I know you are most probably thinking of a funnel as the one below, but technically that is how the Marketing funnel is structured. You see you start of wide then filter down until you get the desired results.
I don’t know if you are aware that websites are not as popular or effective as they use to be say 10 years ago. You see times are changing and as the internet evolves so does the way we use it. Top marketers are finding that driving traffic to a website is no longer converting into sales as well as it use to. That’s where the Marketing Funnel comes in.
I know you may be wondering what is a marketing funnel and do you really need one? Well the answer is YES. Every business needs a marketing funnel, whether it is brick and mortar, online, service based you name it a funnel can be tailored made to your requirements.
So what is a Marketing Funnel?
A Marketing funnel is a system used to process your customers from a prospect to a lead with the view that they will turn in to customers. The main aim of your marketing funnel is to accomplish one end goal. So for e.g. if you are only looking for leads, then you would use an opt-in page.
Every funnel requires these three components.
- Leads
- Prospects
- Customers
A lead is someone who maybe interested in your product or service, so may have just looked at your product but not made any contact with you.
A Prospect is a someone who may’ve seen your product or service and made an enquiry.
Customers are people that have brought from you. They can lead on to become repeat customers if they really like your products or services.
All of these people fit into your sales/marketing funnel!
The marketing funnel helps to build relationships and trust between you and your customers.
There are many components to a Marketing Funnel. A basic funnel can consist of an Opt-in Page, Sales Page, Thank You Page and then the order is delivered.
The Opt-in page is generally a short form, which consist of your name and email address. When a customer enters their details into the form you will get a notification in your email auto-responder such as Aweber, Mailchimp etc etc
The Sales page is used as a way to determine who is interested in what you have to offer. This is your opportunity to sell something of value to your customers. After the sale you would send your customer to a Thank-you page, thanking them for their purchase. Some marketers use this as an opportunity to offer another product known as an Upsell.
Once the buyer has finished buying from you, the product will either be delivered digitally or via post.
There is a lot of psychology that goes into marketing funnels. You really need to understand what it is your customer wants. You also need to know what stage of the buying cycle they are at.
The Buying Cycle
There are 5 levels in the buying cycle. Todd Brown talks about it a lot and calls it the Market Place sophistication and the Prospect Awareness Levels.
Prospect Awareness level
The 5 levels are as follows:
1: Most aware = prospect knows of your product, knows what it does and knows that they want it.
2: Product Aware = Prospect knows of your product but doesn’t know yet that they want it.
3: Solution Aware = Prospect wants what your product does but doesn’t know there is a product out there that will do it for them.
4: Problem Aware = Prospect has a need for the product but doesn’t realise the connection between fulfilment of that need and your product.
5: Least Aware = The prospect is not aware or will not admit that he has a desire.
Once you are aware of the stage your prospects are entering your funnel you will be able to speak to them at the level of their awareness, which will make it easier for you to convert them into customers.
Don’t forget to look out for part 3 in your inbox.
If you want to learn more about building an online business and the components that go into making a successful business, my friend Matt Lloyd has just released this book. It is FREE for a limited time, all you have to pay is shipping and postage charges. If you buy this book from me I will be giving away some great bonuses as well as the bonuses Matt’s giving away. To learn more click on the book.
I know you are most probably thinking of a funnel as the one below, but technically that is how the Marketing funnel is structured. You see you start of wide then filter down until you get the desired results.
