Redeveloping the Marketing Funnel

As the digital age is rising, the world is getting smaller, fueling a boundaryless global economy in which consumer awareness increases. Today awareness is a function of the organizations' efforts and the improved peer to peer flow of information. The cognizance of user-generated content, development of forums, reviews, and other such initiatives have recreated the touchpoints to reach out to customers and the decision-making journey. With the advent of awareness, marketing is no more simply connecting with the customers but creating channels for present users to reach out to your prospective customers. Digital media has provided ground for driving campaigns that can influence the customer even while making the purchase, should you choose to redevelop your marketing strategies.

Reassessing the Marketing Funnel

Traditionally, marketing is driven by a funnel, which divides the consumer journey into stages, beginning from awareness to the purchase decision. As you move down the funnel, the number of brands selling the product reduces significantly, and these brands can influence the consumer only up to certain stages. The places where the brands can connect with the users along this journey are known as touchpoints.

If digital media did not exist, you would try to land customers awareness and move towards consideration in most cases. Your marketing hereon will transform into selling efforts until you are in the race or move to post-purchase catering. The funnel was appropriate in the past, but how customers interact with the brands today has changed. Thus, demanding us to revise the funnel. Is it even a funnel in the digital era?

In the present day, the consumer decision-making journey could be considered circular. While the choices still move down the funnel, we can reimagine it with parallel lines outside the funnel, symbolizing the new touchpoints drawn alongside the existing journey and channels. As these touchpoints develop in the additional space, a company can target a consumer's final set of choices until s/he has made the purchase. Selling efforts don't settle much into the picture, as much they did before. It is a small but essential part of and after the final purchase decision. You could look at selling as creating loyalty, while marketing is generating the first sale. 

Media Strategies for the New Marketers

1. As much as external information flow is vital to successful sales, internal information flow plays a pivotal role in defining the quality of marketing, pitch, customer service, and feedback processes. Organizations should strive to build new capabilities and keep a stock of their current abilities across the following key parameters: desirability, availability, the flow of information, service or product cycle and durability, and customer loyalty. Understanding the present and the desired outlook of the organization can help define the most profitable commerce models.
2. As important as it is to invest in marketing, it is to understand these investments' returns. Organizations should work to factor the attention in the returns model to elevate media optimization. Clearly defined goals and measurement metrics are imperative to any assets.
3. Automation in data practices can also help organizations assess consumer behaviour continuously and change strategies on the fly or long term. Evaluation of quality and quantity of data is also crucial as it will broadly reflect upon the efficiency of data-based decisions. Continuous assessment of data is also helpful for remarketing efforts.

Regardless of what you have learnt about consumer decision making or the marketing funnel, keep in mind human behaviour changes frequently. A strategy that doesn't factor in changes doesn't last. Reimagine how business was and is done. Vast digital adoption has opened ways to continuously experiment with processes, marketing, advertising, and branding.