What does Liv Ullmann have to do with a sales funnel? And not least: what is it? Both questions will be answered today. “Purchase journey “purchase funnel” and “sales funnel” are other.Terms used for the same concept. If you have a Norwegian business that is based on digital marketing, you should be well familiar with this term.
This article is written as a supplement to the Content Marketing Guide’s article “How to Succeed with Content Marketing?” . If you’re wondering how the information I’m going to present here fits into the big picture, it’s a good idea to read that article together with this post about the sales funnel.
Liv Ullmann welcomes you to the Content Marketing Guide: Norway’s largest guide to content marketing! It is aimed at those who want to learn more about content marketing in Norway. Go to the table of contents to see the full contents of the guide!
What is a sales funnel?
A sales funnel is a step-by-step process where potential customers are gradually taken one step closer to your products using a series of manual or automated marketing activities. Examples of actions in such a funnel are the automatic sending of e-mails when a form on a website is filled out.
To maximize the chances of success, it is important to have a content marketing strategy . The point of a content marketing funnel is to visualize the different steps the customer takes on the buying journey; from when interest is piqued until the product is purchased.
Why is it done this way?
Because a potential customer is looking for different information at different points in the process. When she has just begun to take an interest in a product, the information she seeks will be more general than that which she subsequently seeks to meet her newly discovered need.
And who is this “she” I’m talking about? Yes, this is where Liv Ullmann comes into the picture.
The online searches will change in line with where the customer is in the purchase process. The words she searches for, and the technical level of the information she needs, will be decisive for how the content will be tailored to exactly these needs.
Let’s look at an example of how the whole process takes place
Let’s move the example forward in time and space, to where TV commercials most often take place today; on the Internet. Liv has understood that there is a big difference in quality between different TVs, but she knows very little about the technology behind it. When she starts searching the Internet, she uses the search term “best TV”. Then she quickly finds a blog post that gives a concise overview of different types of TVs and their technical specifications.
On Elkjøp’s website, she reads that LED TVs are the safest in operation and most durable. It makes her realize that there are different forms of technology that are best suited for each use. She then starts searching for “LED TV” and “most durable TVs”. Liv has therefore come to the conclusion that LED is the best choice for her, and has thus taken the first step on her buying journey.
It doesn’t take long before she discovers that there are many different brands and solutions. This leads to her taking a trip to a physical store to see the image quality with her own eyes. There she finds out that the picture difference between an expensive Ultra-HD TV and a cheaper variant with standard HD is not noticeable to the eyes of an 80-year-old.
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Top of the Funnel (TOFU)
If you have a website that promotes the sale of LED TVs, you therefore need content that corresponds to each individual step in a content marketing funnel, which today’s topic is also referred to in Norwegian. You will simply take the customer by the hand and accompany them down the funnel, step by step. For each step you take the customer closer to a purchase, the content must become more detailed and descriptive in relation to narrowing down the customer’s information needs.
In the same way that Life becomes increasingly aware of its own needs, and gets the TV types’ information under its skin, the website that sells TVs must be correspondingly aware of its customers’ various needs. Only then are you prepared to lead all kinds of customers down the sales funnel, whether it’s Liv Ullmann, a cocky stockbroker, or a TV game-addicted teenager. All of these seek specific information for their needs. Therefore, as a business owner, you need to be prepared to cover all these needs. How do you do that? By getting the concept of the sales funnel well under your skin.
This is only a model . The three phases can easily be divided into even more phases. That is why there are also many different versions of the sales funnel. The important thing is that you adapt the theory to the products you sell and the industry you are in.
Middle of Funnel (MOFU)
If the business is to live up to its full potential and succeed with content marketing, it must therefore create content for all phases. It is therefore important to have an overall strategy that can steer content production in the right direction. Before you even try to identify the different phases in relation to your own company, it is therefore wise to establish personas, or imagined customer personalities that respond to the different needs of the different customer groups. How to identify the different target groups and create personas, you can read more about in the Content Marketing Guide’s article on how to shape a digital marketing strategy .
Also remember that the information usually goes from the general at the top of the sales funnel to the specific at the bottom. This means that not everyone will follow through the whole funnel.
It is true as Einstein says: Right place at the right time. Check out the eBook below! Why does it come here ? The answer is that you are now halfway through reading about how sales can be automated in content marketing. Then it is good to feed on with an e-book that gives concrete tips for sales.
OK, enough about the book. Here comes an important distinction:
The purchase journey is about the process the customer goes through from the time he first comes into contact with your brand until he buys a product. A sales funnel, on the other hand, is a model businesses use to measure conversion, progress and sales.
Let’s look at the three parts of the funnel in more detail
This phase is about recognition
The person has become aware that there is a solution to a problem he has. Here it is common to look for resources, information, research, opinions or other types of insight.
Here is an example of buying behavior at the top of the funnel. Do you remember Liv Ullmann’s search: “best TVs”? It is an example of behavior from a potential customer at the top of the funnel . The information she found allowed her to form an opinion about what the “best TV” means.
This is about evaluation. The person seeks to what is the definition of email marketing strategy learn more about the subject, as well as to narrow down the choices in relation to the need. Here it is natural to read reviews, and gradually start to find out where the product can be bought at what price.
In the middle of the funnel, I have the following example of a potential customer’s behaviour: Liv Ullmann reads several reviews and recommendations of different TVs. In this way, she is constantly approaching the bottom of the funnel by gaining more insight and a basis for assessing her own needs.
Bottom of the Funnel (BOFU)
This is the decision phase. The person goes from being a potential customer to becoming a definitive customer. Here they look for discount coupons, special offers, free trial products or training. A goal your business should have for the bottom of the funnel is to provide such good service that these existing customers move to the top again and remain customers. Remember that it is usually more important to keep existing customers than to try to acquire new ones.
An example of a company’s offer at the bottom of the funnel could be an online store’s offer to the older generation. Imagine them calling stakeholders to clarify any questions they have and guide them in relation to needs and budget. Surely Liv Ullmann would have been happy then? Don’t you think so?
Example of the hallway in the sales funnel
Let’s take an overall look at Liv Ullmann and her buying journey towards the sale of a new TV. When she started searching, she found content about TVs from the top of the funnel. Then it was about general information. Those who were responsible for the content she found can now boast that. They have grabbed hold of Liv Ullmann herself at. The top level of their content marketing funnel (TOFU).
As she moved down the funnel, the information ao lists became more specific and complex. Naturally fewer customers read the material she found just. Before she ended up buying a TV but the percentage. That converts to sales in this phase is also much higher. In the end Liv ended up reading an article in which she found. The perfect TV in relation to the expectations she had. She therefore chose to buy the TV on this website. Because they could inform her that their TV met her needs.
Summary
The sales funnel is an important concept for companies that want to focus on the customer journey. Processed in the middle and come out at. The bottom of the funnel as customers. If the business has done a good job the customer will move. From the bottom to the top and then repeat the process. And takes into account the different phases and personalities. That appear among potential customers for a given company. When she gets home she continues her TV hunt. By searching for the words “LED TV 1080p”. Such a purchase process is very common where both search. Terms and the information sought become gradually more specific.
