The consumer funnel: an overview of the steps
The buying process consists of several steps. These can include learning about the product through advertising, generating interest, comparing with competitors and making a purchase decision. These steps make up a consumer funnel, which has four main stages:
- product knowledge;
- consideration of its features;
- the purchase itself;
- the decision to purchase again.
With thoughtful marketing efforts, companies can manage each of these stages.
Marketing approaches for each of the stages
Building brand awareness and an emotional connection with consumers is the main objective in the first phase. To do this, professionals need to reach the widest possible audience through a variety of channels. These can be both digital and traditional. For example, television, radio, outdoor advertising, social media and others. Advertising should focus on getting to know the company, its mission and values. Through advertising, marketers need to tell the brand story in a way that evokes an emotional response.
The second stage is to stimulate interest in the product or company. Efforts are made to increase interaction with consumers. It is important to demonstrate the merits of the offer in terms of its benefits to the audience. In this case, a personalised approach is very effective. This can be achieved through interactive content that encourages imaginative communication. At the same time, specialists are launching retargeting campaigns. They focus on attracting consumers who have already interacted with the brand.
Making a purchase and retaining a client
If the previous steps have achieved the desired result, the consumer moves on to the purchase stage. At this stage, it is essential to enhance the sales process by introducing discounts, promotions and other incentives. The key tools in this process are landing pages, call-to-action content and lead generation efforts. Testimonials and the publication of statistics that reflect the benefits of the product demonstrate its effectiveness. Additional incentives for the target audience can include free shipping and rewards for repeat purchases.
For long-term business development, it is significant not only to acquire a customer, but also to retain them. The fourth stage of the funnel focuses on encouraging repeat purchases. This is achieved by strengthening the emotional connection between the consumer and the brand. Personalisation plays an important role here. It becomes the basis for creating effective email newsletters and implementing a loyalty programme. At this stage, promotions and giveaways are also effective in increasing customer loyalty.
The customer funnel helps to analyse the entire process of interaction with the target audience and to identify mistakes. It allows you to accurately identify the stage at which the consumer stops interacting.
It’s worth noting that the importance of the funnel stages depends on the product category. For example, for mass market products, it is necessary to focus on the first two stages. For premium products, more effort is put into encouraging repeat purchases.