Do Marketing Funnels Work for Small or Local Businesses?
If you have looked into anything related to marketing in the last few years, then I am sure you have run across the term “marketing funnel”.
Marketing funnels have been made to look extremely complicated; arrows going a million different directions, accompanied by unspecified or big words, etc. The concept of a marketing funnel is actually extremely simple.
The top of the funnel is biggest at awareness, followed by interest and consideration, then it is smallest at the bottom for conversion.
I am sure many of you have seen graphics similar to the one found above, however I wanted to get into the underlying factor involved with what makes funnels work and what will not make funnels work.
The internet is a tool used by billions of people. These billions of people use it for 2 different things:
- Satisfying a need
- Solving a problem
Every single action that people take fall into those two categories.
Streaming a TV show or Movie – Satisfying a need
Doing research for school – Solving a problem
Finding a new Car to Buy – Satisfying a need or solving a problem
Looking up the phone number for a company – Solving a problem
Finding directions to a restaurant – Satisfying a need and solving a problem
There are millions of variations, but at the end of the day they all fall into these two categories.
Marketing funnels work based on how each phase of the funnel either satisfies a need or solves a problem. Period.
Marketing funnels don’t work if they are not satisfying a need or solving a problem.
No need to figure out the mathematical equations, the psychology behind what drives people to make decisions, or the analytics from one system compared to another system. It doesn’t matter.
What matters is understanding your client base and the needs they have or problems they face.
Next create a funnel that satisfies that need or solves that problem, and inevitably you WILL have a marketing funnel that works.
Marketing isn’t complicated if you understand it’s basic axioms.
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