How to Create a Digital Marketing Funnel

Digital marketing can be challenging. It requires sales skills, technological literacy, and financial knowledge. These abilities will become more critical as customer preferences continue to evolve. A digital marketing funnel is a tool that lets you manage the needs of the customer and your small business.

Fortunately, there are opportunities for you to create a framework for success. You can use the digital marketing funnel to create a killer plan to maximize sales. By familiarizing yourself with what it is and how it works, you can take advantage of this approach to improve your strategy.?

In this article, we’ll define what digital marketing funnels and sales funnels are. We’ll look at their relationship and how they can effectively work together. Then, we’ll explore how a small business can leverage these tools and offer advice for developing a comprehensive plan. Let’s dive right in!?

What Is a Digital Marketing Funnel?

A digital marketing funnel is a strategy that you can use to encourage people to go from being merely aware of your brand to dedicated customers.?

It tailors your efforts to each part of your prospect’s buying process.?

There are three sections: the top, middle, and lower funnel.

Top of Funnel

The top of the funnel is the widest portion. It represents generating awareness among your target audience. At this stage, you’ll want to complete actions that attract attention. Some examples include running general ads and producing helpful blog posts within your niche. Quizzes are another effective way to attract qualified prospects into your funnel. More on this later in this article.

Mid Funnel

Once your audience knows your brand, you can move on to the middle funnel. This section uses microtransactions to build know, like, and trust with potential customers.?

For example, engaging with users in the comments section of your blog or another richer microtransaction would be a lead magnet in exchange for a newsletter signup.

Don’t skip the mid-funnel. While it takes some effort, it’s also where you can maximize the long-term value of customers. 90% of loyalty problems can be traced to a flawed sales process.

Lower Funnel

After you’ve built a relationship with an individual, you can close the deal in the lower funnel. This stage benefits from the work done in the top and middle sections. Activities include driving targeted purchases or encouraging current customers to invest in more expensive products.

The funnel structure allows you to foster a relationship with your audience. Each stage builds on the one before it. By relying on a balance of traffic, trust, and value , a digital marketing funnel can help you efficiently direct your resources.

What Is a Sales Funnel?

You may have heard the term ‘sales funnel’ used interchangeably with “marketing funnel.” While they share a similar structure, they’re distinct strategies.?

A sales funnel is an extension of the digital marketing funnel. It occurs in the lower section and enhances the purchasing process .

One example of an action in the sales funnel is upselling customers for more expensive purchases. Another is an order bump, like when an online clothing store suggests pants that match a shirt in your cart.?

It’s important to remember that a strong digital marketing funnel is improved, not replaced, by a sales funnel. Actions in the sales funnel rely on the awareness and trust-building completed in the digital marketing funnel. If you want to make the most of your sales, use both strategies.

How Your Business Can Use a Marketing Funnel?

The best way for a business to use a digital marketing funnel is to get the right message to the right customers at the right time. Try to integrate the following techniques into the Four Pillars approach for the best results.

Understand Who Your Best Customers Are

You probably want to devote your resources to individuals most likely to be responsive to your efforts. Aiming for the most likely targets saves time and ensures you’re being as efficient as possible.?

Start with website analytics if you’re looking for a way to determine your brand’s most valuable customers. For example, here’s a sample of what demographics might look like in Google Analytics :

Knowing what types of people visit your site most often will give some direction as to where to best aim your efforts. It can also help you to alter other elements of your business, such as hours of operation, to fit that group better.

Analyze your current customers. Look for the minority that delivers the majority of your sales. Build a customer avatar that describes them.?

Identify Their Problem and Show How You Solve It

Identifying a problem and offering a solution is a core part of marketing. Try to apply this classic tactic to your customer niche. The more specific you can be, the better. But lead with the problem. Give your prospects a hook. Something that they can relate to. Them offer your solution.

For example, let’s say you’re an executive coach. Your prime prospect is a six-figure business owner who recognizes that they need to delegate but doesn’t understand how to pass tasks to employees effectively. Focus your messaging/content strategy on this problem to attract the right folks. Then you can introduce your proven solution.

Once you’ve figured out the problem and how to solve it, don’t be afraid to let your customers know! Demonstrate how your product or service helps expressively. Use photographs or data tables, or explainer videos. Showing off your knowledge can also position you as a thought leader.

Understand How Much You Can Spend

Budgets are an important limitation to keep in mind at every marketing stage. After all, you probably don’t want to spend more than you make back. Understanding your limitations can keep your aspirations realistic, too.

An intelligent starting point for organizing your money is to figure out your Allowable Cost per Order (ACPO) . This is a profit first calculation. Basically, remove your cost of goods plus your desired profit from your average order value. What remains is what you can spend on marketing. And no, it’s not 10% of sales. Knowing your ACPO will give you a solid financial base. Try to keep that number in mind throughout your campaigns.?

Another way to approach your financial resources is by reviewing your previous campaigns. For instance, if your target demographic hasn’t been responsive to Instagram ads, you might consider diverting those resources in your next campaign. Knowing what works best for you helps you confidently invest in its success.

Use a Consistent Voice

While plenty of elements make up your brand identity, a consistent voice is a major one. The personality you project through your marketing gives customers a point of reference for your business. It can build familiarity, fondness, and trust. You need to be consistent with your tone to achieve real results.?

Try to carve out time to develop your business’ personality. Since brand identity is present in many places, it’s wise to solidify your approach early in the process. Consulting the tones used by competitors may be informative, especially if you’re looking to break from the mold.?

Have a Plan

This final tip is critical for small businesses: have a plan. A clear strategy is a vital element of a successful campaign. Making a comprehensive plan helps you follow through. The absence of a plan is a common challenge that’s easy to overcome.

Your plan doesn’t have to be overly complicated or detailed. Even a simple marketing plan will help you create an efficient framework. We recommend a three-step process: develop customer avatars, map the customer journey, and craft a marketing funnel that describes how you will execute your marketing. The main thing to shoot for is a realistic guide to your ultimate goals.?

The Quiz Funnel - Bringing it Together

A quiz funnel is an excellent marketing strategy that includes many ideas already discussed.?

• Use a quiz at the top of the funnel to engage your prime prospects and learn about their needs.?
• Mid-funnel micro-transactions of increasing value will build trust.?
• Use an assessment survey at the bottom of the funnel to qualify and stream prospects. An assessment survey allows prospects to convince themselves that your offer is their best choice when well-considered.?

A quiz funnel is an ideal strategy because it efficiently attracts prime prospects, gives the marketer the information they need to build trust in the mid-funnel, and supports a sale that sets the brand up for long-term loyalty and maximum lifetime value. Quiz funnels get the right customers for the right reasons.

Conclusion – How to Create a Digital Marketing Funnel

Digital marketing is a field that’s growing in value. Knowing how to adapt your skills to take advantage of this growth can be unclear. Even if you’re comfortable with the advertising process, there are likely areas where you can make your marketing efforts more efficient and effective.?

Fortunately, a digital marketing funnel may be the strategy you need. By segmenting your approach into three tiers of focus and applying the appropriate marketing tactics, you can create a comprehensive plan to help you succeed.

This article covered the features and functions of a digital marketing funnel. We then gave you tips on rolling a sales funnel into the process and how to wield these powers to support your business with a solid strategy.?

Combined with your sales skills, knowing how to use a digital marketing funnel can help you take your business to the next level. If you’re looking for more guidance on how to make the most of your resources, you can also check out Website Marketing Consulting . We would be happy to help.

Do you have any questions about using a digital marketing funnel? Let us know in the comments section!

New Podcast

In Part 2 of our 3-part miniseries, we speak with B2B marketing experts Kylie Lang (Quiz Funnel Strategist, Kylie Lang) and James Hipkin (CEO & Founder, Inn8ly ) about the middle of the marketing funnel. During our discussion, Kylie and James talk to us about the importance of middle-of-the-funnel activities and how marketers can leverage customer validation and social proof to support prospects' research and evaluation process. They also give us a list of tactics marketers should STOP using and provide insights into effective activities that generate the best results.

Click the link to listen to the podcast: How to Create Better B2B Marketing Funnels (Part 2)