SALES FUNNEL – MARKETER’S MISTAKE
It wouldn’t make any sense to assume that the concept of ”sale funnel” will remain unchanged after the whole 120 years of it’s existence . For reference: the concept of “consumer funnel” (as it was called before), was introduced in 1898 by the economist Elias Lewis. And it meant the client’s way from the first acquaintance with the company to the purchase. Modern marketers follow the classic approach, narrowing or separating the funnel stages. But during this time the consumer has changed and it is not enough just to bring the matter to the purchase.
How does the traditional sales funnel work?
Let’s start with how marketers are used to work on a traditional sales funnel. First, a promotional company is launched, which tells the company about a fairly wide audience. She introduces the audience with the product and the company. Next, the company encourages interest in his own person. Work is being conducted with information channels, the media, attracting an audience on certain triggers. At this stage, the funnel narrows a little, leaving only the interested audience. The next time with the help of marketing tools is formed the desire of the audience. A person should want to buy a product. And at the last stage of the sales funnel, work with the client and the transaction proccess will take place.
Well done! You are wonderful! Goods sold, then everything is ok.
Approximately at this stage everything ends. Clients “spit out” from the funnel and move on. He remains abandoned and alone with his purchases. We exaggerate a little, but now you will understand what we are talking about.
How has the sales funnel changed?
Today, the sales funnel is a continuous mechanism. And this continuity lies in the subsequent interaction with the client. After the purchase you need to continue to work with the client. And the goal here is to build trust in the brand. Why does this stage go after the sale? Because he could buy and because you had cheaper, more profitable conditions, you are closer to home and for a host of other reasons. For each of these parameters you can get around a competitor. But if the client trusts the company, he will advise her friends and he will return. Therefore, you need to make a person “yours” in the company.
How to work in a new sales funnel?
First, we need a good and affordable support service. If a client has a question about your product, he will not call the hotline. This is a long time. This is the last century. He will go to your accounts in social networks or instant messengers. And here it is important to quickly resolve his issue. It is good, if you would furtherly suggest to look at materials on this problem,thereby attracting the client in accounts.By the way, after solving the problem, the recommendations will be launched and the client will tell his friends about this.
Secondly, content marketing built on the client’s pains and fears, have a great influence on the formation of trust. And here we do not sell. We teach how to solve various problems with the help of our product. Give advice on the use of the product, tell about the intricacies of the product. Useful and unique content – the key to customer confidence.
Thirdly, we activate the audience through game mechanics. Contests with free prizes have different mechanics, but when honestly conducting and demonstrating results, the client understands that they are not deceived. The brand is honest, you can trust it.
At the competition stage, we kill three birds with one stone:
- build confidence
- cause a desire to purchase a particular product
- working on recognizability
And here the new funnel ring closes.
What gives the new sales funnel?
After the competitive mechanic, a new audience emerges, which knows the company at the initial stage. A new audience saw the mention of the brand from their friends. You can already work with her. Also start with recognition and lead the audience before the contest.
An added bonus in the new sales funnel is the desire to re-purchase. Those who already use the product of the company and participated in the competition, are interested in a new product. The probability is high that a part of this audience will reach the stage of a new purchase.
It is worth noting that the number of people at a particular stage of the funnel varies. From recognition to competition, the audience is shrinking. With the help of the competition, the audience increases again and goes downward. Such a cyclical process will allow building a strong connection between the client and the company, forming around it a circle of advocates of the brand.
Summary
- The traditional sales funnel in 2019-2020 will change and will be a chain of several funnels. It looks like this: recognition -> interest -> desire -> purchase -> problem solving -> trust (useful content) -> contests -> recognition
- A well-functioning feedback or support service in social networks will strengthen the interaction with the client and provoke word of mouth. The client will testify how you solved his problem.
- Quality content marketing will strengthen the credibility of the company
- Game mechanics in the form of contests will cause a desire to purchase goods and increase company awareness
- At the stage of the competition, the sales funnel will return to the initial “Recognizability” stage and the mechanism will re-start.
Tags: marketing
Тэги: Marketing