Fixing the fractured funnel

Several organizations make the mistake of trying to sell to top of the funnel prospects without putting them through a nurture journey. I wanted to talk about a couple of incidents I personally faced.

I understand that I'm talking about B2C here, where the sales cycles are supposedly shorter and less complex. But let me offer you a couple of counter-points:

• Both these cases are high-value B2C. It's not like I'm going to the market and picking up a packet of biscuits.
• There are multiple stakeholders involved, just as in B2B. A huge dent on the money I take home would mean discussing with my partner (stakeholder) on how to tackle household expenses.
• I need to put in considerable time and effort to make the right decision: I'm still going through all stages of the funnel.

Let's get started.

Hey Varun, buy this phone NOW!

So I've always been into data and AI. I wanted to know more about which models of a particular phone brand had AI features, and which ones didn't. So let's say that in this case, I'm at the middle of the funnel now.

I went to their website and had a live chat with an agent. A prerequisite to start chatting was to give your phone number.

So once I started chatting, the agent at the other end pulled some generic responses and dumped them in the chat box (Not a personalized kind of response, just a copy/paste job). According to them, the most expensive variant of the phone would have all the AI features, so that would be my best bet.

What happened next is what baffled me the most. A question they asked me on these lines.

When can I expect your purchase? We have a time-sensitive offer running on our website. The best time to buy would be now.

Oh, sorry, I didn't know I was expected to shell out what would be my monthly take-home salary at the drop of a hat just because there was a "time-sensitive offer" going on.

But what was worse, for the next two days, I had to block about 20+ calls from the company asking me when I would make my purchase. It was like meting out punishment to a prospect for just asking a few simple questions on AI features.

Right. So what could've been better?

• First off, generic live chat. Copy/pasting responses is a thing of the past. People want personalized responses. Companies need to invest in AI to personalize them (Hey, this isn't a Freshworks plug).
• On those lines: The agent could have checked what my requirements were. What do I do most on my phone? Is it going to be making videos, gaming, chat? Give me suggestions based on that. How will AI features help me?
• Give me a comparison sheet highlighting the differences between the AI-powered models (You could add in the difference between your brand and competing brands too).
• Send me videos with the AI features in action.

The next case is also, unfortunately, about jumping the gun and getting on a call.

Hey Varun, join this course NOW!

I recently filled my details and downloaded a course brochure from an upskilling platform.

Within an hour (Even before I could even go through the curriculum, fee structure etc.) I got a call from the institution with someone trying to sell me the course at a discount ("scholarship") if I register for it on the same day.

Why will I be willing to spend a truckload of money on something that I:

• Don’t have complete information or clarity on.
• Haven’t had enough time to think about.
• Haven’t evaluated alternatives for.

What could’ve been different? Rather than calling me and pushing REGISTER NOW, the education provider could have put me on a nurture journey.?

Email 1: Thanks for downloading the brochure. Here are a couple of ebooks on <Some concept that will be covered in the course>.

Email 2: Hope you found those ebooks useful. Here’s a video where people who took this course talk about what they took away from it. Or, here are the jobs people are doing after completing this course.

Personally, I'd love to know what % of people who took this course found a new role within six months of completing the course.

Email 3: Ready to talk to us? The next batch starts on so and so date. First 10 registrants get an early bird discount. CTA could be: talk to us now/or join our upcoming webinar.

These are just two fractured funnel experiences I've highlighted, but I'm often amazed at the quality of funnel-building that modern companies offer. For instance, a toy company from where I buy for my toddler has amazing marketing programs: They do the perfect email nurtures, events, and more that make their brand conducive to more purchases.

Do share your own experiences too!