Marketing Funnel

A marketing funnel is a conceptual framework that defines a set of stages in the relationship between a customer and a business, from first introduction to purchase. One example of a marketing funnel is the AIDA model which includes Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action. By utilizing the marketing funnel, businesses can better target prospective customers at each stage, move prospective customers along the funnel, and increase conversion rates to sales.

• Stages of the Funnel: Awareness, Interest, Consideration, and Action guide potential customers from discovery to purchase.
• Awareness: Marketing efforts like ads and social media attract initial attention.
• Interest: Engaging content and educational materials keep potential customers interested.
• Consideration: Comparisons, testimonials, and demos help customers evaluate options.
• Action: Clear calls to action and easy purchasing processes drive final conversions.
• Effectiveness: Companies excelling in lead nurturing generate more sales-ready leads at lower costs.
• Historical Context: The marketing funnel concept dates back to 1898 with the AIDA model.

Stages of the Marketing Funnel

‍‍The marketing funnel is broken down into various stages that define where customers are in their relationship with a business, from first encounter to transaction and even post-purchase.

1. Attention

‍Here's where customers first discover a product or service and have their first impression of the business. Marketing teams may run ads and publish content for the purposes of getting discovered by new customers; company branding guidelines can help ensure that first impressions align with brand and audience values. Customers discover new products for the first time. They may identify a problem and start researching solutions.

Some KPIs in the Attention stage include ad impressions, social media views and website visits from new users.  

2. Interest

‍After getting the attention of users, the business will want to identify those potential customers and showcase their unique value proposition. The business should have product pages that communicate how the product benefits; content that tells the brand story; and messaging that speaks to the target audience. Prospective customers may click on ads or social media posts, explore the brand's website or sign up for a newsletter.

Some KPIs in the Interest stage include unique website visits, social media engagement, bounce rates and ad CTR.

‍3. Desire

‍At this stage, the prospective customer begins to seriously desire purchasing with the product or service. The business should serve up case studies and testimonials from satisfied customers or side-by-side comparisons showing how the product is superior to competitors. Customers at this stage are often comparison shopping, requesting product demos, and searching for reviews.

Some KPIs in the Desire stage are lead form submissions, demo calls, and visits to comparison landing pages.

‍4. Action

‍The final stage in the AIDA model is the purchase decision. To get customers to purchase, business often offer promotions, retarget customers with ads, send follow-up reminder emails and make the purchase process as simple and quick as possible. Some KPIs in the Action stage include cart abandonment rates, average order value and conversion rate on ads.

‍Other Types of Marketing Funnels

‍The AIDA model is a common type of marketing funnel, but there are other variations frequently used.

Tofu, Mofu and Bofu Model

• ‍Top of Funnel (TOFU): Awareness stage. Prospects first encounter your brand or product and enter your funnel.
• ‍Middle of Funnel (MOFU): Consideration stage. Prospects want to learn more about your business and may engage with a business' content more.
• ‍Bottom of Funnel (BOFU): Conversion stage. Prospects are ready to make a purchase and become a customer.

Other models include a post-purchase stage, sometimes called "Engage" or "Loyalty". In this stage, the business may look for ways to continually engage the customer, make the relationship more sticky, look for upsell or cross-sell opportunities, or leverage them for referrals or as brand ambassadors.

‍Example of a Marketing Funnel

‍A parent attends a local summer camp fair, where she discovers a summer chess camp (1. Attention).

A few days later, the parent researches this summer chess camp online. She realizes the camp is too far from her home, however, on the website, she comes across a page about in-person chess lessons where the instructor comes to her home. (2. Interest)

The parent emails the business to find out about pricing and availability for her child. Meanwhile, she is also searching for other in-home chess lesson options and asking her network of moms. (3. Desire)

The business replies to the parent answering her questions, but in the chaos of the week, she misses the email. The business follows up again in a few days to offer 50% off trial lesson at home leading to purchase (4. Action). ‍

Fun Facts

‍Did you know that the marketing funnel existed as far back as 1898 and has been used until contemporary society? The public relations communication model was first proposed by E. St. Elmo Lewis who defined it by using the AIDA technique (Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action) on the stages of a sale process. Thus, in spite of the fact that this model was developed many years ago, its key parameters serve as the basis of the modern marketing funnel, the application of which is still possible today in various sectors of the economy.It is noteworthy that mastering and applying the marketing funnel concept can significantly improve the work of a business in attracting potential customers, turning them into real consumers, and thus increasing the company’s profit

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