Understanding the customer journey for your product or brand is vital for developing an effective marketing plan. By knowing how your customers generally filter down the marketing funnel, you can better understand your target audience at different stages and craft appealing content to move them forward.
As the number of ways consumers interact with brands increases, it is important to not only adjust your messaging to audiences at different stages in the marketing funnel but also the channels on which you are trying to reach those audiences.
The Digital Marketing Funnel
There have been many iterations of the online marketing funnel, but most versions categorize the stages as something similar to:
- Awareness
- Interest
- Consideration
- Engagement
- Conversion
At each of these phases customers have different motivations and needs. Developing the appropriate messaging for each stage is the first and most important step. Once you have your message finalized, it is time to ensure you are using the right channels to communicate.
Finding The Right Channels
Awareness
At this stage, the goal is to educate potential customers by highlighting the value of your product or service. The best ways to reach customers at this stage are display ads, Facebook ads, and through Search Engine Optimization (SEO). These platforms cast the widest net and give you the opportunity to get in front of larger audiences.
Interest
Users at this stage want more in-depth information on your company. Reach this audience through paid search, LinkedIn, and Gmail sponsored promotions. Now that your audience knows who you are, these platforms allow you to expand on the problems that your services solve.
Consideration
During this phase, users are ready to consider a product or brand and are looking for the differentiators that make your offerings better than the rest. Focus on remarketing efforts, customized landing pages, and personalized email campaigns that clearly state how your product or service addresses their needs.
Engagement
At this phase potential customers begin engaging with your business. They are very close to a conversion and need to continue to see your company or product as their solution. Keep the conversation going with social media and personalized email campaigns.
Conversion
When a visitor converts into a customer, your job is still not over. To transform this one-time transaction into a loyal customer you need to ensure the end result was what the customer was hoping for. Be in contact through email, perhaps with a customer satisfaction survey, and use social media and remarketing ads to stay in your customer’s line of sight.
Building a strategic marketing plan is the cornerstone for effectively moving potential customers through the digital marketing funnel for your business. When you have an understanding of their motivations during the decision-making process and know where and how to reach them, your conversions will begin to increase.