Digital Marketing Funnels | The Stages of A Marketing Funnel
Mastering Your Digital Marketing Funnel to Turn Leads Into Loyal Customers
It’s no secret that to build a business, you need marketing.
Without it, how will people learn about you and your business?
Sure, you can start with word of mouth and hope that’s enough to keep you going.
But if you’re looking to build your business quickly and easily, you need a solid digital marketing plan.
Gone are the days of putting an ad in your local paper or relying on the Yellow Pages to bring in new business. These days, most people find services or products online.
So, if you’re not up to speed with digital marketing, you’d better get onto it (or hire a marketing manager to do it for you!).
This handy guide will reveal why digital marketing funnels matter and take a deep dive into each of the six stages.
Why Digital Marketing Funnels Matter
Marketing is a numbers game.
The more leads you can attract into your marketing funnel, the more potential sales you can make.
The idea of a marketing funnel is to generate leads and nurture them as they progress down the funnel to (hopefully) buy your product or service.
The number of people you need entering your funnel depends on your ability to convert leads to sales.
For example, if you convert 10 leads to sales and want to make 100 sales, you’d need 1000 people to make it through your funnel. It’s basic maths!
What are the six stages of a digital marketing funnel?
A marketing funnel represents the customer journey from first learning about your brand to when they become loyal advocates.
Here’s a handy diagram that outlines the stages every customer goes through:
Image via Codedesign
Let’s take a deeper look at each stage of the digital marketing funnel.
The Awareness Stage of The Digital Marketing Funnel
The first stage is where your customers are first introduced to your brand. Your goal is to get as many eyes on your brand as possible by producing content that sets you up as an expert, shows your ideal client you understand them, and has a solution for them.
Here are my top ways to perfect this stage:
Social Media Posts (paid and organic): Showcase your products, services, and brand values by sharing engaging and shareable content on social media like Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn.
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO): Do your keyword research and learn what people are searching to find products or services like yours. Use these keywords in your blog posts, product descriptions, and webpages to be found in online searches.
Content Marketing: Publish educational or entertaining blog posts, infographics and videos to raise awareness of your brand, products and services.
Online Ads: Invest in Google or Social Media ads to place targeted ads in front of your target audience.
Partnerships With Influencers: Find micro-influencers in your industry and collaborate with them to promote products or write reviews.
The Discovery Stage of The Digital Marketing Funnel
In the second stage of the funnel, you invite your leads to learn more about your brand - to build that all-important trust factor. Your goal is to encourage deeper interaction with those who already know who you are and what you do.
Here are my top suggestions to perfect this stage:
Website Content: Make sure your website is user-friendly and easy to navigate. Optimise your content with keywords and make it read well to keep your visitors engaged.
Landing Pages: Create focused landing pages for your marketing campaigns with a clear call to action (CTA) so your reader knows exactly what to do (e.g., sign up for a free eBook download).
Lead Magnets: Produce quality lead magnets to incentivise people to trust you and exchange their details to build your email list – free guides, checklists, discounts, etc.
Email Marketing: Send welcome emails to new subscribers with more information about your brand, what you do and how they’ll benefit from your products or services.
Social Media Stories: Use Instagram or Facebook stories to give behind-the-scenes insights, product features or testimonials.
The Consideration Stage of The Digital Marketing Funnel
In the third stage of the funnel, it’s your time to show your customers why you’re different from the others. Your goal is to reduce bounce rates by giving your leads compelling reasons why they need you (not your competitor).
Here are some ways to perfect this stage:
Comparison Guides: Create blog posts or PDFs that compare yourself with your competitors but highlight your unique benefits.
Testimonials or Case Studies: Feature customer success stories or testimonials showing your value.
Retargeting Ads: Using your metrics, find those who have visited your website without converting, then serve them targeted ads offering a more personalised service.
Product Demos or Trials: Take the ‘risk’ out of your lead’s decision-making process by offering free samples, consultations or demonstrations.
The Conversion Stage of The Digital Marketing Funnel
By the fourth stage of the funnel, your lead should know who you are. Your goal at this stage is to close the sale by removing any final barriers to the purchase by offering personalised incentives.
The top content and marketing activities at this stage include:
Special Offers & Discounts: Provide limited-time offers or discounts to encourage them to stop delaying and sign up.
Simple Checkout Process: Ensure your website’s checkout process is easy and seamless. Nothing is more annoying than a glitchy cart! Use abandoned cart emails to help you recover any lost sales.
Testimonials on Checkout Pages: Include customer reviews on your product and checkout pages to reinforce your lead's buying decision. This gives the lead confidence that they’re doing the right thing, as others have before them.
Live Chat or Chatbots: People want immediate support, so using live chat or AI chatbots is the best way to answer any last-minute questions your lead may have before they hit the ‘purchase’ button.
The Customer Relationship Stage of The Digital Marketing Funnel
Congratulations! You’ve made a sale.
Now, you need to build a strong relationship with your customer post-purchase. This is an extremely important stage as you nurture your relationship for more future sales.
Here’s how to perfect stage five of the funnel:
Thank You Emails: Send a thank you email immediately after purchase, including other product recommendations.
Customer Satisfaction Surveys: Show that you care about your customers' experience by allowing them to answer a survey to give you feedback on your offerings.
Exclusive Offers for Repeat Customers: Offer loyalty programs, exclusive content or early access to new products for returning customers.
Community Building: Create a private group for your customers to share their experiences and tips and connect with like-minded people.
The Retention & Referral Stage of The Digital Marketing Funnel
Although this is the sixth, or bottom stage, of the funnel, it’s crucial to drive repeat purchases and referrals to grow your community and create lifelong customers.
Here are some marketing activities for this stage:
Referral Programs: Offer rewards or discounts for referring friends or sharing your products on social media.
Re-engagement Campaigns: Use email or SMS marketing to send personalised offers and educational updates to encourage repeat purchases.
User-Generated Content (UGC): Encourage your customers to share your products on social media using your branded hashtag or tagging your business account.
Follow-up Purchases or Subscriptions: If it’s appropriate for your product or service, introduce subscription services and create reminder email campaigns for refills or renewals.
Contests and Giveaways: Run contests to encourage your community to engage, participate and share your brand with their network.
Do You Need An Action Plan to Polish Your Marketing Funnel?
Now that you’ve discovered the six marketing funnel stages, it’s your time to review what you’re doing in your business.
I recommend starting by going through each stage, checking what you do and what is or isn’t working for your brand.
From there, implement your marketing strategies for each stage.
And remember to repurpose your existing content for the different stages!
If this sounds a tad overwhelming, is not your thing, or you don’t have time, let’s connect, and I’ll help you get it done. You can find out more about my digital marketing services right here.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please get in touch with me. I’ll help you navigate the world of digital marketing.