Every great story follows a consistent structure of a beginning, middle, and end. What’s your favourite film? Now imagine if you only ever watched the ending. Would it still be your favourite film? Much like a story, a successful marketing strategy will guide your audience through every stage of the marketing funnel. This blog will help you understand the significance of the two most important stages of any buyer's journey, awareness, and consideration. Successful marketing campaigns appreciate the value of a holistic full-funnel approach and know how to lead their audience to conversion.
Let's outline each stage and why they matter to your business
The Beginning - The Awareness Stage
First impressions matter! The awareness stage serves as the introduction of your brand to potential customers or clients. People form formidable first impressions. This phase is your opportunity to craft a narrative that resonates with your target audience. Through engaging content, visually compelling branding, or strategic online presence, the awareness stage sets the tone for the entire customer journey. If your brand does not initially capture the attention of a prospect, and leave them curious to find out more, why would they consider engaging further down the funnel?
The Middle – The Consideration Stage
Now that we have their attention, it's time to take the user on their journey and set the scene before the final act. During the consideration phase, consumers are actively researching products and seeking detailed information. They want to understand your solution in depth—its ingredients, technologies, service differentials, and reviews/testimonials. They are also comparing your offerings to those of your competitors.
No matter how unique your product or service is, plenty of other brands will eventually offer similar solutions. Standing out in a crowded market isn’t just a strategic advantage; it’s a necessity.
There are many paths to explore during this phase, here are some key aspects to consider:
Become the main character to your audience: Your brand must highlight its unique strengths and advantages over competitors. Support your claims with customer testimonials, success stories and ads that showcase your top reviews.
Letting your story flourish: Having navigated through the awareness stage, you've now homed in on an interested audience. This phase allows you to delve deeper into providing specific and detailed information about your product or service. Tailor your messaging to address the unique needs and preferences of this targeted audience. Utilise detailed product specifications, advanced features, and specific use cases that resonate with their challenges. This approach not only reinforces your expertise but also builds trust by demonstrating a deep understanding of their requirements.
Set up for the perfect ending: By crafting a compelling narrative that emphasises your strengths, you guide users towards the decision to choose your offering, much like how the underdog rises to the challenge and wins over sceptics.
The End – The Conversion
The fairytale ending we all hope for, and the big finale… the conversion stage. Now you’ve optimised your funnel you should be ready to reap the rewards. Connecting the conversion messaging back to the awareness and consideration phases should help your conversions boom. Creating relevancy and a consistent narrative from beginning to end.
Don’t forget to Retarget: Don't forget about those who showed interest but didn't convert. Implement retargeting strategies to re-engage with this audience through targeted ads, email campaigns, or exclusive offers. It’s a great way to convince those left to convert.
Now you have the foundations, let’s look at some more nuanced optimisations to elevate your success even further:
Final Tips!
For A Strong Ending: With your funnel optimised, the conversion stage is where the magic happens. Ensure your calls-to-action (CTAs) are compelling, your forms are user-friendly, and the overall conversion process is seamless.
Know What Makes Your Audience Convert: It is important to take your customer through the right journey. Ensuring all stages of the funnel flow consistently from one to the next. Make sure your product is solving the right solution for every customer.
Analyse, Analyse, Analyse: Optimisation is an ongoing process. Regularly analyse the data from each funnel stage, focusing not only on the obvious conversion metrics but also on user behaviour throughout the entire journey.
Tailor Made: Modify your messaging and content based on user behaviour and preferences. Leverage the data collected during the awareness and consideration stages to create a personalised customer journey.
Writing the Sequel
Now you have a fully optimised funnel let's look at what’s next...
"My awareness ads don’t generate revenue, how do I know it is working": Awareness and consideration are hard metrics to measure. Your campaigns around these objectives usually won’t lead directly to sales. They will however lead to increased exposure and higher intent consumers. Take note of your total number of sales and ROAS before and after implementing a full-funnel approach.
"How can I expand my approach": So, you’ve trusted the process and like what you see? Diversifying your approach can be a great way to find new customers. Options at your disposal include increasing your budget, exploring different ways to target your audience or adding new platforms to your strategy. There is a lot to consider, your story has only just begun! Why not check out our blog on diversifying your digital strategy? It’s the perfect place to start.
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