Customers don’t just magically buy your products and services — the buying journey typically involves multiple steps and several points of contact with your brand. In marketing, this journey is often visualized as a sales funnel.
The principle is simple: Imagine a funnel, with every potential customer starting at the top. As each stage of the funnel progresses, it gets narrower and narrower as potential customers are weeded out until you’re left with only buying customers at the bottom of your funnel.
Each part of the funnel has a different purpose, so it pays to customize your marketing efforts to people in different sections of the sales funnel. In this blog, we’ll explore some of the most effective strategies for reaching customers at each stage of the sales funnel — and how they can help you guide more prospects toward making a purchase.
Awareness: The First Stage
Logically, the first hurdle you must overcome in reaching customers is to make them aware of your business and your brand. After all, if they’re not aware of your existence, how could they become customers?
In this stage, you want your content to be high-level, easy to understand, and appealing to a wide audience. There’ll be plenty of time to sift through clients later on – right now, you just need to get as many people aware of your business as possible and get them into the first step of your funnel. Some of the most effective tools here include:
- Blogs
- Social Media Posts
- Educational Videos and “How Tos”
- Flyers, Guides, and Print Media
Interest and Consideration: The Next Stage
Of course, knowing that your business exists isn’t the last step for consumers. Once you’ve let a group of people know about your brand, it’s time to give them more information and ensure that you stand out from the rest of the competition. At this stage, potential customers aren’t just aware of your brand – they’re actively considering how your products or services could benefit them.
This is a more personalized stage, and getting here usually requires at least a bit of information from your customer – whether that’s a name, email, phone number, or address. Your content needs to focus on what sets you apart and why consumers need what you’re selling. Some of the best methods of marketing for this stage are:
- Email Marketing Campaigns
- Product Demonstrations
- Comparisons Between Competitors
- Case Studies and Reviews
Conversion and Loyalty: The Real Goals
Your goal, as a business, is to help as many people as possible reach the bottom of your funnel and become customers – preferably loyal and repeat customers. It’s great to have potential customers at the top of your sales funnel, but only those that make it here will help to drive sales for your business.
As customers near this stage, they know about your brand, your benefits, and are legitimately considering making a purchase. The marketing that you’re delivering at this stage needs to be about getting them to go that last mile and make the purchase they’re considering, and this usually means giving them a real incentive to buy. Some ideas for this stage include:
- Free Product Trials
- One-on-One Consultations
- Discounts, Sales, and Deals
- Exclusive Offers for Previous Customers
Great marketing isn’t just about creating content — it’s about creating the right content for the right time. By aligning your content strategy with each stage of the funnel, you’ll guide your audience naturally from awareness to advocacy.
Ask yourself tough questions like, “What stages am I missing? Where can my messaging improve?” Then, craft new content and ideas that address them.
The team at BPM has years of experience in crafting specialized, effective content for each stage of the sales funnel, and we’d love to help you improve your marketing! Reach out to us today for a consultation, and let’s guide more prospects through your sales funnel.
