How to Prepare for the Digital Marketing Funnel Evolution

This year marks the potential for exciting advancements in digital marketing. Among those changes is the adjustment from a traditional marketing funnel to an omnichannel approach designed to help marketers track and connect with audiences across devices. 

If your marketing strategies could use an upgrade, now is the time to learn about the digital marketing funnels evolution and how to capitalize on those changes to improve the user experience.

Understanding the Digital Marketing Funnel

A digital marketing funnel describes the stages an audience goes through before converting into individual customers. There can be many stages in a marketing funnel, but most have the following steps for sellers:
-Attracting ideal customers
-Demonstrating the product or service
-Explaining why a particular product or service is right for the audience
-Engaging with the audience
-Converting the audience by making a sale
-Bonding to encourage future interactions

On the audience side, the consumer goes through at least four basic steps: awareness, interest, desire, and action. In a traditional funnel, each of these stages is completed in order before moving forward. Ideally, customers will swiftly move from one stage to the next until a purchase (or desired action) is completed.

While a traditional marketing funnel follows four stages, an omnichannel funnel does not. The omnichannel experience eschews the cone-shaped model of the past and instead focuses on attracting individuals (not entire audiences) and prioritizes engaging with those individuals at each stage. In other words, the funnel is no longer a numbers game; it’s a time to focus on each person entering the funnel and building a relationship with them.

Common Digital Marketing Funnel Mistakes (and Tips for Better Results)

Many different events or oversights can lead to “holes” and “leaks” in a digital marketing funnel. Presenting a weak offer, not having enough leads, and a confusing — or worse, non-existent — call to action can all hinder the results of the digital marketing funnel.

When building a marketing funnel, carefully consider its setup. Is there a plan for generating and acquiring leads? Is the call-to-action phrasing clear, instructive, and appropriate for your audience? Are you prepared (and able) to make an offer your audience can’t refuse?

Use the following tips to develop a strategy for a more effective funnel. 

Get more leads – The first step to a successful funnel: get as many quality leads as possible. The more brand exposure you can generate at the top of the funnel improves your chances of making conversions, which can further build up your brand’s social proof from any customer reviews that trickle in. Consider a mix of long- and short-game tactics for lead generation. SEO strategies take longer to make a significant impact, but can reach a wider, more engaged audience; paid ads take effect more quickly and can appeal to people who are ready to make a purchase now. In general, omnichannel marketing techniques can bring in more leads and improve the chance of hitting your business goals. 

Create a strong offer – Audiences need a reason to make a purchase, sign up for a newsletter, or offer up their contact information. This is especially true if your product offering is expensive or considered to be a major purchase. A strong offer tailored to your audience’s needs and wants can help push them to do what you’re hoping they will. Give customers more value with a strong offer. Whether the offer is a low-priced service, a deep discount, or a trial period, the value of the offer is what may get them to take action. Make the value apparent by pairing it with customer testimonials, if possible.

Build a better call to action – Around 70% of B2B small businesses say they don’t use a strong call to action in their copy. That’s problematic because audiences may not know what they’re expected to do next without one. Using a call to action to direct them to sign up for an email newsletter or buy a product is essential. A good CTA is persuasive and creates a sense of urgency to encourage potential customers to take the next step. 

How to Prepare for Change

Since digital marketing funnels are more often omnichannel than traditional cone-shaped funnels in 2023, prepare to use an omnichannel approach yourself or improve your current strategy. Omnichannel marketing integrates branding, online and offline touchpoints, messaging, and more, all so that every customer has a better experience with your brand. 

Be prepared to offer your services across multiple channels and to interact with customers by tracking them across multiple channels as well. Create a customer journey map so you understand the stages of your customers’ journeys when interacting with your business, then identify which strategies best serve each stage of the journey. Leverage omnichannel attribution models like media mix modeling and multi-touch attribution to gain data you can analyze for better results throughout the year. 

The digital marketing funnel has changed drastically over the past decade, and brands that don’t keep up with the times are missing out on major opportunities to engage customers. The sooner you adjust to the evolving needs of your customers, the sooner you can strengthen each funnel stage and create an ideal customer experience. 

Now is the time to take your marketing strategies up a notch. With the ever-changing technology of today, it can be hard to keep up, so contact us today if you need support in this area. Adtaxi is here to help! 

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