The marketing funnel is a model that will last, even as digital environments change and new tools come out.
Even though AI, machine learning, and changing consumer behavior will change the marketing industry in 2024, the funnel is still an important way for companies to find new customers, keep them interested, and turn them into paying customers.
In this blog, we’ll go into detail about why the marketing funnel is still useful in 2024 and look at some specific ways to use it effectively in modern marketing.
How does the marketing funnel work?
The marketing funnel shows the customer’s trip from becoming aware of a product or service to making a purchase. In a traditional funnel, the following steps are present:
- Awareness: The possible customer learns about your product or company.
- Interest: This means they’re interested and want to learn more, usually by asking for more information.
- Consideration: The customer looks at what you have to offer and what other companies have to offer. People who have this intent are very likely to buy your goods or services.
- Purchase: This is the last step, where the customer finally decides to buy something.
Some updated versions of the funnel include extra steps after the purchase, such as retention and advocacy, which focus on keeping customers and getting them to talk about the business.
Why the sales funnel is still important in 2024
Even though marketing is changing quickly, the marketing funnel is still useful for a number of reasons:
1. It fits with how people think and feel
At its core, the marketing cycle is based on how people decide what to buy. Even though technology has improved, people still use their minds to decide what to buy. People don’t decide to buy a product right away after seeing it; they go through a process of becoming aware of it, becoming interested in it, giving it some thought, and then making a choice. Because the funnel shows this natural process, it can be used to help plan marketing tactics.
2. Personalization makes every step of the funnel better
In 2024, customers will expect unique experiences everywhere they go. Marketers can change their messages, material, and offers for each customer based on where they are in the funnel. As an example:
Content at this stage should be useful and meant to get people’s attention.
Here are some tips on the best practices…
- Trust is built during the Consideration stage with customized offers and in-depth product information.
- At the Intent and Purchase steps, personalized discounts and retargeting ads help people make a purchase.
- Marketers can guide potential customers through a more effective and personalized journey by adding personalized experiences to the different steps of the funnel.
3. Marketing through multiple channels works great with the funnel
Customers connect with brands through social media, websites, emails, chatbots, and more. This is because multi-channel marketing is becoming more popular in 2024. The funnel can be used on any or all of these platforms, so marketers can always see where a customer is in their journey, no matter where or how they engage.
As an example:
- During the Awareness stage, you can get people to know about your brand through paid social ads or blog posts that are optimized for search engines.
- During the Interest stage, you can give people more information about how valuable your goods are through email marketing or targeted video content.
- During the Consideration stage, you can keep leads interested by interacting with them through comparison tips or product demos on your website or YouTube.
- By mapping the funnel across multiple platforms, brands can make sure they meet the customer in a planned and uniform way at each stage.
4. It gives you useful information by using data and AI
These days, we have better tools and platforms to measure and improve the marketing funnel than ever before. By looking at how users act and guessing what they will do next, AI and machine learning are essential to making each part of the funnel better.
In 2024, marketers can use tools that are powered by AI to:
- Keep an eye on how customers act in different platforms.
- Set up automated personalized messages and retargeting based on where a customer is in the sales funnel.
- You can improve the funnel by using predictive analytics to figure out when a lead is most likely to convert and send them the right message at that time.
- Businesses can tweak and improve every step of the sales funnel thanks to real-time data. This makes the customer experience better overall and raises the chances of a conversion.
5. The customer experience is very important, and the funnel helps that.
In 2024, customer experience (CX) is a big part of what sets one business apart from another. When it comes to brands, customers are more likely to choose ones that offer smooth, easy, and enjoyable experiences throughout the whole trip. Marketers have to think about the whole experience of a customer from the first interaction all the way through to the buy and beyond with the funnel model.
Focusing on the whole funnel makes sure that you provide value and address customer concerns at every stage, creating a good experience that builds loyalty and encourages word-of-mouth marketing.
How to Use the Marketing Funnel in Today’s Marketing Plans
We now know why the marketing funnel is still useful, so let’s look at how you can use it in current marketing strategies efficiently:
1. Use content marketing to keep leads interested.
Content marketing is still an important part of moving people through the funnel in 2024. You should make your information fit each stage of the funnel:
- Awareness: Blog posts, videos, and social media posts that teach and inform your followers.
- White papers, workshops, and case studies that show off your knowledge are of interest.
- Think about using product similarities, customer reviews, and video demos that show off your strengths.
- Intent: ads that show up again and again, targeted emails, and free trials that make you want to buy.
- Purchase: emails after the sale, special deals, and reward programs that encourage customers to stay with the business.
- You can easily move potential customers from one stage to the next by making sure your content marketing plan fits with the funnel.
2. Use automation to make funnel management more efficient
There is no way around marketing automation in 2024. Leads can be moved through the funnel by giving them personalized emails, dynamic ads, and content that is just right for them at the right time. For instance, you can send a potential customer a follow-up email with more relevant information as soon as they download a resource. This will help move them from “Interest” to “Consideration.”
Businesses can also re-engage leads that have been idle thanks to automation. People who fall out of the funnel can be brought back by automated retargeting ads that offer incentives or answer common complaints.
3. Use user-generated content and social proof
Social proof is very important during the Consideration and Intent steps. Reviews, testimonials, and user-generated content (UGC) have a big impact on customers in 2024. Adding real customer reviews, product feedback, and relationships with influencers to your funnel can help build trust and move leads closer to buying.
Plan how you’ll use social proof:
- Put user reviews in a visible place on product pages.
- Share UGC on social media to show off happy customers.
- In your email marketing efforts, use testimonials.
- These strategies help you answer potential customers’ questions and build their trust in your brand.
4. Pay attention to retention and advocacy
These days, channels don’t end when the customer buys something. These are important, especially in 2024 when the cost of getting new customers is going up. Brands should focus on building ties with current customers to get them to buy from them again and turn them into brand advocates who tell others about the brand.
You can keep customers interested after they’ve bought something by offering loyalty programs, rewards for referrals, and personalized follow-up emails. Customers who are happy with your business are more likely to tell their friends about it and become brand promoters for life.
The marketing funnel is still very useful in 2024 because it works with the way people think and feel, supports targeted and multichannel marketing, and is improved by new technologies like AI and automation. Businesses can give customers meaningful experiences at all stages of their journey by using the funnel carefully. This leads to more engagement, more sales, and long-lasting relationships with customers.
The marketing funnel is still a good way to plan your marketing strategy, even if you’re using automation, content marketing, or social proof.
