• 23 October 2023
• Public Relations

Why Your Small Business Needs Full Funnel Marketing & How to Execute It

In a world where competition is fierce and customers have their attention on so many different things, finding the right marketing strategy can seem like a challenge for the average business owner. However, there is one approach that has been shown to drive results and help businesses boost their brand, generate leads and increase sales: full-funnel marketing.

With the help of full-funnel marketing, every business, especially small businesses, can experience major growth in their customer base.

Throughout this article, we will delve into why your small business needs full-funnel marketing as well as provide practical guidance on how you can successfully execute this comprehensive marketing strategy. So if you're ready to take your marketing efforts to the next level by using multiple channels and engaging customers throughout their entire journey—from awareness to conversion—then read on!

What Is Full-Funnel Marketing?

Full-funnel marketing is a dynamic and comprehensive approach to digital marketing that takes into account every stage of the customer journey. It's not just about driving sales, but about establishing meaningful connections with both new and existing customers.

By adopting a full-funnel strategy, businesses of all sizes can effectively address each step in the marketing funnel. From creating awareness and consideration to driving conversions and nurturing customer loyalty, this approach covers it all.

The goal of full-funnel marketing is not only to generate leads but also to build relationships with potential customers that lead to conversions over time. This means using tactics like retargeting campaigns for people who have visited your website or interacted with your brand before, so you can keep them engaged throughout the entire buyer’s journey. Additionally, it involves creating content that resonates with each stage of the entire customer journey—from top-of-the-funnel (TOFU) content designed for capturing attention early on in the process all the way down through bottom-of-the-funnel (BOFU) content meant for closing deals at the end.

By utilizing data collected at every step along this path toward purchase decisions—from demographics and interests to psychographics and behaviors—companies can better understand who their target audience is, what they need from them and where to find them.

Why your small business needs full-funnel marketing

One of the key benefits of full-funnel marketing is its ability to combine both brand building and performance marketing. While brand building focuses on creating awareness and cultivating a positive perception, performance marketing aims at driving immediate results and measurable outcomes.

These marketing funnels are especially beneficial for small businesses that are looking to reach new audiences but don’t have the resources to invest in large-scale campaigns. Since full-funnel marketing focuses on reaching potential customers throughout their entire journey toward purchase decisions, small businesses can tap into a wider network of prospects without having to overwhelm them with too much content or messaging all at once.

Full-funnel marketing helps small businesses save money and time while getting the most out of their marketing efforts. It also encourages customer loyalty and engagement by creating a personalized experience that resonates with every stage of the customer journey.

Additionally, full-funnel marketing can help small businesses gain an edge over their competitors by giving them access to data-driven insights about their target audience that they can use to refine their strategies and optimize business.

How to Execute a Full-Funnel Marketing Strategy in 4 Steps

It might seem like a lot of work at first, but a successful full-funnel marketing strategy can actually be broken down into 4 simple steps.

Step 1: Understand Your Audience at Each Stage of the Sales Funnel

In order to effectively engage and convert prospective customers, marketers must adopt a full-funnel approach that follows their target customer’s journey. Understanding the needs and behaviors of your audience at each stage of the sales funnel is crucial for crafting relevant marketing strategies and tactics.

Here are 6 stages a potential customer experiences that you should consider when constructing your full-funnel marketing approach.

Awareness

The awareness stage in the sales funnel is the first step in the customer journey and involves introducing potential customers to your brand. The goal of this stage is to capture attention, create interest and drive engagement. This can be accomplished through content marketing campaigns such as blog posts, videos, infographics and other types of visual content. This can also be accomplished through your brand campaigns like advertising and sponsorships.

Discovery

The discovery stage in the sales funnel is all about helping potential customers learn more about your product or service. It involves providing them with relevant information to help them make an informed decision on purchasing your offering. This can be accomplished through various online marketing tactics such as email newsletters, webinars and case studies.

Additionally, it's important to focus on building relationships with these prospects by engaging in conversations and providing personalized recommendations based on their interests. By getting to know your audience at this stage of the funnel, you'll have a better understanding of what they need from you—which will ultimately lead to higher conversions down the line!

Evaluation

The evaluation stage in the full-funnel campaign is all about helping potential customers make an informed decision on whether or not they should purchase your product or service. At this point, businesses should be providing prospects with valuable resources that help them evaluate the product and make comparisons to competing offerings. For example, businesses might provide buyers with detailed product information and customer reviews to improve their customer acquisition.

Intent

The intent stage in the sales funnel is all about helping potential customers make a decision to purchase your product or service. At this point, businesses should be providing prospects with resources that will help them understand why they need your offering and how it can benefit them. This can include things like interactive demos, free trials, coupons/discounts, customer testimonials and more.

Purchase

When it comes to the purchase stage in the marketing funnel, the key objective is to assist potential customers in making the decision to buy your products. This stage is crucial as it ultimately determines whether or not a prospect takes the step towards becoming a satisfied customer.

Understand purchase intent if you can as things that may affect if someone actually purchases your products can depend on:

• Seasonality
• If they’re an existing customer
• Demographics
• Advertising

Loyalty

The loyalty stage in the full-funnel marketing campaign is all about cultivating a relationship between the company and the customer after the sale has been made. According to Business News Daily, most businesses make sales to 5-20% of new customers, but that jumps to 60-70% for existing customers.

This stage can involve activities such as sending personalized offers to repeat customers or leveraging customer data to create customized, tailored experiences. Additionally, companies can use loyalty programs to reward customers for engaging with and coming back to their brand, making them feel like valuable customers.

Step 2: Craft Unique Content for Each Stage of the Buyer's Journey

Creating tailored content for different stages in the buyer's journey is key to having a successful full-funnel marketing strategy. By understanding the needs of customers at each stage of their journey, businesses can create content that will provide them with the information and resources they need to make an informed decision about purchasing a product or service.

For example, a social post promoting a new reward prize for returning customers might appeal more to people who are in the loyalty stage of the funnel than to those who are at the awareness stage.

Here are some ideas of what you can do at each stage:

At the awareness stage, you can create content focused on introducing potential customers to your product or service and capturing attention. This could include blog posts, videos, infographics and other forms of visual content that might help generate awareness.

At the discovery stage, you should consider providing prospects with resources that will help them learn more about what they’re buying. This might include email newsletters, webinars, case studies and other types of informational content.

At the evaluation stage, you might provide potential customers with resources that will help them evaluate their options. Tactics like interactive demos, free trials, customer reviews and other forms of educational content can all be used to guide customers toward making an informed purchase decision.

At the intent stage, you should consider focusing on providing prospects with resources that will help them understand why they need your product or service and how it can benefit them. Tactics like coupons/discounts, customer testimonials, freebies and other types of promotional content can all be used to encourage customers to make a purchase.

At the purchase and loyalty stages, you should cultivate relationships with your customers after they’ve made a purchase. Sending personalized offers to repeat customers, leveraging customer data to create tailored experiences through things like email, and leveraging loyalty programs are all effective ways of encouraging customers to keep coming back to your brand.

Step 3: Optimize Digital Channels for Each Audience Type

The world of digital marketing is constantly evolving, and with it, the channels through which marketers reach their target audience. As consumer behavior continues to shift, it becomes essential for marketers to adjust their strategies accordingly.

When it comes to generating awareness and reaching a broad audience, paid search ads on search engines can be a powerful tool. These ads can be strategically placed to appear when users are actively searching for relevant information or using branded search queries.

However, it's essential to recognize that not all users are in the same stage of the customer journey. A user who clicks on a paid ad during the discovery or awareness phase might have different expectations than someone who arrives at a landing page through an email or blog link. Therefore, it is crucial for marketers to tailor their marketing messages and landing pages accordingly.

For example, someone in the awareness phase may need more educational content and general brand messaging. On the other hand, someone who has already expressed interest through an email or blog may require more specific information or incentives related to a particular campaign.

By understanding these nuances and leveraging various digital marketing channels effectively, marketers and brand managers can create a cohesive customer experience that guides individuals seamlessly through each stage of their journey. This adaptability ensures that the content produced at each stage is relevant and engaging for the intended audience, maximizing conversion potential and contributing to the overall success of a business’s marketing efforts.

Step 4: Use Data to Measure Success and Adjust Campaigns and Content

In today's fast-paced and data-driven world, measuring the success of marketing tactics is crucial for any comprehensive full-funnel marketing strategy. By analyzing the data collected throughout the entire full-funnel marketing campaign, marketers can gain valuable insights into customer behavior, make data-driven decisions and ultimately optimize their campaigns and content.

To measure the effectiveness of their efforts, it is essential for marketers to first establish key performance indicators (KPIs) that align with their overall business goals. These KPIs could include metrics such as clicks, conversions, impressions, website traffic or even specific actions taken by the customers along the buying process.

Data-driven decisions help marketers understand what’s working—and what isn’t—so they can make informed decisions about where to focus their advertising dollars in order to maximize returns. For example, by measuring engagement metrics such as click-through rate (CTR), time spent on a page, bounce rate, etc., marketers can determine which channels are driving the most traffic or conversions so that they can adjust their spending accordingly.

By carefully tracking these KPIs and regularly analyzing the data collected, marketers can evaluate the performance of their campaigns at different stages of the funnel. They can identify which strategies are generating positive results and which ones may need adjustments or optimization.

The beauty of a full-funnel marketing strategy lies in its ability to provide holistic insights into customer journeys. Marketers can understand how customers move through different touchpoints and identify potential areas for improvement to enhance overall conversion rates.

Now that you've learned about full-funnel marketing and what it can do for your business, it's time to put your newfound knowledge to work. If you need some extra help, feel free to stop by The UPS Store, where you can get assistance in building out a sale-driven marketing strategy through our Small Business Marketing Services.