Marketing funnels - everything you wanted to know and were afraid to ask

If you've ever run an email marketing campaign, chances are you've heard of or even used marketing funnels in your work.

While marketers are becoming increasingly interested in funnels (and for good reason, as I'll discuss in more detail below), the information chaos surrounding them can dampen their ardor and even drive them away.

Therefore, in this article we decided to bring together all the relevant information on this topic:

• defining a marketing funnel;
• advanced techniques;
• examples of practical use and tips.

We have also developed step-by-step instructions , following which you will create a high-converting marketing funnel.

To show how simple this process is, we'll be using Autofunnel from GetResponse, a new tool that was recently launched. If you haven't heard of it yet, we recommend reading Introducing Autofunnel, a new GetResponse feature.

Let's start with a definition.

What is a marketing funnel?

A marketing funnel is a graphical diagram of the process of attracting customers who are new to your brand, turning them into leads, and converting them into customers.

In the online world, this process usually consists of the following steps:

• Attracting traffic to a website or landing page;
• Offering a lead magnet in exchange for a potential client’s email address;
• Nurturing (“warming up”) leads using a series of marketing letters in the email newsletter;
• Sending “warm” leads to a landing page, where they are converted into buyers, or transferring them to a sales representative.

Other names for a marketing funnel are sales funnel, lead acquisition funnel, purchasing funnel, conversion funnel, etc. All these terms used to have slightly different meanings, but currently mean the same concept.

The type of funnels is determined by the goals.

Possible funnel goals:

• Sell ​​a product (real or virtual);
• Collect a subscription base;
• Promote a webinar (paid or free).

Naturally, funnels can be used to survey your audience or sign up for a demo of your platform.

The principle of building a funnel (as is the case with the famous AIDA model (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) is based on the assumption that all customers go through certain stages before they buy a product or service.

As you can see in the diagram below, the stages of the AIDA model describe how clients think (cognitive element), feel (affective element), and act (behavioral element).

We've also added our own questions to answer at each stage and marketing tactics to help customers move through the funnel.

What are warm calls

Telemarketing is one of the channels for distribution and promotion of products. With this tool, you can increase your company's sales volume, attract new customers, or remind old ones about yourself. Moreover, the achievement of a particular goal depends on the target audience chosen for telephone sales.

The type of telephone calls also depends on the target audience:

• Cold calling – negotiating with a potential client who is not familiar with your products and company. His need has not yet been formed. The purpose of such calls is to find new clients.

Companies in the service sector often use cold telemarketing. They buy databases of customers with certain characteristics and make random calls offering their product.

• Warm calls are a conversation with a potential consumer who already knows about your company and product. He was probably once a customer of yours or was interested in the product.

For example, let's say you sell mobile phones. A week ago you bought a smartphone. You can call the client and offer him headphones at a special offer with a discount for the purchased model.

• Hot calls – a conversation with potential consumers who themselves show interest in your product. They have already made their choice, all that remains is to bring the matter to its logical conclusion - sale.

In this case, your potential consumer, for example, has already left a request to purchase a product, all you have to do is call him and agree on the terms of the transaction.

If in the first and third cases the goals are clear and understandable - to find new customers and sell goods, respectively, then with warm calls everything is not so simple.

Warm calls are designed to remind the company about itself. To a greater extent, they perform the function of promoting a product, but often lead to sales.

In more detail, the goals of warm calls can be expressed as follows:

• Returning lost customers or those who have not purchased goods from you for a long time . The period of time allowed for the absence of purchases is the time of use of the product. For example, for a mobile phone this period is two to three years, and for a carton of milk two to three days.
• Providing information to the client about new products and services . If a consumer bought a product from you or was simply interested, you can recommend something from your range and tell him about new products that are suitable for solving his problem. It is very important to personalize your message here. You must offer products that will satisfy the needs of a specific consumer.
• Company promotion . In this case, we simply remind the client about us.
• Determining needs . This goal is the most difficult to achieve: you must, as a psychologist, identify the consumer problem that your product can solve.

If you compare cold and warm calls, you can find several quite significant differences.

Let's name the advantages of “warm” calls over “cold” ones:

• Aimed at building long-term trusting relationships with consumers;
• More often lead to product sales;
• Do not cause a negative reaction from potential consumers.

What are the benefits of marketing funnels?

According to the Google Trends report, interest in marketing funnels has been growing steadily over the past five years.

Google Trends results for the phrase “marketing funnel”

And we know the reasons.

Although almost all advertising campaigns have sales as their goal in one way or another, not all go straight to this goal.

Thanks to the sales funnel and AIDA model, marketers can visually represent the stages and tasks that advertising campaigns must complete before a customer decides to buy a certain product or service.

In other words, sales funnels and marketing funnels help you streamline your campaigns and push your target audience to take the desired action.

And that's not it! Tools like GetResponse's Autofunnel allow you to choose which stages you want to include in your funnel. With ready-made templates and scripts, you can create automatic sales funnels, and your work will no longer be based on guesswork and hypotheses.

For each stage of the customer journey, marketers can choose the appropriate marketing tools and techniques to move customers closer to a purchasing decision.

They also use various metrics and KPIs at each stage to track the effectiveness and progress of campaigns.

For clarity, we provide several examples of metrics specific to each key stage of the funnel - top of the funnel, middle of the funnel, and bottom of the funnel.

All of the above explains well why marketing funnels are beneficial for businesses, but it is still unclear why their popularity has increased over the past five years. Regardless, funnels have been used by advertisers for over 100 years.

The key reason for modern popularity is the development of technology. Previously, specialists thought through all the elements of the marketing funnel separately and then combined the stages into one system.

To be more precise, you had to separately:

• conduct advertising campaigns on social networks;
• develop landing pages;
• set up a series of autoresponders;
• create output forms;
• contact customers with upsell offers or remind them about an abandoned cart;
• and much more.

Nowadays you can bring all these elements together through APIs or ready-made integrations and plugins. What's even more effective is to simply activate GetResponse's Autofunnel feature, which includes all of these elements.

Automatic funnel - pros

• You no longer need to waste time integrating various tools to create your own marketing funnel - everything is done automatically;
• You do not need to pay for additional tools, for example, a landing page editor, an email marketing platform, an autoresponder, an advertising editor for social networks, webinars, etc. - all this is available in your GetResponse account;
• Finally, with built-in payment processing and tracking functionality, you can sell and analyze sales performance at the same time.

What kind of companies is a marketing funnel best suited for?

Everyone! Marketing funnels help convert leads into customers, and that's what every company wants, right? Let's look at a few examples of businesses that can benefit from marketing funnels.

Local companies

Imagine that you own a local business, such as a wedding planning agency.

At the top of the funnel, you'll most likely be focused on driving traffic to a specific landing page, such as through social media advertising.

On the landing page, you will convert visitors into leads, for example, by inviting them to subscribe to a newsletter with useful tips on preparing for the wedding.

Once you sign up, you'll immediately receive a newsletter with instructions on how to plan a stress-free wedding. This is the middle of the funnel.

After reading the materials, the subscriber may come to the conclusion that planning a bright wedding celebration requires a significant investment of time and effort (not counting the stress!), and decides to abandon the idea of ​​​​organizing it independently.

Therefore, in the process of interaction with the client (as you move towards the bottom of the funnel), you can make an upsell offer , i.e. your wedding planning services so that the client relaxes and enjoys the wedding like the rest of the guests. Any client can contact you directly or buy a package of services on the website.

Do you want to adopt this funnel model? Then don't wait, but get to work. Autofunnel from GetResponse contains a large collection of landing page templates and autoresponder emails.

Coaching

Imagine that you are a coach. As an expert in the field, you want to sell an online course or membership program to a new audience. To do this, you create a landing page at the top of the funnel with a lead magnet, for example, an e-book on how to win your first client.

To drive traffic, you launch a social media advertising campaign to an audience that is similar to your current customers.

After the user fills out the subscription form, he receives an e-book and a series of autoresponder emails with recommendations on how to attract more customers and improve business performance.

After several emails have been sent, it's time to make an upsell offer, i.e. introduce a membership program or paid course.

At this point, you direct traffic from emails to the sales page. To improve your conversion rate, you can enable an exit form and track which customers filled out the form and completed the order.

You can then launch retargeting to those who didn't make a purchase. They may have abandoned the page or simply didn't make it to the sales page. That's all.

Of course, you can continue the process and, for example, conduct A/B testing of landing pages to increase conversion.

Online stores (E-commerce)

Imagine that you own a store where you sell chocolate and other sweets. How to increase sales using marketing funnels? Here's one way.

You create a funnel that starts with a landing page and a lead magnet. Lead magnet? This can be a full-fledged recipe book or just a collection of healthy nutrition recipes. After driving traffic to your landing page through social media ads and emails, you begin nurturing leads that fill out your opt-in form.

Launch a series of autoresponder emails with recipes and cooking tips. After sending a few of these emails, it's time to introduce the products. Invite email subscribers to your sales page, where they will be converted into buyers. For those who didn't convert, give them a second chance and send them another offer after a few days, increase the reach of the campaign using social media advertising.

Funnel - a device for pouring and filtering liquid

Laboratory glassware and its use

One of the most widely used items in the laboratory kitchen is laboratory glassware.
Differences in the nature of chemical processes in the laboratory, changes in conditions and the form of conducting experiments led to the emergence of a variety of utensils for working with chemical reagents. Laboratory glassware, of which there are a huge number of types and forms, is, unfortunately, the most consumable device in every laboratory or research center. The basis of such equipment is glass of various thicknesses and shapes, which often breaks, so taking care of a spare quantity of products is one of the primary issues. Without such items as pipettes, a Petri dish, a Bunsen flask, jugs, beakers, graduated cylinders, beakers, stoppers, burettes with a tap, not a single laboratory assistant or chemist can see his work.

Among laboratory equipment made of glass, one of the first places in terms of frequency of use is occupied by funnels, which come in various shapes and types, but their main function is to pour liquids or solids from one vessel to another, having a thin neck. A simple funnel is a device with a wide neck at the top and a thin tube at the bottom. Sometimes the funnel may also have a paper filter or cotton wool to filter liquids and separate sediment. In practice, it is inserted into the ring with the narrow part down. However, when carrying out some operations, for example: sublimation, the reverse arrangement of the device is possible.

The history of the simplest funnel

The funnel is one of the oldest devices that was used among the tribes of Africa and Asia. It was made from natural materials such as wood, birch bark, and later they began to sculpt it from baked clay. The production of funnels from glass, porcelain, metal, tin and brass began in the Middle Ages. Currently, funnels made of various types of plastics, including polypropylene and polyethylene, are widely used.

Modern laboratories are equipped with different types of funnels, each of which is designed for specific functions or to work with different substances. There are drip funnels that look absolutely different from a regular funnel.

Types of funnels:

1. One way to filter and separate sediment from liquid is to use a Buchner funnel. This device is usually made of porcelain, sometimes of plastic or metal. The upper part of the funnel is separated from the lower part by a perforated or porous partition, to which a vacuum is applied. During operation, the openings of the partition are covered with cotton wool, a track filter or filter paper. As a rule, two circles of filter paper are placed on the mesh partition, and their diameter is 1 mm less than the diameter of the funnel used. The funnel is placed in a Buchner flask with a rubber stopper.

2. A separating funnel is an elongated cylindrical or pear-shaped vessel that is used to separate immiscible liquids, usually based on their density. Depending on the shape, separating funnels can be: - cylindrical; - conical; - pear-shaped; - spherical; - equipped with glass drain valves.

This laboratory product is made of glass and is equipped with a tube with a tap at the bottom, which serves to drain heavier fractions. The funnel may have an approximate capacity scale.

3. Drip funnel is one of the most widely used types of funnels. The purpose of a funnel is to gradually and evenly add liquid to a flask containing reaction solutions, mixtures, or other chemical reagents or substances. The funnel has a cylindrical shape, a division scale, and a glass tap is attached at the bottom. It is often used as a piece of laboratory equipment or instrument, firmly mounted in a flask or tripod.

Do you need laboratory equipment in Moscow?

"Prime Chemicals Group" –

favorable purchase offer!

In modern industrial, medical (epidemiological and pharmacy) laboratories, laboratory glassware and other types of laboratory equipment are widely used when working with chemical reagents, mixtures, substances for the production of various chemical materials, as well as when conducting all kinds of analyses, tests and research.

In our online store, laboratory equipment and instruments are presented in a wide range, among which you can find exactly what you need for work or production.

Chemical reagents store in Moscow retail "Prime Chemicals Group" - a wide selection of laboratory equipment and chemical reagents.

How to go through all stages of the funnel? Strategies and Techniques

I think you already know that you cannot satisfy the needs of all subscribers with the same letter.

This point brings us to one of the key benefits of a marketing funnel: Funnels force you to be mindful of the customer lifecycle, the different stages of the cycle, and the changing needs of your subscribers.

This is the benefit and effectiveness of these tools. To make working with your funnel easier, we've created this helpful infographic.

I recommend saving this infographic. It will be useful when developing new or optimizing existing marketing funnels.

Brand recognition

If your target audience does not yet know about your brand, products and services, then you simply need to change the current situation. To do this, you need to engage in lead generation. Develop a landing page, create a lead magnet and attract traffic.

You can generate traffic through various channels, such as advertising on social networks, contextual or display advertising, banners on a landing page, sending emails to subscribers, sponsoring a podcast, or collaborating with another company.

You should remember that your task is not only to attract any audience. You must attract the TARGET audience, i.e. a group of people who will be converted into buyers at a later stage.

Choose the right lead magnet. Naturally, not everyone will be interested in an ebook or checklist, so be mindful of retargeting those who interacted with your ads.

Consideration

So, you managed to convert some landing page visitors into subscribers. Great! Now you should lead them to the idea that the products you offer can solve their problems.

To do this, create a series of autoresponders dedicated to a topic of interest to your subscribers. At the same time, emphasize the strengths of your offer so that your brand naturally comes to mind when the client thinks about this topic.

At the same time, you can encourage potential customers to interact with your brand and products.

• If you're selling a video course, let them watch a portion and download additional materials;
• If it's an e-book, offer to read a few chapters for free;
• If this is a real product, for example a T-shirt, show in what situations and what it can be worn with.

To free yourself from repetitive tasks, launch email marketing automation. Send newsletters in response to the actions of subscribers and users.

Action

The time has come to convert email subscribers into buyers. At this stage, your emails should motivate your audience to take some action. Give reasons why they should not wait another minute. Clear their doubts by providing comments, customer testimonials, and real-life examples. Use language that will work for your audience.

If your product can save you money or help you advance your career, prove it with concrete numbers! If you are selling a real limited edition product, focus on this.

And if you offer a money-back guarantee, easy and free returns, or a free trial period, all of this should be clearly stated in the letter.

Setting up marketing funnels

Creating a marketing funnel is not difficult. And creating an effective marketing funnel takes time and practical experience.

We have collected the best techniques that will give you a good start.

1. Generate traffic effectively

As mentioned above, the point is to attract not just any traffic, but targeted traffic to the site or landing page.

Identify the audience that is most likely to convert into buyers. This means you need to narrow your segmentation reach when running social media ads by using lookalike audiences or seeing which users take the desired actions.

If you notice that some customers visit your site but do not make purchases, it would be better to remove them from the target group or run different ads for them that are specific to them.

2. Optimize your messages for any device

It’s a truism, but I’ll say it again: your website, landing pages, and emails should be responsive to all devices.

If for some reason your emails cannot be viewed on mobile devices, ask yourself: “Do you want to target mobile users?” Check whether such users convert. And if not, then decide if you want to send them targeted messages.

3. Choose the right lead magnet

Review your list of lead magnets. You must understand that the same lead magnet will be perceived differently by different subscribers. Therefore, you need to figure out what audience you are targeting and check (test) whether you have chosen the right lead magnet.

Maybe a checklist would be better than an e-book? Is a swipe file better than an individual consultation?

Analyze each lead magnet, don't just look at the money component. Sometimes it matters how quickly your audience can use your lead magnet.

4. Warm up your leads

The main idea of ​​a marketing funnel is to send specific content to customers at the right time.

Don't expect instant loyalty, you just have to pre-qualify your customers.

5. Define goals and metrics correctly

This is where marketers often make mistakes. We look at meaningless metrics, but we should be analyzing targeted ones.

Do you want to know how many people visited your site or how many of them converted into buyers? Do you want to know how many subscribers opened your email or how many of them clicked on your sales link? Write down your goals and focus on the right metrics that impact business growth.

6. Experiment, test and increase conversions

Even if you know your target audience well, you probably don't know exactly which tactics will work best.

Instead of relying on intuition, test the success of an idea using A/B tests. What to test? For example, pages with a subscription form or thank you pages. Don't limit yourself to minor changes (such as a different CTA button color) as they won't have a major impact on your conversion rate.

The body of the email, the placement of the opt-in form, the type of social proof, the videos—all of these can improve your conversion rate and help grow your business.

Funnel - what is it?

A VD separating funnel
is one of the categories of laboratory glassware that can be used to separate different types of (immiscible) liquids and solutions, for example, aqueous and carbohydrate mixtures. Used for liquid extraction.

Device

Separating funnels consist of the following elements:

• Glass vessel, of different lengths and volumes, with an upper and lower hole.
• At the bottom there is a tube with a tap; its thickness should allow the separated liquids to pass freely.
• The faucet is glass, Teflon or fluoroplastic. The separated liquids flow out of the lower tube through it.
• There is a hole at the top, usually wide, for adding the reaction mixture and a suitable solvent. Diameter 35-300 mm.
• Lapped cork, ground.
• Sometimes, for convenience, the faucet is replaced with a piece of rubber/silicone tube with a Mohr clamp. The tube material is selected taking into account the solvents used for separation.

Some types of separating funnels can be equipped with a side tap to create a vacuum or release gas. Funnels can be supplied with a removable thermal jacket for cooling or heating the reaction mixture. Such shirts are indispensable for separating volatile liquid mixtures.

It is made from various types of glass; imported analogues are made from durable borosilicate glass. Funnels must comply with GOST for glassware.

Types of VD

Depending on the shape of the glass vessel, funnels are divided into:

1. Pear-shaped (cone-shaped).
2. Globular.
3. Cylindrical.

Funnels are also divided by volume (50 ml - 2 or more liters), type of glass from which they are made, heat resistance, material of the tap and stopper, and the presence of graduation. The larger the volume of the vessel, the thinner the walls; the most popular volumes are with a glass thickness of 5±2 ml.

To quickly lower the resulting layer, it is convenient to take funnels with an angle of 60°, a long spout with a cut off tip.