The Marketing Tool That Converts Outliers to Loyal Customers
Can you help me come up with a plan?
I get asked that question or some form of it often. “Can you help us come up with a plan to reach these people?” or “Can you help me with a plan to get more sales?” or “Can you help me with a plan to best utilize our budget?”
The truth is I do not have all the answers, but I do have some good questions to help get us to a plan of action. Each time I sit down with a client, I ask them questions based off a particularly powerful tool that sheds light on a way forward.
I want to share that tool with you so that you can create a plan to reach more people and make more sales.
That tool is called the Marketing Sales Funnel.
The Marketing Sales Funnel represents the process a person takes from knowing nothing about your business to becoming a loyal repeat customer. Each level of the Marketing Sales Funnel represents an action taken by your potential customer.
If we think of the marketing sales funnel as an upside-down pyramid then the top would be the largest section, and it would funnel down toward the bottom.
Awareness:
The top of the marketing sales funnel represents the time when someone first becomes aware of your business. A person could become aware of your business through word of mouth, seeing a post on social media, or advertisements. A person gets their first impression of your business during this phase of the funnel.
Consideration:
The next level of the funnel is where someone begins to learn more about your company and considers making a purchase from you. During this phase, a person may be actively pursuing more knowledge about your company or maybe receiving emails from your company introducing them to your company, what you sell, and why they should buy from you.
Purchase:
The next level of the funnel represents when someone makes a purchase. Your new customer or client has weighed the pros and cons and decided to do business with you. Congratulations! You want to make sure a person has a good buying experience so that they end up in the final level of the funnel.
Loyalty:
This is the last level of the marketing sales funnel and this is when someone becomes a loyal customer purchasing from you time and time again. During this phase, a person may not only purchase from you again but also tell their friends about your business.
Your Plan:
When you put together a marketing plan for your business, start with the Marketing Sales Funnel and work your way backward. Think through the process a person will take and what the end goal will be, then reverse engineer.
If you work at a theater and your end goal is to get people to purchase season tickets year after year, then that will be the last step a person takes through your marketing sales funnel. The step a person is likely to take before purchasing season tickets is purchasing a single ticket one show. Before a person purchases a single ticket from you maybe they exchange their email address for a free beverage or during their next show. As they see your ads on social media you are also introducing your theater to them via email. You share what you theater does that is unique, you talk about how your theater supports the community, you share the importance of expression and art and you invite them to a show.
You can easily use the Marketing Sales Funnel to help you come up with a plan! You are capable.
Your Tools:
If you are not ready to work on a full Marketing Funnel of Ads then maybe you should explore one ad. I have a free guide and training over how to maximize a small ad budget. Check it out1