Creating content and campaigns for different stages in your funnel
It’s important to have content and campaigns for each level of your funnel. A lot of websites push people towards a ‘discovery call’ as the main action they want a viewer to take. But a pop-up inviting someone for a call when they haven’t even had a chance to read about what you do is as counterproductive as it is annoying. They know you will be selling to them on the call and they are not ready to have that conversation yet, so have some other way to engage people when they are at the evaluation stage – for example, a PDF download or a less-direct way to ask a question without having to book a call.
You should normalise the process of taking the next step, such as making a purchase. Show people who did take the next step, using your best customers as your advocates with video testimonials and interviews. Hold the potential customer’s hand as they move from awareness into evaluation, and from evaluation into purchase. Let them know it’s safe or perhaps even offer a low-risk purchase as a first option knowing that they will go on and buy a higher-value product next.
Look at what content you are putting out at the moment and aim to fill the gaps at each stage of the funnel. What can you produce for someone who is aware of your company but isn’t yet engaging? (“Watch this video on everything we do at our business.”) What content can you produce for someone who is evaluating but hasn’t yet bought? (“Take this simple test to work out which of our products would be right for you.”) And what content can you produce to take someone from being a customer to being an advocate? (“Look at this great work we’re doing, help us find more people to join our mission”).
If you are planning a new marketing campaign then decide what stage of the funnel is it aimed at. Is it an awareness campaign to get people into the top of the funnel in the first place (eg Facebook advertising, doing a trade show), or is it a campaign that aims to take people who are already aware of you to the next step? Find where people are stuck in your funnel and aim to move them along. If you have a swelling email list from all the people who have downloaded a PDF from your website but they haven’t become customers yet, then you need a campaign just for these people. You can use blunt but effective tools like money off their first order or engage them with an information-led campaign to convince them to spend money with you.
Know how long it takes people to move along your funnel. If you are selling something that is an impulse buy (such as vegan fudge) then you can get someone from first being aware of you to making a purchase very quickly – potentially in a single session – but they still go through the same decision-making process. Aim to give them everything they need to know so that they understand they can trust you and that you have a great product right there on your product page. Show them your customer video reviews, your awards, your guarantee, high-quality photos from every angle to make that decision-making process as short as possible so that they don’t have to leave to think about it and (if you are lucky) come back later. If it takes someone longer to make a decision about becoming your customer (eg you are a coach or you offer an ongoing service and they have to make a bigger commitment), then tailor your campaigns and marketing to fit. Have a drip-feed email campaign for when someone first becomes aware of your business which takes them from initial interest to making contact. The first couple of emails will be for general awareness of what you do, the next couple will feature customer testimonials, the next will be direct invitations to talk or try you out for free for a month.
