We're Going to Need a Shorter Funnel

We're Going to Need a Shorter Funnel

The increasing use of emotional decision-making is challenging the traditional view of the marketing funnel.

At the Social Intelligence Lab, using data science and neuroscience, we revealed that the consumer economy comprises just two fundamentally different mindsets: NEO and Traditional. (Honeywill & Norton, 2012).

With emotional decision-making as our lens, we analysed every phase of the marketing funnel, from brand narrative at the top to sales activation at the bottom.

Forethought’s Ken Roberts says:

"Emotion is our decision-making detonator." (2024)

NEO marketing results revealed that the emotional detonator is not limited to the top of the funnel but runs through it from awareness to conversion, repeat, and advocacy.

Unlike the traditional funnel, which distances emotional brand building from more rational performance marketing, the NEO funnel provides a unique interplay between these phases, significantly shortening the journey.

The evidence is that the five million Australian NEOs and the 65 million in the US respond more favourably to marketing strategies that maintain a consistent emotional narrative from brand awareness to conversion—and beyond. This response pattern confirms that the emotional associations forged at the top of the funnel can effectively be leveraged to enhance conversion rates at the bottom for NEOs.

While the separation is maintained between brand narrative (focused on emotional connections and values) and sales activation (where these emotions are harnessed towards concrete actions), the emotional triggers initiated in the brand-building phase do not end there but extend to performance marketing, thereby shortening the overall funnel.

For instance, a NEO consumer actively shopping for a new car significantly shortens the marketing funnel in several ways. First, NEO factors like their high education level, digital savviness, and proactive information-seeking behaviour mean they move through the awareness and consideration phases much faster than Traditional car buyers. Their ability to rapidly assimilate and evaluate information, often through digital channels, allows them to quickly become aware of car models and assess the personal relevance of a brand’s features and customer value propositions.

Second, NEOs' high internal locus of control, price flexibility, and propensity for risk-taking enable them to make quicker car-buying decisions. They are less likely to be influenced by traditional, rational decision-making tactics and more by compelling, emotionally driven storytelling about the brand and the driving experience. As a result, they often skip or quickly move through the evaluation phase, typical of longer car-buying processes.

?A shorter funnel means a shorter timeline to unlocking value from this high-value audience: consumers with a NEO mindset spend, for example, 3X more than consumers with a Traditional mindset in the retail sector – regardless of a Traditional’s affluence.

The shorter, truncated NEO marketing funnel offers several tangible benefits for businesses and marketers aiming to engage with this high-value consumer:

  1. Increased Efficiency: NEOs move more quickly from initial awareness to the point of purchase, and this efficiency reduces the cost and time associated with converting leads into customers.
  2. Higher Conversion Rates: By maintaining a consistent emotional narrative throughout the funnel, businesses achieve higher conversion rates.
  3. Enhanced Customer Loyalty: The emotional engagement in the NEO funnel doesn't stop at the point of sale; it extends into post-purchase experiences, leading to higher levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty. This makes NEO customers more likely to repeat purchases and become brand advocates.
  4. Better ROI on Marketing Spend: The efficiency of the NEO funnel translates into a better return on investment for marketing campaigns.
  5. Improved Brand Perception: Consistent emotional messaging throughout the customer journey enhances brand perception and Share of Heart among NEOs.
  6. Agility in Market Response: Marketers can react more quickly to changes in NEO preferences and market trends. The close alignment between emotional branding and sales activation enables quicker adaptations to new information or feedback.

A word of warning: we found that every decision along the journey had to be evaluated and refined through the lens of the NEO algorithm. It became clear that while it’s ‘not rocket science’ to get it right for NEOs, it’s dangerously easy to get it wrong, and it takes just one misstep to break the emotional spell.

Strategic Implications for Marketers

In broad terms, marketing strategies targeting NEOs should provide an emotional continuum. Brand campaigns at the top of the funnel should not only create awareness and an emotional connection but also seed the emotional triggers that will be activated during the shortened journey.

This approach necessitates a closer collaboration between brand and performance marketers, ensuring that the emotional undercurrent initiated in brand campaigns is effectively harnessed and surfaced in performance activation.

?Conclusion

The science of emotional decision-making is now essential to modern marketing. With two distinct consumer mindsets—NEO and Traditional—rational decision theory and emotional decision-making must be applied differently. There are two marketing funnels: Traditional and NEO. The Traditional funnel follows a classical structure, guiding consumers through a lengthy process of awareness, consideration, evaluation, decision, retention, and advocacy.

In contrast, the NEO funnel represents a paradigm shift, characterised by a shortened journey through just three phases. It’s tailored to valuable NEO consumers who favour swift, emotionally charged interactions. This demands a marketing approach that blends intellectual appeal with emotional depth, quickly moving consumers from awareness to action and ultimately to loyalty and advocacy.

It’s not just about catching their eye. It needs to create an emotional continuum that catches their heart and resonates at a much deeper level.

?

Dr Ross Honeywill is a social scientist and internationally published author. As CEO of the Social Intelligence Lab, he works with former C-Suite executives and data scientists to deliver profitable growth for world-leading brands in Australia and North America.

100% agree! Great insights Ross.

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