I’m sure you’ve heard at least one or two people talk about digital marketing, and maybe you’ve heard mention of a decision-making sales funnel too. But how are the two related and what do they mean for your business?
The sales funnel is a way of visualizing a potential customer’s decision process. At the top of the funnel, you have customers researching a vague problem and discovering potential solutions. In the middle of the funnel are customers who have defined their problem and the sort of solution they need. At the bottom are customers who are ready to make an informed purchasing decision.
Ideally, you want customers to discover your brand as a potential solution for their problem right at the top of the funnel, then stay with you through the process until they reach the bottom (i.e. the purchasing decision).
To make sure you reach the best prospects at every step, all the way down the funnel, digital marketing is your most valuable tool.
Digital marketing has become an integral part of any business or organization that hopes to grow their audience and increase revenue. Increased targetability with marketing technology allows us to narrow down a specific audience in a specific place and show them messages about a brand across different platforms and devices.
So, how do you reach the right audience and influence their decision making?
Different digital tactics play different roles in the consumer decision-making funnel. Tactics at the top of the funnel help define your brand and generate awareness about what a business has to offer. Middle-funnel tactics are designed to help consumers consider a specific product or service. Finally, there are bottom-funnel tactics to reach people when they are ready to decide about the product or service that they are going to purchase.
When thinking about a digital marketing strategy, it’s important to utilize tactics that target your audience at different parts of the funnel in order to generate the best return on investment. Running a campaign that only includes bottom-funnel tactics will not yield as good results as a campaign that includes top-, middle- and bottom-funnel tactics. Similarly, running a campaign that only includes top-funnel awareness tactics will not provide the same return as a campaign that also incorporates middle- and bottom-funnel tactics.
Digital marketing tactics to consider for each part of the funnel:
- Branding (Top of the Funnel) = Display and Geofencing, Streaming TV
- Consideration (Middle of the Funnel) = Social Media, Email
- Conversion (Bottom of the Funnel) = Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
Ready to talk tactics? The digital marketing experts at Today Media Custom Communications are ready to help. Start the conversation by emailing newbusiness@todaymediacustom.com.
