Clicks to Conversions

On this episode of 1000 Ways to Market Your Business, Samantha Scott, APR, is joined by Ellie Marchiori, Creative Strategist at Pushing the Envelope.

The two discuss the intricacies of creating a successful marketing funnel,  breaking it down into four key stages: awareness, consideration, conversion, and loyalty. They delve into strategies for making each stage effective, share real-life examples, and highlight the importance of relationship nurturing and consistency across channels for achieving meaningful ROI.

Have a question or feedback to share? Visit www.getpushing.com or one of our many social media channels. We look forward to hearing from you.

#marketing #business #communication #strategy

Transcript

0:05

Hi, everybody. Welcome back to 1000 Ways to Market Your Business, a podcast brought to you by Pushing the Envelope. I am Samantha Scott, APR, President, and I'm joined today by Ellie. Hi, yes, I'm Ellie. I am the Creative Strategist for Pushing the Envelope. I put together the marketing plans for our partners, multichannel campaigns, and really just work on the brand storytelling and getting that across for our partners. And today we're talking about clicks to conversions and how to craft a winning marketing funnel. You've probably heard this term marketing funnel, but we're going to really break it into four key pieces and dive into what makes each one of them tick and how do you translate that into meaningful ROI for your business. So Ellie, first question is if you hear the term marketing funnel or you think other people hear that term, what do you think they think of? Well, I think most people probably think like getting point A to point B. It's a lot more than just getting those clicks. You really want to nurture those relationships and focus on the whole funnel, and just really creating a seamless experience for your customers. And, spoiler alert, it does not end when somebody makes a purchase. There is a whole other loop back where you want them to go through that funnel, or a secondary funnel, again, and we'll go into all those details. So, the first part is awareness. That's the very first start of the funnel. So if you imagine, you know, a virtual funnel kind of going like this, the very top part is awareness. And we want to capture as many people as possible. But, at the same time, be mindful that we're not just spraying and praying and getting people that are not in our target audience. We want to make sure it's the right people that are in our funnel. So, you know, it's the you exist, oh, great. Now I need to know more about you kind of moment. So, tell me a little bit more from your perspective. What's involved in that awareness stage of the marketing funnel? Yeah, so there's a lot of different ways that businesses can go about bringing awareness to their company. And a good example, just the other day, I was listening to a health and wellness podcast and they had a guest on who owned a cookware company. And they started talking, I'm like, oh, this is interesting, you know, and the brand clicked for me and they started talking about it and it really piqued my interest. And that was, you know, the whole point of them bringing someone on their podcast with like a topic that would be for the audience like me. It was a win win for the podcast because it gave their listeners something that was interesting. Yes. That's what we try to do for you. But then it also was a win for that brand because they got exposure among a really key target audience. Right. Yeah. So then I immediately go and I sign up for their emails, which I think kind of leans into the next part of the funnel. Right. So there's other ways. That's a great example of using something kind of new for PR purposes in a way, you know, reaching out to podcasters, influencers, things like that. But, there's other ways to create awareness. This all goes back to your marketing strategy. Who are you trying to reach? What's your message? And then you go into how are you going to do that? So, PR, using that kind of approach is one of them, but also there's SEO, so search engine optimization. If somebody has a problem or an interest, they're going to be looking for a solution for that, or a provider, so that's one way that you can come up. But there's also organic and paid social media. Lots of different ways you can approach this in creating awareness. I would again just emphasize, it's really important to make sure that you're keeping in mind who you're reaching, what's the message, and then you're measuring each of those endeavors to see which one is creating the awareness that you really want. Right. I think one example I brought up to you offline too is Starbucks and these influencer style Reels that they're doing, they're almost like user generated content where they have really relatable people and it's, they're using like the situational humor and it's hilarious and it captures people's attentions and it's like, oh, this is Starbucks that's doing it. I think it's really working for them. It's relatable. You know, that's the thing where I can see myself in that moment. And I like to say it's seed planting, right? So they're building awareness. Awareness is one of those kind of squishy, qualitative, almost sometimes looked at negatively terms in marketing because it's really difficult to measure effectively. But it's really important because it's one of those things where if I see a Reel, I see a post, I see, you know, an influencer, somebody talking about something enough about a brand, it's going to stick in my brain, and the next time I'm thirsty or hungry or want a pick me up or something, I'm going to think, oh yeah, Starbucks. And it's all because of these multiple endeavors to create awareness and just keep, you know, seed planting that that's where I should go. So awareness is the first step. All right, now we've created that awareness. You're now aware of this cookware company, for example. So then we move into the second stage, which is consideration. Now I'm evaluating this. Okay, you've piqued my interest enough that I've taken a bite, and now I want to explore this more. So this is where we start getting into, you know, emails and lead magnets and things like that. Remarketing, if somebody's visited the website. So let's talk about that part. Yeah, and I think a key element in this part of the funnel is really nurturing those relationships. So going back to the cookware company, I signed up for their emails. They start sending me emails with more educational information and it's not pushy, not salesy. It's simply. Not buy now. Right. It is simply educational providing information and, and it kind of helps with that authenticity too. I'm like, oh, they're not trying to push this on me if they're simply providing information. They did that really well. That's a piece of advice, something you can take away from this podcast, is really focus on nurturing those relationships and not being too pushy right away, because that could cause you to lose customers in the end. So really focusing on those relationships. They started sending me those emails. I started liking the brand more and more. I'm starting to get that trust in the company and giving it some more thought for sure. And all of the educational content is serving them as much as it's serving you because it's positioning them as an expert and a resource. They're providing you with value added content. So therefore you're building trust, even if you don't realize that fully, even if it's subconsciously. We're making that connection of oh, okay, I trust, like you said, I'm starting to trust this company more. That's so important. And this is a really great place where you can start compiling content and create an automated campaign that can do the follow up. It is legwork in the beginning, but then it can run in automation. So invest the time at the beginning, collect those testimonials, all the educational information, and then build out what we call a drip campaign. So essentially it's an if then. In the email case, so Ellie signed up for this email, she gets put into a specific list, likely a prospect list. And it would probably be tied to where they might have sourced where she signed up from, if they can track that. You know, if she went directly to the website, if it was from a social ad, fill in the blank, right? And then it would be, okay, after X period of days, we send this email, then this, then this. And if there's interaction in between, then it changes the course of action. This is not overly complicated. Many email platforms, including Constant Contact, things like that, have the opportunity to help you build out those email drip campaigns, but it's a great way to nurture your audience. Yeah. And along with that too, you have to look at different channels that you're using. So this is email specific, but also like I went to their Facebook page and they had just as much great information there. So that just really added on and piled on to my experience that I was having going through this funnel with them. They had testimonials on there, they actually had some other like influencers on there going over stuff and just a lot of good information that didn't feel too pushy. So when you get a customer that in one channel, they're likely going to be looking at your stuff from another. So really making sure that everything is aligned and buttoned up to really have a good overall experience for your customer. Consistency is so important. You touched on a really great point because, right, you would have felt very differently about this company if you'd gone to their Facebook page and there was nothing, or it was very different content. Or even on their website. You know, that's a big letdown if somebody goes on there like, this feels inauthentic. Yeah. And then you start questioning the genuineness of it. Is this a legit company? You know, should I really invest in them? Is it going to be high quality? And then I would also say consistency is important. So, Ellie shared that there were testimonials on both places. But make sure it's not the same exact stuff, right? It's really easy to get caught in a loop of like, I'm just going to pump out all this content and then I can just mass put it out to every single channel. Well, every channel operates differently, has different kind of criteria for best performing content, and different audiences. And, you know, what I expect to see on Facebook versus a social ad, versus a website, versus an email, it's not always the same. Right. So, keep that in mind and consider how you can repurpose content. I understand that can be a big thought process, oh, gosh, I have to create all this stuff, but there's lots of creative ways that you can repurpose stuff to not make it the same, but keep consistency. Some other really great ways to do that is retargeting ads, as we're talking about nurturing. So retargeting is, for example, if I was looking for a pair of shoes and I went to a website, and then I start seeing either Google, or on social media, ads for those shoes or similar shoes or even from the brand that I was looking at on the particular website. That's remarketing. So I went to a website and I did not take a specific action. I didn't make the purchase, I didn't contact them, I didn't sign up for a newsletter, etc., depending on the business's goals. And therefore they put me on a list to remarket. I am now a warm lead. I've already gone to the website. I've already experienced the brand. I just didn't quite convert yet. So the purpose of those ads is to say, hey, are you still thinking about those shoes? Are you still thinking about this pan? Would you like to learn more, get more information? And bring them back in to close the deal. And I've seen too in some retargeting ads that's where people will bring in like a testimonial, like this person tried it and they loved it. You really do want this. Yes. Yeah. Case studies are another great example of that. Again, trying to give you some different examples depending on your business, because if you're in retail versus professional service, et cetera, yeah, case studies, testimonials, and they have to feel authentic. Yes. The staged stuff is just, it's not going to work. You're right. People see right through that and people are getting smarter. They're seeing ads everywhere. So really honing in on the authenticity and the message that you're bringing to your audience. And that makes it easier for you and for us, right? So we don't have to create these pretty polished, perfect testimonials and videos, those kinds of things. Authenticity is what's really important these days and making sure that it feels believable and it feels like, oh yeah, Ellie had a great experience with this brand and she's just talking about it. Yeah. Absolutely. Alright, so then we move into the third phase of this funnel, which is conversion. Sealing the deal, right? This is where we all want to be. We want to close the deal. So this is when somebody says yes. And at this point, you really have to make clear calls to action. Not pushy. We don't want to be that used car salesman buy now buy now, but at the same time, make it clear like hey we would love for you to make a reservation or you know, here's an easy way, you know one click and it can be yours, free shipping, etc. But making sure that we have that and a really simple experience, because if somebody has to go through too many hoops, they're gonna bail. Right. They will leave that cart, they will abandon, oh, this is too much work, I'm not gonna do it. So make sure that that process is really really easy and it's also where you could put in some incentives and I think you're going to speak to that. Yeah. So a perfect example with the email chain that I was going down with this cookware company. So I actually had gone through and I, I put one of the pans in my cart that I wanted. As a lot of people do when they're looking for stuff, add to cart, come back later, especially if something is not on sale, in my case. So I put it in my cart and I'm like, let me think on it. Well, not even 24 hours later, I get the email, the abandoned cart email. I love this. I am a consumer of this all the time. I put stuff in my cart. If I get the, you left something in your cart, here is a discount. Like it's hook, line and sinker for me. So that was the case. They gave me a 20 percent off coupon and I was on my phone, I wasn't even at home, and I got this and I was like, done, like put my information in, like bought it right then and there. And I think it was just like this whole, like the whole experience I had with this brand, it was like, picture perfect. Like they did everything right. And I was like, wow, like that was, from a marketing professional, like that was really like, I had a great experience. It was professional. It wasn't pushy. And I think they did a really good job of focusing on each part of that funnel and not just trying to go for the purchase right away. Like they really focused on getting my attention, you know, on the podcast and then nurturing it and providing some more information and getting me to trust the brand. And then offering the discount, of course, at the end is a very big incentive. And discounts may not always apply. It depends obviously on your company. And there are some brands that discounting is just anti their brand. So completely get that. But there's other ways to get somebody to close the deal, you know, sweeten the pot a little bit. Maybe it's an add on, added value element. But I would say, I think this idea of consumers being smarter and expecting that kind of abandoned cart deal is something that we should be keeping in mind because more and more people are getting smart to that. I mean, look, if I put something in my cart for Amazon and I just let it sit there and wait, eventually it's going to tell me if the price went up, if the price went down, or there's apps like Honey or things like that can tell you when stuff goes on sale. So I would just say you kind of have to be wise to that as the marketer in the business. And of course your margins should be where you can play with the numbers and things like that. But just know that people are going to start to expect that in some fashion, and that should be part of that process. I've also seen two people that don't discount a lot. They'll put on there like low inventory, you know, like purchase now, there's not a lot left, like it's going to be out of stock soon. So that's some of that messaging, if providing a discount isn't in the cards for you, that's another little trick you could do. Low inventory and really pushing the exclusivity of it or the limited quantities of it, for some of those brands that discounts aren't an option. And you can also play to people that have, I think in that case, like FOMO, right? They're missing out, but you also people who have just this immediacy, right? So if you can get it delivered quickly, or they can be the first ones to get it, kind of play that card. I know I fell into that category of like, I want it yesterday. Yeah. Immediate gratification. All right. So those are the three stages we've talked about so far. Now we're in the fourth one, cause we're not done. We closed the deal. We got the sale, but we're not done. So now the last part is actually turning these customers into fans. It's building on that loyalty and getting them to keep coming back. Super, super important. So in this case, we want to nurture that relationship. So Ellie might've bought one pan, but I bet this company sells more than that. So they're going to be reaching out to you and saying like, how are you loving your experience? And don't you want more? Yes. Yeah, exactly. I have not gotten my pan yet, so I don't know how they're going to approach it. I'm interested to see. One company for example Starbucks, they have a loyalty program, the reward program. So they're gonna reward you for making purchases. And a lot of companies do that. Restaurants do that. It's very popular because it works. They're going to you know, send you those emails. Hey, we haven't seen you in a while. Here's 10 percent off, or here's a free appetizer. Again, going back to the discounting. But that's just one thing that they're going to do to try to keep that touch point or introduce other products that they have. Hey, Samantha, you bought these shoes. How do you like them? Here's another pair we think you might like. The same brand. You know, if you're buying from DSW, they might say like, oh, we have the same brand, they have a different shoe, or if it's that actual company, hey, try this one. You know, you're touching on like laggards or people that haven't been in for a while in terms of that. Hey, we haven't seen you come in. But there's also the other side of loyalty, which is, okay, come four times in a row and your fifth time you get X for free or you get this discount, etc. So you can play the loyalty card multiple ways and be very strategic about it. A lot of that comes back to your point of sale system and making sure you've got a really great tool for making sure you're tracking guests. For the restaurant industry, there's a variety of them. CRMs can do that too, Customer Relationship Management Program. So make sure you're leveraging that information because it's a powerful tool, you know. This reminds me of an example. We were doing work for a Harley Davidson dealer a number of years ago, and their service department needed business. We went in and pulled their records and got everybody that had not been in for six months and then gave them a great offer. So, right audience, right offer. And, I don't remember the numbers. We have a case study on our website about it, but they did gangbuster numbers in the service department, and it was a simple mailing. It was thousands of dollars they made that particular month, and it was just that simple. We reached out to people who had not been in, we gave them an offer, and they came in. That was using their list wisely. You can do that in any industry that you're in. And then of course making sure that you're rewarding those folks that are frequent flyers, so to speak, as well, because those are your bread and butter. And then on top of rewarding them, get them to tell their friends about it. Yeah, that word of mouth and making sure that they can become brand champions as well. Yeah. And it really just goes back to nurturing the relationship. That's what this is all about. The funnel. It's not just a quick sale. It's like you really want to make that customer feel like they're valued. And that's a really important thing to do that sometimes gets overlooked. And the nurturing part, I used this example when I did public speaking was, if Ellie and I were friends, but every time we got together for coffee, all I did was talk about my business and what I did and that you should hire me, and oh did you know I have the service? Eventually she's going to stop hanging out with me even if I was buying her coffee because I'm just overwhelming her with sales. And I think that's a mistake that a lot of companies do. To your point, they either miss it altogether, so it's like, great, I got your money, now I'm done, or they take that as an opportunity then to just blast you with sales stuff over sales stuff over sales stuff versus nurturing that relationship and saying, great, you did this, now here's some recipes that you might like to use with your pan, and here's some other added value information. Really incredibly important. Absolutely. Well, so wrapping up, we've talked about the marketing funnel, all the different components of it, how it works together, how do you keep people coming back. I hope this has been helpful. If you guys have questions, feel free to comment, message us. We would love to go over this more, talk about each of those phases or all of it together. But thanks for tuning in to 1000 Ways to Market Your Business.