Marketing it’s really a word with no meaning, yet plenty of meaning because everyone interprets it to be what they need from it. Now your sales funnel is much more clearly defined. But the thing is you need to make sure that you have your marketing tactics on the same page as your sales funnel.
4 Funnel Marketing Disciplines
The standard customer conversion goes something like this. The visitor first becomes aware of your product, they like what they see and they follow through and pay, or they don’t like what they see and they go away. Marketing tactics commonly go like this reach engagement content marketing lifecycle marketing.
Funnel marketing on the other hand has the visitor become aware of the product, and is then invited to enjoy a free version call (freemium), then they become a paying customer by either converting on their own or with the help of the sales team, and then they become a customer that’s retained. So the conversion funnel looks like this awareness freemium conversion retention.
Let’s look at the 4 funnel marketing disciplines. Of course, this is just a brief introduction. You can certainly learn more about how this works.
- At the top of your funnel will be word of mouth, PR, and reach marketing. These tools will increase awareness. Examples would include app store promotions, viral product features, web page optimization, press mentions, etc.
- Engagement marketing will draw freemium users to your product. Freemium engagement can include free reports, videos, product tutorials, etc.
- Content will include things like blogging to your targeted market with related things such as product tips or customer testimonials. Content marketing can occur inside sales collateral. Data science also fits in this stage when customer segmentation, direct marketing, remarketing, and online acquisition can all be effective.
- Lifecycle marketing will retain the customers by constantly reinforcing the value of the product the customers have purchased. Customer sales teams may follow up with customer’s product information if they have not been buying. Support communities that are properly managed can build trust into the customer base. And email campaigns remain effective.
Mix it Up
What you’ve probably already recognized is that there is nothing in concrete. Each stage can be unique. You might email the customer, blog, or use some other form of interaction. There’s certainly a benefit to mixing it up. Use what works and don’t use what isn’t working. Remember that could change in the future.