A marketing funnel is a visual representation of the customer journey in the market. The marketing funnel is a sales process that moves prospective customers through a series of steps. Companies use this funnel when they are trying to make sales online or in person.
What is Marketing Funnel?
In simple terms, the marketing funnel is a model that marketers use to measure the process of making a sale. It’s often represented by a triangle, with the top being wide and the bottom being narrow.
This is the most widely used model for understanding the process of how leads turn into customers. It describes a set of steps that need to be taken, in the right order, with each step performing a specific function.
Phases of Marketing Funnel
Some marketers believe that there are three main parts to this process. These are called Awareness, Consideration, and Purchase/Conversion. The Awareness stage can be thought of as putting your product in front of consumers so that they know it exists and will want to learn more about it. The top-of-funnel members of your audience will not buy anything from you at this point, but they may become interested and move down the funnel if you take advantage of what you have done for them already to get them excited about your product.
1. Awareness
People are more aware of what they are buying today. They know the various benefits of the product and also know exactly how much it costs. The buyer’s journey has undergone a drastic change in the past few decades. It is no longer linear but rather a complex journey with lots of loops and twists. The marketers have to keep up with these changes, which is not an easy task to do!
The awareness stage is focused on building awareness among potential customers about your products/services by leveraging marketing channels, driving traffic to your website via SEO, social media marketing, etc., where research shows that most people will abandon their shopping cart if they don’t like the price of an item.
2. Consideration
The consideration phase is the decision-making process consumers go through before they make their purchase.
The following five factors influence the consumers’ decision to buy:
Product – Consumers must see the product and like it for it to be considered.
Price – Consumers need to understand that the product is worth its price and it needs to be competitive in relation to other products on the market.
Place – The customer needs to know where they can purchase the product, otherwise it cannot be considered.
Promotion – The customer needs to know about a promotion or offer that will persuade them into making their purchase now.
Message – The consumer needs a clear message of what this product will provide for them and why they need it in their life if they are going to consider purchasing it.
3. Purchase/Conversion
The customer’s journey in the conversion process begins when they are exposed to the company’s marketing message and move towards a purchase decision. They may be exposed to many different messages before making a decision which one will lead them to buy the product or service.
The purchase phase in the marketing funnel is the most important phase. It defines the customer’s interest in the company’s product or service. The conversion phase is an action taken by a customer who has successfully navigated through the purchase.
There are many enabling technologies for this phase that are being used by companies to improve their marketing efforts, such as Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Chat Bots, etc.
The purchase phase in the marketing funnel starts with a person coming across a company’s product or service and ends when the individual becomes a customer of that company and completes an action for that company’s product or service.
Conclusion
Thus, the Marketing funnel is a concept in marketing that defines the customer journey from awareness to conversion. The process starts with the awareness stage and continues through stages such as interest, evaluation, and finally, purchase. Understanding customer’s journey and making the way easy as possible is the key.
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