Marketing has often been explained through the analogy of dating. In fact, anyone having a hard time getting a date (or a second date) could do worse than studying the marketing funnel to see where they may be falling short.
Let’s start with the conceptual view of the funnel.
The simplest breakdown of the funnel is to divide it into 3 parts: the top of the funnel (TOTF), the middle of the funnel (MOTF), and the bottom of the funnel (BOTF). Some industries break it down further, but these are the basic three categories.
The idea of the funnel is that you bring people into it at the top and try to move them through it to the bottom. The reason it takes the shape of a funnel is because the top will always be wider than the middle, and the middle will always be wider than the bottom. That is to say, there will always be the most people at the top of the funnel. A few will continue down the funnel to the middle section. And fewer still will continue down to the bottom section.
The Top of the Funnel (TOTF): Awareness
The first thing that happens in marketing a product, service, cause, or date is that the prospective “buyer” has to be aware of you. At minimum, they must know you exist. So this is your first objective: to become known. If you’re trying to reach prospects on the web, this might mean interacting on social media, running paid advertisements, or writing blog posts that will be found through search engines. If trying to get a date, this might mean going out to social events. In both cases it means getting in front of people in order to be seen.
The Middle of the Funnel (MOTF): Engagement
This phase of the funnel is also called the “consideration” phase. Once you’ve managed to be noticed, you start and interaction through which you and your prospect get to know each other. On the web, this might mean getting a prospect to subscribe to your email list. In pursue of a date, this might mean buying someone a drink. In both cases, it means creating an opportunity for your prospect to come to know why you’re worth spending time with, or why your product or service might be something worth considering.
The Bottom of the Funnel (BOTF): Conversion
Once your prospect has gotten to know you (or, ideally, you’ve gotten to know each other), it’s time to make the ask. This is the riskiest and most stressful part of the process. You’ve invested time and energy, and it’s all been for this end. Ask too soon, and you risk turning the person off. Ask too late, and you risk losing their attention. But at some point you have to make the ask. Or else your time truly has been wasted.
Understanding these details, we can start to fill in the parts funnel, like this:
What Do You Do With A Funnel?
Within the three areas of the funnel are various marketing channels. Some of these channels can appear in different areas of the funnel. I’ll explain the use of the funnel in another article. But for now, here’s a quick overview example of which channels you might use to reach your prospects in the various stages of the funnel:
The “Other” Funnel
The second view of the funnel is the “roadmap” view. While the first is a funnel that exists whether or not you’re aware of it, the second is a funnel that you consciously design. It goes something like this:
- To make my prospects aware of me, I’ll do this.
- To engage my prospects, I’ll do this.
- To convert my prospects, I’ll do this.