You know the importance of the buying process for your business. If you don’t understand how customers move from discovering your brand to buying, it can be frustrating to try to understand the details of the buyer’s journey. You could lose customers if you don’t understand it.

The solution? Marketing funnels. We’ll answer your questions in this article:

• What is a marketing channel?
• What are the advantages of marketing funnels?
• What is the purpose of marketing funnels?
• What marketing funnels work for businesses-to-consumer and business-to-business (B2B)?
• More

Continue reading to find out more information or contact us online. To learn more about Kobe Digital, call us today!

What is a marketing channel?

You may be wondering what a marketing channel is. It is a simplified representation of the customer’s journey, from finding a company to buying their product or using their services. Marketing funnels are also known as sales funnels. They help marketers identify customers at each stage of the buying process.

It makes it easier for customers to be targeted with relevant content that is in line with their decision-making stage. Because customers move from discovery to action, the funnel is called a funnel. The funnel is usually divided into three sections by marketers:

• To the top of the funnel (TOFU). TOFU This is part of your funnel that will drive the most leads and traffic. This stage is where users are exposed to your brand. This stage is where content marketing, social media, and online ads play a significant role in driving traffic to your brand.
  
• MOFU: Middle of the funnel In The MOFU Stage, you begin the lead nurturing process. You can increase the interest of those who are still interested in learning more about your brand as the funnel narrows. This stage includes webinars, ebooks, and newsletters.
  
• Bottom Of The Funnel (BOFU): Users reach the BOFU stage when they take action. This stage of the funnel is where you provide information such as demonstrations, pricing packages, and trails to encourage users toward conversion.

These sections include stages the user must go through to move from awareness to purchasing. We’ll be discussing more details in this article.

Marketing funnels have many benefits

Marketing funnels can be extremely beneficial for your business. Marketing funnels have the following main benefits:

• Understanding buyer’s journey: Marketing channels make it easier to follow and understand the buyer’s path. It allows you to create marketing plans that target each stage of the buyer’s decision-making journey with greater precision.

• More than just sales tracking: Marketing funnels can be applied to every decision made by customers. You can use marketing funnels for any action that you consider a conversion, such as calls, follows on Social Media, or subscriptions to email.

• Optimizing your Marketing Strategy: Marketing funnels allow you to deliver the right content to your audience at just the right time. You can create tailored content for your customers by mapping their journey and keeping them in the funnel.

What is the purpose of marketing funnels?

Marketing funnels outline the buyer’s journey, from discovery to conversion. These steps will help you identify the content that you should be delivering to move people further down your funnel.

Although sales funnels can vary in terms of the number and stages they include, most marketing funnels contain these five steps:

Awareness

The awareness stage is the beginning of the marketing funnel. This stage is when a person recognizes that they have a problem, and actively seeks out possible solutions. They discover your company via your marketing campaigns and through their research.

They become familiar with your brand as first-time visitors. At this point, there are two options. The first is that they feel your products or services are not relevant enough to solve their problem. They leave and seek out other solutions.

The second reason is that if they feel your products or services can solve their problem, they will stay around to learn more. They will become more familiar with your brand and start to learn more about what you offer.

The best strategies to reach people at the awareness stage.

• Video clips: To introduce your business, you can make short videos. Showcase the history of your company and highlight the unique value you offer your customers. You can also highlight and introduce your products in short videos to draw new customers.
  
• infographics: Information Graphics about your company’s processes can help visitors understand you and the value of your products and services. Infographics can be used to draw attention to interesting facts and statistics.
• Updates on social media: Social media updates can help you build your brand, establish relationships with your fans, and reach new audiences. To grab your audience’s attention, you can upload your infographics and short videos. These types of content are great for generating awareness. Social media
  
  

Interest

Once a potential customer has discovered your brand, they will move on to the interest stage of the marketing funnel. This is where potential customers will start looking into your company, products, and helpful content. This is the stage where you begin to build a relationship.

This will produce more targeted content which pushes these leads further down your funnel. You can increase interest in your products and services by creating targeted content.

The best strategies to reach people at the interest stage.

• How to guide: Guides are a great way to give your audience useful and relevant information. Your audience will be more likely to interact with you if you provide more useful content.

• Video Tutorials: Just like how-to guides and videos, video tutorials can help you to build relationships with your target audience. Videos are engaging for your audience. Your audience will identify you as a trusted source of information by using the helpful elements of your content.

• Email newsletter: Keep your business top of mind by sending regular emails. You can target your customers with relevant newsletter content, such as videos and blog posts that will build interest.

You can also use it to increase interest.

• Blog guides
• Advertisements targeted
• Giveaways and Contests
• Live chat
• Branch events
• Social media campaigns
• Webinars

Take into account

When potential customers evaluate your brand and products, this stage means that they believe you are a viable solution to their problem. They are interested in your products but not sure if they will make a purchase. This stage will see them considering other options, and comparing your company with their competitors.

This is where you can highlight the benefits of products and services and answer questions.

The best strategies to reach people in the consideration stage:

• Videos: Videos allow you to showcase in-depth views of your products and services. Videos allow your audience to see what you have to say. Video can help you position your products higher than your competitors. It can also push your audience to the next stage of your marketing funnel, which is where they will make a decision.
  
• Online reviews, and endorsements : Encourage customers to leave reviews and endorse your products online. This will help build trust and confidence in your brand. Reviews will be an important part of what your customers look at when they are researching products and services. Good reviews will help you rise to the top of your customers’ minds and establish you as a reliable business.
  
• Email guides and reports can help you highlight the unique features of your products or services. Reports and videos can be sent to highlight the benefits of your products or services. You can also send guides on how your products or services make life easier for your customers.

You can also use

• About us pages
• Lists of product and resource lists
• Templates and toolkits
• Forums
• Targeted content for blogs
• eBooks
• Product videos
• FAQs
• Chat live
• Demonstrations

Take the decision

The decision stage follows the consideration stage of the marketing funnel. This is where prospects become potential customers. They have narrowed their choices to just two or three and need some more encouragement to get them to act.

They will often let you know that they are in this stage by interfacing with your calls to action (CTAs). They will fill out surveys, request quotes, and place items in shopping carts. These actions will help you decide when to make a case for your brand.

This is the stage where you want to push your value proposition. It is important to explain how your product solves their problem and why you are better than other companies. Your sales and marketing teams must work together to nurture prospects.

The best strategies to reach people at the decision stage.

• Pricing and product pages: These pages are designed to help you market your products and services to your target audience. They can use it to determine if your business is right for them and their budget.

• Specials and Offers: A special offer can make a difference in someone’s decision to choose your business. Your audience may be more likely to choose you if they are offered a special discount or price.

• Customer testimonials Leads want to be confident that they are the best choice for their needs. Showing them testimonials from clients can help boost their confidence in your business.

You can also use it to make decisions

• Sign up forms
• Landing Pages
• Product details
• Case studies
• Surveys
• Trials are free
• Contact us pages

Take Action

This is the action stage in the marketing funnel. Prospects have made their final decision and are ready to take action. This is where prospects become customers. Your sales team will assist your prospects with the purchase transaction.

These customers will be important for your marketing team to monitor. Your customers are more likely to buy from you again if they had a positive experience with your brand. A little remarketing can help. These customers may also be willing to provide reviews or refer others, which can help other prospects in the earlier stages of their marketing funnel.

The best strategies to reach people on the action stage:

• Remarketing Campaigns Remarketing campaigns remind customers about the things they considered during the consideration, interest, and decision marketing stages. Remarketing campaigns can be a great way to motivate customers to take action. To remind customers about recent purchases or items that they have abandoned, you can create email campaigns.
  
• Forms: The main method of conversion is via forms. There are many options for forms: contact forms, email subscriptions, forms to make purchases, and credit card forms. Simple, well-designed forms will help you get your audience to take action.
  
  Your audience is less likely to abandon the conversion process if your form is simpler and requires less information.
• Live Demos: Live demos are a great way to convince people that your product is right for them. They can see the process and feel inspired to act.

You can also use it to get action.

• Comparison of Competitors
• Consultations
• Pricing tables
• Email onboarding
• Guarantees
• Offers and discounts
• Subscribe to our Newsletter
• Contact us pages

Marketing funnels can be extended with retention

Some versions of the marketing funnel account for customers’ movements after purchase. These steps include:

• Loyalty Customers are loyal when they return to buy more times. These customers are more likely to choose your brand than your competitors.
• Advocacy Customers who show loyalty to your brand and are loyal fans of your brand are called the advocacy stage. These customers will be loyal to your brand and promote it to others.

These are the things consumers use to build loyalty and advocate for others:

• Customer support
• Community engagement
• Bundles of special offers
• Loyalty Offer
• Referral programs
• Beta testers
• Remarketing Ads
• Events
• Surveys
• Forums
• Influencers
• Contests

Nonlinear funnels

While the traditional marketing funnel is what we have described, the buying process changes constantly due to technological advances and consumer behavior. The linear model of marketing funnels is often not clear enough. The marketing funnel becomes more complex as consumers have more options and information.

As they learn more, consumers jump from the consideration stage to the decision stage. They’ll expand their options and then move on to find more information to narrow them down. The marketing funnel also includes consumers at different stages.

There are cases where consumers enter the consideration or intent marketing funnel stages. There may be cases when consumers go from awareness to action and do not reach the other steps. While the linear marketing funnel can still be useful for marketers to see the customer journey, it’s simplified enough that they can visualize how customers gather information. However, you should keep in mind that customers will move through the funnel in different ways.

Marketing funnels for B2B and B2C are different

Marketing funnels can vary depending on the market you are targeting. Keep in mind the differences between a marketing funnel and a B2C funnel. You can adapt your marketing funnel to best fit your business’s structure once you understand the differences between B2B and B2C funnels.

B2B

B2B businesses are more likely to have cross-departmental customers because they market to other businesses. B2B customers have a more targeted buying intent. Companies know what they need to improve their workflow and productivity when they buy.

They will spend less time at the awareness and interest stages and more time at the consideration and decision stages. Your B2B customers will also have direct contact with your sales reps once they reach the bottom. 

B2C

Customers are individuals when it comes to B2C marketing. While they spend considerable time building interest in your brand they will often remain in the consideration stage, as they continue to narrow and widen their search. Customers move down the funnel either alone or with a small number of trusted friends and family.

Although they may not interact with your company directly during the entire buying process, that doesn’t mean you should cut corners on the content that you send them. Content and remarketing strategies can be some of the most effective ways to get B2C audiences to take action.

Kobe Digital can help you build your marketing funnel!

Are you ready to build your marketing funnel? Kobe Digital is a company that has helped businesses to build and tailor their marketing strategies for each stage of their marketing funnel.

Our highly skilled, award-winning team will help you create a marketing funnel that meets your customers’ needs. Call us to speak with a Miami digital marketing specialist and learn how to apply the marketing funnel for your business.