Funnel Vision: Mastering the art of Marketing Funnels

Why are some businesses able to convert their website visitors into loyal customers with so much ease, while you’re feeling like your website visitors are struggling to even make a sale? Well, today we’re going to take a look at that secret sauce, which is how to turn curious prospects into raving fans. It’s all going to start with having that understanding of your marketing funnel. We’re going to deep dive into the world of marketing funnels. We’re going to uncover some strategies that successful businesses use to attract and engage and convert their audience.

Hi, my name is Jordan McFadyen, and welcome to the Marketing Mindset podcast. This podcast is designed to challenge both you and I to always be reassessing our marketing strategies, by sharing some new thoughts and ideas on how you can move away from random acts of marketing, and help starting to build a more long-term marketing strategy.

Today’s episode is a slightly different special one. We’re actually recording this one from a hotel room in Sydney. So I’m currently over in Sydney at the moment with Google, and as part of the Google Ads growth strategy programme. So we’ve got a client who is part of this programme because they’re spending a certain amount with the Google Ads platform. And part of that means is we get to work with the Google Ads team around how we can use Google Ads, and in particular Performance Max campaigns, better for that client.

But it got me thinking as well that it’s not just around the advertising, because we will cover more of the advertising, and how some of the learnings that we’ve been able to take from this trip in Sydney, back to you in a future podcast episode. But there were a lot of questions that came about these sessions that we’ve been having with the Google team, and with the client itself, around the marketing funnel, that overall marketing journey that customers and clients are actually going through. So it got me thinking around the confusion, and sometimes the importance, of thinking around your marketing funnel, and how this is actually helping us to build our businesses and to actually attract leads.

So let’s just have a think about marketing funnels in general, having a bit of a definition firstly. So marketing funnel is obviously that multi-stage process that’s actually representing your customer’s journey. And it’s starting from that initial awareness, and working its way all the way through to the final conversion or the purchase. Whether you have a service-based business, where you’re offering a service at the end and they’re converting on that service and you start to work with them, or if it’s purely based on a product and you’re just trying to actually get that product sold. That’s the real clear-cut definition of what a marketing funnel is.

There’s lots of different stages, and people look at different stages of what these marketing funnels can be. There’s the AIDA model, for example: AIDA. So with this model, it looks at awareness, A; interest, the I; the D, which is desire; and finally the A, the final A, which is action. So awareness, interest, desire and action. And that’s a pretty standard marketing funnel strategy, and stages of a particular strategy. So that’s what I want to have a real look at today, and really see how we can adapt that marketing strategy to fit in with your business, and even to get you to consider how you can use a marketing funnel to align and to actually build the bones of your marketing strategy.

Anatomy of a marketing funnel isn’t as clear-cut as what you may think that it is. If we think about those diagrams that you see online, and it’s like these images of a funnel, which has got the nice wide opening at the top, that funnels right down and eventually converts that customer. You’ve all seen those diagrams that I’m trying to badly describe just there. But essentially what I want to get across here is that with a marketing funnel, it’s realistically not always going to work as smoothly as what that picture is dictating.

It’s not going to work as smoothly as if you’re going to add fuel to your petrol tank. There are going to be leaks. People are going to come in mid-funnel. They’re going to come in bottom-of-funnel. They’re going to maybe see your top-of-funnel content and then, I don’t know, spill out. And the thing is, we need to understand and realise that that is okay. The advantages of digital marketing is that we can actually have a look at some of that data and see how are people interacting with a funnel. Where are people dropping out? Where is some of that content that people aren’t relating to?

Maybe it’s not a desire or a pain point that they currently have, and so it’s not compelling enough for them to even enter into your marketing funnel. Maybe the middle-of-the-funnel content isn’t compelling enough to actually make them want to learn more about your product or service, or actually get them to that funnel stage of actually convert as well. And again, that’s okay. There will be spillages, and there will be just as many people coming in at the middle of the funnel or bottom of the funnel, straight to the conversion stage.

So what we need to do is we need to firstly design our marketing funnel so that we have that journey that we want our customers to take, and then think about the different data that we’re actually going to use and look at, and the analytics that we’re going to look at, to help us determine whether our marketing funnel is actually working for us as well. And this is a conversation we have with a lot of different clients as well. I was also on a client call earlier this week where we were discussing the journeys that customers are going through, thinking about our campaigns and trying to build our campaigns, and think about the journey that we have and the journey that these prospective clients and customers are going to have. And it all really depends on some fundamentals that go back to our marketing strategies.

And that first one is really trying to have a look at who are we actually trying to get down a marketing funnel in the first place. Who are we actually trying to convert? Trying to think about that audience. Really pinpoint that audience. And that’s going to make it so much easier for us to then create these campaigns. It’s going to make it so much easier for us to identify what our target client and customers’ desires are, what their pain points are, what some of the struggles that they’re facing right now. And that’s going to help us build that content, and really make sure that we’re attracting that right person, we’re convincing that right person, and that we’re eventually going to convert that right person as well.

So let’s go through this step by step, just so you can get a bit of an understanding, and we’ll try to give a few examples of what a typical funnel is going to look like as well. So, top of funnel. This is right at the top. Think about that diagram. Again, not everyone’s going to come in to the funnel like this, but think about that top of funnel, which is really focusing on attracting potential customers through your content marketing. Maybe it’s your SEO, so you’re thinking about the content that you have on your website that is generating organic reach, so that people can find you on places like Google. Or maybe it is your social media, and the posts that you’re doing, the video content, or the images that you’re sharing on your social media feed.

So a top of funnel campaign really is focusing on raising brand awareness and attracting potential customers by actually offering valuable, informative and engaging content. So here’s a bit of an example of a top of funnel campaign. Let’s say that we’re running a fitness company, and we’re going to call it ABC Fitness. This is a fitness studio that’s going to offer group classes. It’s going to offer personal training. It’s got some online resources to help its clients with having a healthy lifestyle.

So if we’re thinking about a top of funnel campaign for ABC Fitness, the objective there is really to attract fitness enthusiasts, that’s our core market, or individuals that are interested in improving their health and their well-being. And we’re going to attract them by offering some content that’s going to inspire them. Maybe it’s like a free 30-day fitness challenge of sorts, that’s going to include a daily workout routine, a meal plan and motivational tips. And that’s all going to go back to who we’re actually trying to attract at the end of the day, and who we’re trying to convert at the end. So think about, really dial down on that core audience.

Let’s say for this particular campaign that we’re going for busy CEOs, or busy high-profile people in businesses, who don’t have much time in their day-to-day. They’ve got poor diets because they don’t have enough time to meal plan. They don’t have time to go to the gym. So we’re trying to focus on attracting those type of people with this top of funnel campaign. So here you’ll want to think about some of those components of how we can get in front of those people. Maybe it’s going to be blog posts: creating a series of blog posts which is going to cover topics such as your workout routines, or nutrition tips, or maybe healthy lifestyle habits or recipes.

And what you’re going to do is these blog posts are going to be optimised for SEO, so that we can start to attract and start to see organic search traffic. The great thing about focusing on SEO and search engine optimisation of your blog and your website is that this is content that can stay around for a very long time. Because top of funnel campaigns can be really expensive if you’re going to put money behind it. But if you can find the ways to attract top of funnel awareness cheaply, or even better free, using optimised SEO content, that’s obviously the way to go.

Social media is also a great way of being able to do this and not being able to invest a lot of money into that top of funnel. Sharing engaging content around workout videos for ABC Fitness, or healthy recipes, motivational quotes on your Facebook and Instagram. If we’re using things like our relevant hashtags, and we’re engaging with our audience on social media, it can really help to increase our reach and visibility. And again, targeting places on social media where your audience is. If we’re going for those CEOs, those high-profile people in business who don’t have time, potentially Facebook and LinkedIn, sorry, Instagram, aren’t going to be the right place. And LinkedIn is going to be where you need to find those people.

And maybe you want to run some campaigns on there where it’s like a free downloadable PDF, where participants can actually download that free PDF. It’s going to outline that 30-day fitness challenge. It’s going to include those daily workout routines. It’s going to include some meal plans, for example. But what it’s going to do is it’s going to require users to provide, let’s say, an email address to actually gain access to that content. And what that’s going to do is we’re going to be able to use those details to actually build an email list for future marketing campaigns, as they move down that funnel, move to the middle of funnel as well.

So really, just as a recap, that top of funnel, let’s say for ABC Fitness, the aim here is that we’re raising brand awareness. We’re trying to engage with our target audience. We’re trying to collect valuable leads for these future marketing efforts as we move those clients down that funnel. Participants who complete this challenge that we’re talking about, they’re going to experience positive results. And this is going to help them to hopefully become more likely and a better chance of becoming a paying customer. It’s going to help them to attend group classes or sign up for personal training at the fitness business as well.

So that’s that top of funnel. They’re now aware of our business. They’ve raised their hand. They’ve shown some sort of interest. They’ve watched a video, downloaded a PDF, gone to your website. They’ve shown an interest in your brand. How can we then move them through that funnel?

So we think about that middle of the funnel. This is your chance to really try and engage and nurture those leads through some more targeted content. Here, with middle of the funnel, we’re trying to think about how we can actually build trust and address some of their direct pain points. If we go back to the CEO, the people in those high-profile positions in a business, they’re time poor. That’s a big pain point. They’re starting to feel unhealthy, but they also don’t feel as though they have the time to address those issues.

So if we continue with the ABC Fitness example, this middle of funnel campaign is going to focus on nurturing these leads that were generated from the top of funnel campaign, and help them engage further with the brand. And this stage is really about aiming to educate prospects. And the big thing here is trying to build trust, building authority with those people, showing that you have results, that other people have trusted you, that other people have got good results. And trying to show these people that are in the middle of funnel, that are aware of your business, they know what you do, that we’re trying to convince them now that you are the company that they should be dealing with, and that they should be working with.

With ABC Fitness, you want that objective to be that we want to help potential customers identify those unique fitness goals and those unique preferences that they have. We want to guide them towards the most suitable services or programmes that we offer with our business. So how are we going to do it? Here’s a few options that you could do.

Thinking about your email nurturing sequences. Email is really powerful. And this all comes back to thinking about that overall strategy, about how you can use email within your marketing strategy. So middle of funnel, you’ve built an email list from that top of funnel campaign. Now what you’re going to do is you’re going to send those clients and those prospects onto a series of educational and personalised email campaigns. The content here is going to include tips for actually setting fitness goals, sharing success stories from current clients, and sharing information about different classes or programmes that you have available as well. This is the chance to really share and take people on a journey in their inbox about why you’re the right fitness provider, or the right business, for that particular client.

For example, you can even think about interactive quizzes. ABC Fitness, for example, could create an interactive online quiz that is helping users actually identify their fitness goals, identifying their preferences, their workout style. And once they finish that quiz, they’re actually going to receive those personalised recommendations on which fitness service or programme is actually going to best suit their needs.

Maybe you’re going to give them access to some exclusive content. Maybe it’s a video series or an e-book that people get access to. And this video series is only accessible to prospects who have actually participated in that first top of funnel campaign. And video can be a great way of being able to do this as well, because, again, we can actually track people who are watching these videos. We can track how long they’re watching these videos. We can see, are they actually getting value when they’re watching these videos? Is it actually helping us move those people down the funnel even further as well? And this content is going to provide in-depth information on various, let’s say, fitness topics for ABC Fitness, and further showcase your brand’s expertise at the end of the day as well.

Maybe at this stage as well, you can actually start thinking about those limited-time promotions as well. Potentially, that’s something that you might want to test and use at your bottom of funnel campaigns, but it could be a chance to try and encourage and start getting people thinking about buying and using your service as well.

So as a summary, that middle of funnel campaign with ABC Fitness, it’s trying to help establish that relationship with potential customers. It’s taking them from that top of funnel awareness, and actually now starting to showcase the value that you offer as a business. We’re thinking about how we can guide prospects towards making a decision about using you as a service provider or a product. And we’re doing this by providing valuable content and personalised recommendations. And we can actually then increase the likelihood that prospects who have seen the top of funnel campaigns are actually going to convert into paying customers.

And that’s where the bottom of the funnel comes in. This is where we need to think about how we can convert leads into customers, by actually trying to showcase the value of the product or service, and offering incentives to actually do that as well, and try and convince them to become a client of ours, and really think about how we can optimise that user experience. So this bottom of funnel campaign is going to focus on converting these potential customers who are engaging with the top and the middle of the funnel.

Again, if we think about that diagram we’ve all seen, it’s starting really wide, and we’re really starting to narrow down our audience now as people are going through these funnels. And we can see that they’re engaging with these different pieces of content that we’re providing with them. And at this stage, prospects are aware of the brand. They’ve expressed interest in your services that you’ve offered. And the goal now is to provide a compelling enough offer or incentive that’s actually going to convince them to take that final step and become a paying customer. That’s at the end of the day here what we want.

So bottom of funnel campaign for ABC Fitness, for example, we’re going to think about how we can create that sense of urgency, maybe demonstrate the value of the fitness service, maybe address any remaining barriers to conversion. If they’ve still got a few barriers that you can identify, what are those barriers? And again, this goes right back to the start, about actually identifying who that ideal client and that ideal customer is, so that we can identify those further barriers, and make sure that we are providing solutions to those barriers at this final stage. And then by providing these personalised offers, and showcasing the success stories, and providing and offering further support to make that decision-making process so much easier, it then is going to increase the likelihood of actually turning that prospect into a loyal customer.

And the thing is, as well as with the funnel, I know we’ve discussed those three things, top of funnel, middle of funnel and bottom of funnel. But what I also want you to think about is how you can go further than that as well, and how we can actually take that to beyond bottom of funnel. Once they actually become a customer of yours, how can you use that? How can you continue to leverage that person? Because once you’ve got them into the conversion, and got them into a paying customer or client of yours, this is where they can become even more powerful for you.

So you’ve got to make sure that you still engage these people, because these people can turn into referrals or mini influencers for your brand, and you need to try and nurture that, and ensure that you’re thinking beyond bottom of funnel. The sales game is obviously fun, it’s getting people through that funnel, but then we come into the service game, and we need to turn those prospects into raving fans, who are then going to go out and spread the word about how fantastic your business is at the end of the day.

And the final thing I just wanted to chat about as well is just the importance of actually tracking the funnel metrics. It’s so important, because we’ve gone through the top of funnel, middle of funnel, bottom of funnel, we need to think about and set some KPIs and some goals for each of those stages as well, because we want to track conversion rates. We need to see website traffic, we need to identify and look at customer behaviour to evaluate marketing efforts. Obviously I’ve given you a few examples of some of the content that you can use as part of your marketing funnels, but what data can you identify from those different tactics that we’ve looked at today that can actually determine whether that was a success or not? What tweaks do you need to make to actually increase the likelihood of a top of funnel prospect to actually become a paying customer as well?

So having a look at your funnel metrics is really important, to make sure that your funnel is actually doing something. And there’s so many different tools that you can leverage as well, analytics, user testing, and these targeted marketing strategies that we’re talking about, to actually try and enhance each stage of the funnel. To make sure that you’re identifying who your prospect is right at the top of the funnel, that you’re identifying their pain points, their desires, and each stage of that funnel, it’s content that’s delivered to them in a format that they enjoy, based on who they are, and is answering the problems that they have, or the desires that they have, as you move through that funnel there as well.

So again, the main aim here that we’re going for is: how can we turn curious prospects into raving fans? That’s the big question. Here’s a few questions I want you to ask yourself, just to round out today’s podcast. What are the specific goals and specific objectives of this marketing funnel that you’ve got? This may relate back to your marketing strategy as well. Now, thinking about that marketing strategy that you have, and what specific goals and objectives do you have?

Second question is: who’s that target audience? Really define who that target audience is. What are their needs, their pain points and their desires? If you don’t have that nailed, there’s no point in wasting time and effort and money into marketing funnels if you don’t know who you’re talking to, or who you want to go through your funnel. Your business isn’t big enough, like an Amazon, where you’ve got that massive brand awareness that people will just go straight to you. We’re trying to think about how we can attract top of funnel people to your business. We need to find that target audience.

The next question is thinking about those key stages of the marketing funnel. So what are the key stages of your marketing funnel? Awareness, consideration and decision. And think about what content or actions are actually needed at each of those stages as well. What’s going to relate back to your target customer? And how are we going to convert them and convince them to give your company a shot? Also think about what are the most effective channels and the tactics to actually reach that target audience at each stage of the funnel. Go through that with a fine-tooth comb, and make sure that you fully understand, and make sure that it’s really clear, about how you’re attracting these people and how you’re going to move them through.

And then again, I just want to reiterate, think about how you can create a seamless and engaging customer journey through the funnel. But I want you to think about it from awareness to conversion, but thinking about how we can move beyond that as well. Turning them into raving fans that then turn into powerful referrals for you and your business. Powerful, powerful mini influencers. So how we can move beyond just that marketing funnel.

Because building a marketing funnel is going to be a key part of your strategy. And it’s one of those keys for you to being able to move away from random acts of marketing, as you’re starting to get focused on content and that audience that you’re needing to attract and convert. And you’re needing to think about, well, the marketing funnel, how you’re going to do that.

If you want to chat more about your marketing funnel or your marketing strategy with me or the rest of the team, you can find all our details on our website. We’re at donebynine.com. You can find our contact page on there. You can chat to myself or a member of the team. We can chat through your strategy, your marketing funnel, and see how we can help improve that, or help build it from scratch. You can also find all our podcast episodes, all our other blogs and articles on our website as well. Just head across to donebynine.com. Right at the top, you’ll see Podcast in the top menu. You can find all the details there. Plus, you can see details about the marketing strategies that we help build with businesses across Australia and New Zealand as well. So if you’re interested in being able to build a marketing strategy, or thinking about how we can help create a marketing funnel for your business as well, please do get in touch via our website, donebynine.com.

And look, if you’re also able to show a little bit of support for this podcast, I’d really appreciate if you could hit that follow button on wherever you’re listening to us from today. And also, even better, if you can also give us a five-star review, it does wonders for us. And I really do appreciate the support. And I do hope that you’ve been able to get some valuable content out of today’s podcast, focusing on these marketing funnels. Hope to see you on the next episode of the Marketing Mindset podcast.