If you’re interested in or a part of anything marketing related you’ve probably heard about the funnel. If you’re really comfortable with everything the funnel has to offer, feel free to skip this part. Otherwise, sit tight and enjoy the read, because we’re tearing the funnel open to show you exactly what’s inside!

Isn’t she absolutely beautiful? Thank you, I designed her myself. Well, not the actual funnel for what it is today, but instead just the image. Anyway, in the funnel, you’ll see there are 6 stages your website visitors go through. I’m going to walk you through all 6 stages. By the end of the funnel section, you’ll be able to identify prospects in any stage of the funnel and how to create more relevant marketing to reach prospects at different stages of the funnel. Ugh, I don’t know about you, but I’m sure as hell excited about this! (if I didn’t mention it in the intro, you should know I’m absolutely in love with everything marketing!)

Awareness

This is the first stage in the funnel. The Awareness stage is where people become aware of a problem or a need. Maybe they were combing their beard one day and realized they needed more beard oil. “It’s just not the same without that beard oil” they shouted! If this was you what would your next steps be? It would probably be grabbing your phone or getting on your computer and searching for things like, “make my beard shine” or… “Beard products that help beard growth.” Whatever it is you’re searching for, you'll find a ton of things on listing to help you find what you’re looking for.

Now, this is where you come in with your glorious arsenal of marketing skill, and wisdom! You start creating blog posts for your website, videos for your YouTube channel, and fresh creative posts on your Instagram page! And you optimize everything you create with SEO to target specific keywords that would be at the top of this funnel.

You can target people looking to learn more about what beard oil is. Simply write an article about the benefits of beard oil, and what’s in it. You can even create a YouTube video of how to use it! This is your way of preparing to help answer the questions of the Vikings when they realize they want a better-looking beard. How helpful is that? You’re prepared to help people with informative content before they even ask the question. I definitely give that a thumbs up… and so will Google. Google likes informative content created with the purpose of helping people find the answers they want. And the truth is if you’re doing a good job answering the questions then you’re on your way to the discovery stage!

Discovery

Now that you’ve pushed out blogs, videos, and are constantly posting to your social media pages -- you’re ready to be discovered. That’s right both you and your potential customers are about to discover each other for the first time -- what a magical moment! Your customer wanted to make his beard shine, and you were there to tell him how. Your customer researched how to use beard oil, you had a video that showed him the, “how to’s and what not’s.” Now, he knows who you are, and you know who he is (I’m making a reference to retargeting, which we’ll get into later on).

But guess what, this is the player's field… so, there are a few other companies your customer is seeing, which brings us to the next stage!

Evaluation

Your potential customer is doing his research to find the best price and the best quality on beard oil. I personally, would pay more for quality, especially if it’s going on my face I mean come on! But, anyway, your customer has their own set of rules they follow when faced with the purchasing decision. So, they dig up all your dirt. They read customer reviews, they watch videos on YouTube that compare competing brands for them. They’re looking for key points that will let them know which brand is superior and if the price is right they’re one step closer to becoming a buyer.

What can you do at this stage? Nothing… psyche! You need to make sure you’re collecting customer reviews and having them published on your website. Showcase that your products are AMAZING! You need to keep up with your social media pages because they’re going to want to know if you’re popular or not. A lot of marketers call it social proof, which in a way it is. I just like to call it popularity, because you need it all. You need a fair amount of followers and decent engagement. People can’t just like you, they need to like talking to you as well. This isn’t always a deal breaker for buyers, but it can definitely push them in the right direction.

You can also send your beard oils to YouTube influencers. Send it out to them for free and have them make videos for you. It’ll help get the word out about your brand when people are researching competing brands. And if you stand behind your product you have nothing to worry about.

Intent

At this stage, your potential customer is a warm prospect. They’ve learned from you, they’ve heard good things about you and their interested (almost sounds like dating). Your prospect is showing you buyers intent. This means they’re on your website viewing your products, which is great if they for retargeting! If your customer still likes what they see, and doesn’t get distracted by a poor landing page, or slow loading time, then you’re on the next stage!

Purchase

We Made It! You helped your customer by answering their questions. You backed up your product in all its glory, and you just converted your prospect into a paying customer! At this point, you want to do a mini touchdown dance. Who doesn’t get excited from successful sales? I know I still do!

Loyalty

Your job isn’t done yet. I mean it could be, but I wouldn’t stop at the purchase stage. Your customer is likely a subscriber now. This is your chance to share more about your brand. Let them know what you stand for, and why you do what you do. Inform them of company news, sales promotions and through email marketing. This is an important part of the funnel. I can showcase the advantages of building loyalty here.

You just saw everything that goes into converting a cold prospect. You had to create content, send out free products to influencers, post every day on social media until they finally converted. Some of those things cost money, and some of them take time, which has it’s own costs as well.

But let’s say this guy runs out of beard oil. If you let him forget about you (or if he didn’t like your product) he’s going to go through the entire funnel again! You don’t want that! You want him to remember you, and to be the first brand in mind when it comes to beard oil. So, you stay in touch with your customers via email marketing (I’d aim to send out relevant emails once per week). This way when he runs out, he knows where to go.

Takes 15 minutes to create a stunning email reminding your customers to come back, and when you have the right Email Marketing Service (EMS) your costs for sending that email are low. So, instead of having the customer you worked so hard for churn, you know have him coming back every time he needs a shine!

If you enjoyed this, keep on coming back and share it with your friends and colleagues. We have a lot more coming and we’re breaking down and sharing strategies in all parts of marketing. It’s only going to get more complex and advanced as we continue. So, don’t miss a step!

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