The Basics of Full-Funnel Marketing: What It is & How to Use It

With the majority of today’s consumers starting the buyer’s journey online, the traditional marketing approach has changed. More often than not, consumers are qualifying themselves after extensive research and reaching out to businesses when they are ready to buy – instead of the other way around. For this reason, it’s important that companies develop an approach that takes each step of the marketing funnel into consideration and provides touch points at every stage.

What is Full-Funnel Marketing?

Full-funnel marketing is an approach that tailors messages to consumers based on which stage of the buyer’s journey they are in. The marketing funnel helps brands visualize the different stages consumers go through when making a purchase.

In order to pinpoint where a consumer is in the buyer’s journey, it’s important to have a good understanding of the four stages of the marketing funnel:

1. Awareness – At this stage, the consumer is beginning to research his or her problem in order to find solutions.
2. Consideration – During the consideration stage, the consumer is comparing different products and solutions that could solve their problem.
3. Decision – At this point, the consumer is ready to say yes to a specific product.
4. Retention – After the consumer has made a decision, they continue to seek helpful information about the product or service in order to get the most out of it.

Because each stage is unique, they each require a different marketing approach. For example, consumers who have already made the decision to buy have no use for messaging that is tailored to the awareness stage.

What are Full-Funnel Marketing Strategies for Each Stage?

Full-funnel marketing strategies focus on reaching consumers at each stage of the buyer’s journey. Here are some marketing tactics you can use for each area of the funnel:

• Awareness – At the awareness stage, consumers are still trying to understand what their problem is and what solutions exist. But generating awareness for your products or services isn’t just about gaining new customers; it’s also about maintaining a relationship with those who learn about your brand. You can do this by using online marketing tactics such as informational videos and content marketing. These strategies help establish a foundation for a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy and establish your brand as an industry expert.
• Consideration – During the consideration phase, consumers will already be aware of your brand. Therefore, it’s your chance to wow them. Paid search advertising, email marketing, and social media marketing are effective tactics to help your brand maintain visibility within your target audience. They also work to build relationships that may lead to a sale.
• Decision – The decision stage is toward the bottom of the funnel, so consumers will already have the educational information they need at this point. However, an extra push in the right direction is still crucial. This can be achieved through tactics such as search ads and shopping ads across platforms. Utilizing a paid advertising agency that knows how to target and optimize ads will help ensure you get the most out of your ad spend.
• Retention – Remarketing, otherwise known as retargeting, on multiple platforms is an effective marketing approach for consumers in the retention stage. This allows you to reach back out to customers who have already purchased your products or services. Just be sure to use a clear call-to-action (CTA) that tells the consumer exactly what you want them to do.

Why is it Important to Measure Impact at Each Funnel Stage?

It’s important to measure impact at each stage in the marketing funnel so you can see which strategies are working. From there, you can adjust your approach to maximize reach and conversions. During the awareness stage, you’ll assess things like impressions and reach to see which audiences are seeing your messages. It’s important to measure these analytics by demographic to make sure the audiences are relevant to your business.

For the consideration stage, you’ll want to measure key performance indicators (KPIs) that are specific to your business. This could include click-through-rates (CTR), web page or landing page clicks, and more.

During the decision stage, you can measure total conversions as well as how they happened. This will help you determine which marketing channels are most effective. Finally, during the retention stage, you should measure the impressions and clicks from past customers. You can also track how well your remarketing is bringing in audiences that have had a past interest in your brand.

Get Help from the Top Digital Marketing Agency in CT

Zero Gravity Marketing is an expert in full-funnel marketing strategies. Our team will work with you to determine the best strategies to help promote growth for your brand. We will also measure these tactics to ensure you are seeing success from your campaigns. If you need help with your full-funnel marketing strategy, reach out to us today.