Funnel Vision.

Why brands should question the traditional path to purchase.

By Scott Muskin , Executive Creative Director, Friends & Neighbors

I had a moment recently when I realized that the marketing funnel, if not dead, is so close to it that it could run for president.?

Here’s what happened. I recently bought some v-neck t-shirts. I was in the market for some. Instagram probably knew it, and fed me an ad. I bought them. I received them. I have worn them.?

I have no idea who made them.

And I make brands come to life for a living.

It might be just an idiosyncratic quirk of my shopping habits. But I’d wager I am not alone.?

Data is obviously overtaking our industry. It’s all who/what/when/where. But very little why. As in, why should I care what you have to say? And “because I need t-shirts” can only be your answer for so long.

The truth is that your customers might meet you for the first time by buying your product. They might meet you by signing up for 20% off. They might have a coupon. They might get a sample someplace. They might read a comment you make to one of their friends on social. They might download a white paper. And they might—and it’s a big might—see an ad.

So the obvious answer is to be authentically you, and intentionally so, at all touchpoints. You say “see you next week down the funnel” at your own peril.

A recent Ad Age article put it well: “Advertising is something nobody asked for, an unwanted interruption that we all actively avoid, which is why craft matters. Moments that move you, images that stop you in your tracks, poetry that echoes a life that feels like your own.”?

Now, the average TikTok won’t swing for that fence, but there’s a bigger point here: Craft is really about your brand story being artfully and carefully baked into every touchpoint so that potential customers feel it. The shape of your type. The stories you choose to tell. The light in your photos. The way your product arrives in the mail. The company you keep.?

Your goddamn Amazon.com shop header.?

When the funnel is dying this bad, everything is your brand, so every moment has to be intentional.?

Be relevant. The acronym “WAIT” applies. Why Am I Talking? If you don’t know, you’re better off not talking at all.?

Be human for humans. Know your audience inside and out. They can tell if you are being insincere. At Friends & Neighbors we do that by building trust based on shared beliefs. You know, like a friend and neighbor does. It’s on our website. Check it out.

Don’t be rude. When you think like a friend and neighbor, it’s actually kinda rude to treat someone funnel-ly. It’s like “Nice to meet you. You seem cool. I’ll see you next week in our newsletter when you’re not a human anymore, but a lead.”

Okay I’m being over the top about it, because yes, we need leads in this world. So don’t throw the funnel away completely. Just think about it differently. Like a human would. You should be saying and doing pretty much the same thing at that wide-open top “brand level” as you are when trying to up your CTR and open rates.

While “right message, right time” is a sound adage, when we start thinking functionally, we start acting transactionally.?

Getting lost in your own funnel vision is where advertising goes to die.?