Buying new things can become addictive.
For some, it’s because of the slight endorphin rush, and for others, it’s because you enjoy material possessions.
No matter the product or service, though, we all go through a similar journey, mentally and physically, up to the point of purchase.
Today we will layout the content marketing funnel and all of the different steps of your consumers’ walk-through in the process.
What Is A Content Marketing Funnel
The content marketing funnel describes the journey customers take when deciding to purchase your product or service.
Everyone goes through this process in one form or another.
An example of this process: you see an ad on Facebook for an electric bike. (Discovery Phase)
And that catches your attention and sparks your inner child to life.
You stop and imagine yourself on that bike cruising by the beach on a warm sunny Saturday morning.
Then you hop off of Facebook and head to Google, where you search “best electric bikes” to see what is out there and to make sure the ad you saw was for a good product.
You compare all of the options out there and spend some time looking up reviews for the ones that catch your eye.
After whittling down the ones you like and looking through all of the comments people made from past purchases, your mind is made up. (Consideration Phase)
You pull out your credit card and head to the checkout page to make it real. (Conversion Phase)
After receiving and enjoying your sweet new ride for a few weeks, you receive an email from the company showcasing some cool custom bolt-on accessories at 25% off.
You see a handlebar bag that would be nice when carrying things around instead of your regular backpack.
Again, you pull out your credit card and happily proceed to make your purchase. (Retention Phase)
You are all around happy with your decision to get the bike and feel compelled to write a review and share your thoughts on how satisfied you are with your bike and the service experience you had.
This process happens daily. It is estimated that 1 Million dollars are spent every minute on the internet.
This is where understanding the funnel that users make their way through comes in.
When you understand the buying cycle, you can better plan out your content for every stage of the process and be there for your customers when it matters most.
Discovery Phase: Top of Funnel
Primary Goal: Customer acquisition and brand awareness
Approach: Educational content
The discovery phase is when people come across your brand for the first time.
They may not even know who you are or what you do yet, but they either stumbled upon your content through their online searches, or possibly they found you on social media.
Either way. This is the introductory section of your newly formed relationship.
Top of funnel content is mainly for educating people about the problem your product solves.
You are also trying to generate some level of interest in your product or service.
The goal isn’t to be salesy or pitch your products in your education content efforts. Instead, aim to help answer questions and educate them on topics within your industry.
If, for instance, you owned a brewery, you could make videos revolving around how to find the right beer for you or videos on what’s used to make beer.
Content Best For The Discovery Phase
- Blog posts
- Videos
- Webinars
- Email newsletters
- Guides and How-tos
Focus on proving value upfront and helping the person on the other side of the screen, and the sale will come naturally when they can associate your brand with a solution they are looking for down the road.
Consideration Phase: Middle of Funnel
Primary Goal: Direct customer acquisition
Approach: provide the solution to users problem
In the consideration phase, people are starting to see you as the solution provider who can aid them in their problems.
You aren’t necessarily trusted yet, so the sale most likely won’t be made just yet.
When a consumer gets to the consideration phase, they are looking for more information about the product.
Things like:
- how to use the product
- what are the benefits of the product
- what kind of results have people getting with the product
- Are there different models
- What are past customers saying
- Product descriptions
- Demo video showing the product in action
This is where you come in and make it as easy as possible for people to get this information from your website.
Give in-depth case studies showing the fantastic results customers achieved with your product.
The more access to the information you give, the more likely they are to travel further down the funnel and become an actual customer.
Content Best For The Consideration Phase
- Product details and descriptions
- Case studies
- Guide and how to blog posts
- Videos demonstrating the product
Conversion Phase: Bottom of Funnel
Primary Goal: Turn viewer into paying customer
Approach: Value-adding proposition
By this point in the funnel, you have created enough trust with the people genuinely interested in buying from you.
You have done a great job of helping them see why they need this solution to their problem and that you are the best one out there for the job.
If you have given them everything needed to set their mind at ease and move forward with you, then congratulations.
The only thing standing between you and your new customer is your checkout process.
As long as you create an environment that feels like a safe and secure place to provide their information, you will have gained a new happy customer.
Content Best For The Conversion Phase
- Reviews
- Testimonials
Retention Phase: After The Funnel
Primary Goal: Keep customers coming back for more
Approach: Provide support and show that you are there for them
A repeat customer has a 60-70 percent chance of converting.
With numbers like that, it only makes sense to keep the conversation going!
U.S. companies lose $136.8 billion per year due to avoidable consumer switching.
Continue to add value and be there when your customers need something, and you will avoid joining this statistic.
Send out your email newsletters with relevant information about how they can get the most out of their product.
Create articles that talk about new ways to use the product.
Reach out to them personally and check in on how they are enjoying their purchase.
Send them coupon codes and accessory suggestions based on their past purchases.
Use your preferred ways to stay connected with your customers and keep it exciting for more engagement.
Content Best For The Retention Phase
- Customer support documentation answering questions they have
- Newsletters
- Special deals and promotions
- Follow up emails
Conclusion
Understanding the buying cycle will make creating content for each part of the funnel easier and more effective.
When you create your next video or blog article, think about the intent behind what you are doing and how it will be perceived.
It’s always best to add immense value upfront before anyone ever decides to purchase from you—that way, they see from the start that you are the best choice to do business with.
Pick the right type of content that will deliver your message correctly and help with what people are searching for.
Coming up in the next chapter, we will be talking about executing your content marketing ideas.
0 Comments