Digital Marketing Trends (Part1)
1. Focus on your customer purchase funnel
It used to be that you could just post information in your local newspaper to let
people know about your products and services. Today, successful companies
need to analyze and create a customer purchase funnel, also called a sales funnel.
Figure 1.1 illustrates this point. It shows a sample sales funnel showcasing three
different levels customers go through before buying your product.
Leads - People who see your content or information: These people
maybe have seen your Facebook ad, but are not taking action since it’s the
first time they’ve been exposed to your company and need more
information in order to move the next phase.
Prospects - People who become interested but are not ready to buy yet:
These people are comparing options and typically need more interaction to
generate trust with your company.
Customers - People who bought your product: Your task is to identify
what special characteristics they have, in order to target these kinds of
people with your Facebook promotions, and to communicate with them to
try to get them to endorse your product to their friends.
Companies with products that have high transaction values tend to have more
levels in their marketing funnels, while companies with low priced products
have simple sales funnels.
A central component of the successful sales funnel is email marketing, since it
allows you to capture your leads’ information and keep in touch with them. You
should segment customer information in your email marketing tool or CRM
(customer relationship management tool) so that you know how many people
your company has in each level of the sales funnel.
How you can help customers move to the next phase
in the marketing funnel
Here is a list of items which help customers to move faster toward the next phase
in the funnel and toward the purchase decision:
- Give valuable content for free: This content can be in different forms and needs to be interesting and relevant to the initial problem that the customer has.
- Offer more opportunities for engagement: Customers need more opportunities to communicate with your company on different platforms.
- Generate trust and credibility: Share customer experiences and case studies. Survey your buyers and ask why they bought your products, and use that information to improve your funnel.
- Track results in each level of the funnel: Analyze the results in each level of the funnel and use that data to improve and modify your funnel.
2. Accept the fact that consumers’ attention spans are getting shorter
The strong growth of the usage of portable mobile devices and digitalized
lifestyles in general has significantly changed the way people consume content
on the Internet. According to several studies, consumers’ attention spans are
getting shorter all the time and companies need to adapt their marketing
strategies for this new trend.
- Make content that is easy to consume: Typically this means creating shorter content so that consumers can consume it before getting distracted and moving to the next thing. With content I refer to videos, photos, GIFs and articles, just to name few. A long form content still has its place for consumers who already know you and your company, but for most new potential clients you need to create short and interesting content.
- Make the beginning of your content count: The first paragraphs of your article or the first 4 seconds of a video are the most important, as you need to invite consumers to consume the rest of your content. Using questions in the beginning of your content normally helps to get consumers’ attention.
One strategy to tackle the shorter attention span is to generate content that is
highly personalized and relevant. It is also very important to learn how to
analyze the results and modify your content accordingly.
In general, the greatest challenge right now is how to capture and keep people’s
attention when they view your content. Smart companies are already adapting
their content accordingly and you should do the same.