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I used to joke that “creative execution” did not mean “killing a good idea.” Well you can certainly say that a sales funnel is not the place where every bad creative message or dead lead ends up. It’s actually a very useful tool to help marketers understand how effectively marketing messages and media are in driving actual (and measurable) results.Each marketing program that reaches out to new or existing customers creates a sales “funnel.” For a metaphoric example, the funnel can be a graphic representation of all the cars coming from different roads and different cities, different makes & models, and different drivers. As they get closer to the destination, they move from all their different originating points to a highway, then merging into a single lane. How many make it through to their final destination? How many give up and make a U-turn? How many cars run out of gas waiting to get past the line? How many have accidents? You get the idea.

The marketing sales funnel, much like my brilliant metaphor above, tracks all audience members exposed to a marketing message or incentive, beginning with the initial customer contact (ad program, Web site, search result, etc.). The funnel gets “narrower” as the user traverses a series of additional messages and tasks as they become more interested in what you have to say or offer. It culminates in an “engagement” with them; a fancy name for “gotcha.” You define what that engagement is but simply put, an engagement is the measure of your specific marketing program’s success). An engagement might include an “offer to register” for something, share their name or other personal data with you, download a trial version, sign-up or opt-in, or make a purchase. The art and science of helping the customer make that journey from the top of the funnel (the initial contact) to the bottom (the engagement with you) requires a high level of customer insight, allowing you to maximize your efforts at moving them through the process quickly and effortlessly.

Unfortunately, few companies deeply understand and anticipate customer behavior, often centering their marketing strategies around products rather than their customers’ desires, needs and expectations. Knowing your customer and implementing key strategies to satisfy those expectations can affirm your brand promise, affect their behavior and drive business results.

Deep, relevant and actionable Web metric data can bring your marketing picture into sharp focus. Online measurement and customer analytics is key to identifying and minimizing potential points of engagement decay within a Web site or online marketing program experience. Metric tools and analysis documentation should allow you the ability to make effective and informed decisions from the insight gained.

Sales funnel data should provide deep understanding into every element of Web-centric marketing initiatives by providing relevant, actionable knowledge regarding the media that sent each customer to you, individual Web visitor behavior, their preferences and incentives. This information allows a company to make smarter decisions on traffic drivers, site navigation, content effectiveness and conversion techniques.

By installing processes to monitor users’ activities and paths via the graphic sales funnel, from referring drivers (ads, P4P placement, e-mail blasts and other outbound materials), tracking metrics can identify phases of your user’s engagement and measure progression through those stages of the sales funnel.

Funnel tracking also increases insight into top customer issues, identifying where potential customers skip stages, or by revealing potential points of funnel decay where users become confused, lose interest, or have other reasons to abandon the process. Knowing where these points are can enable you to test different ways to encourage the user to “keep going”, or for you to improve the user interface, if instructions and “next steps” are not clear.
This is good stuff, and where you can earn big kudos by solving the problem(s). Strategies can be developed toward appealing to users’ interests, extending their online engagement time, offering cross selling opportunities and encouraging repeat visits.

Sometimes the answer is not so obvious, and you need to take further action by conducting a usability study. If you employ a funnel in your measurement process you should have a good idea where the potential choke-point(s) are. Usability testing may reveal additional issues and measures you need to address.

Thanks to the sales funnel, this important data can allow you to fine-tune your creative messaging, as well as media placement. It can also help you craft an online Web site interaction experience that speaks your customer’s language, supports their expectations, and drives a deeper, more fulfilling relationship with them.

Agree? Disagree? Have a success story? Have a question? Share it with me at: bob_chernet@viewmark.com

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© 2007 Bob Chernet
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This entry was posted on Friday, April 6, 2007 at April 6, 2007 and is filed under Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.