pixel works:
You add the pixel to the code of your site.
The pixel monitors which items customers are most interested in.
You use the pixel to retarget and target these users through Facebook ads.
When people click on the advertisements, they return to your website, where they can complete the purchase.
As far as the content of those retargeting ads, the decision phase is the right time to intensify urgency and draw attention to any offers that are special.
Obe Fitness did the second by serving this retargeted ad in my feed on Facebook:
I've visited Obe Fitness' site before I even began filling out their signup form. Since I was near to signing up, they sent me with a coupon promo code as well as a CTA to sign up.
In terms of adding urgency, offers that are limited time can make customers more likely to purchase -or buy it now. 89% of Americans think that an exclusive offer would encourage them to shop for a particular brand. 48% believe that they would be more likely to purchase if an exclusive offer made them purchase sooner.
Here are a few ideas to incorporate that urgency into your BOFU marketing
Set up a sale that is valid for a specific period of time, then add the countdown on the product's page. It might even lead to a boost of 147% on conversions .
In the end, if you're offering a sale that is limited in time be sure to inform the leads at the bottom of the sales funnel. It might just be the motivation they need to make their purchase.
You need to prioritize customer retention and not only acquisition.
It could cost more than seven times more to acquire an additional customer than it does for keeping one you already have.
52% of consumers go the extra mile to purchase from brands they're loyal to.
Repeat customers have nearly nine-times higher likely be converted over a new customer.
Many marketers view loyalty and retention as the fourth stage of the marketing funnel. Your customers have a stellar experience, and they help spread the message about your company or product. Those referrals enter your marketing funnel, and so on.
Add a funnel to your marketing toolbox
Every product, company and customer is unique. There's not a universal strategy for marketing that will magically make your conversions increase and the funnel to overflow in a flash.
If you can keep the marketing funnel top of your mind, you will more easily understand the journey of a customer from awareness to buying. Once you are aware of this, you will be able to get the correct message in front of your leads when they need it.
For a recap, here are the top marketing tactics that can be used at every stage of the funnel to market:
awareness:Focus on providing high-quality content that addresses your audience's pain points and establishes you as an authority within your industry. Lead magnets as well as Facebook ads are great at this stage.
Consideration:Nurture your leads with an email sequence and social proof. Help them feel confident that the product you offer fulfills their requirements.
Choice:Go for the hard to sell. Retargeting, discounts as well as a sense of urgency to push your prospects over the finish line.
Let's get to the point: Keep the customer journey in mind every step of your way and you'll soon be on the way to creating a marketing funnel that makes your sales numbers soar.