A marketing funnel (sometimes called a lead funnel) is a strategic and smart way to bring potential customers closer to buying something from or hiring you. Your marketing funnel helps move people from just learning about your business to becoming a paying customer—thus moving them further down the funnel.
The goal of a marketing funnel
Your marketing funnel is used to design and refine your customer experience. In essence, you’re making the most of getting someone's email to help potential customers learn about your business and hopefully make a purchase once you've established trust. The marketing funnel will help you qualify your leads, strengthen customer relationships, and (ultimately) increase conversions. Perhaps most importantly, it automates your marketing processes, saving you time and money—which is a major win!
The journey
The customer journey begins with your lead magnet. That’s the freebie that provides value to your customer and persuades them to sign up for your email list. It continues with them receiving an email campaign (typically 3-7 emails) that are sent over the next 1-2 weeks. The emails should tell a story and also contain information about:
How your product or service can help solve their problems
The impact your product or service can have on them
Testimonials or social proof from other customers your products and/or services have helped
Your offer because after nurturing the relationship through the funnel, it’s time to make the sale
It sounds straightforward but there are definitely a few moving parts to a high-converting marketing funnel. So let’s break down the mechanics:
Early Funnel - The introduction phase
Begin by running an ad and/or turning on a promotion pop-up on your website that links to a landing page featuring your lead magnet (a discount, brochure, PDF, checklist, etc.) that benefits your potential customers or solves a small problem they have.
But in order to get your lead magnet, they must give you their email on an email capture form. Once they add themselves to your email list, they are in your funnel.
Send them to a thank you page or send an email message that confirms they have signed up and gives them the lead magnet they are expecting—you can also tell them they will be receiving more news and offers about your business in the future.
Middle Funnel - The education phase
This is where you work to build trust through your email campaign, and the best way to do that is by giving them additional content that’s relevant and helpful. Good middle funnel offers (free or low-cost) are things like case studies, eBooks, webinars, mini-trainings, mini-courses or templates.
Focus your emails on the problem your potential customer has and how your product or service is the solution.
Share the impact buying from you can have: more sales, more leads, more money, saved time, less stress, etc.
Use customer testimonials/reviews and quotes to build credibility.
Pro-tip: Over the course of the emails you send, pay attention to the emails your potential customers engage with the most—this will help you get better at creating email funnels over time. And if you want to do more advanced things in your email marketing platform, you can set things up to segment and refine your list even further.
End Funnel - The action phase
The end of your marketing funnel is where you ask for the sale since your potential customer has been along for the ride. And if your funnel has done its job, they should be ready to buy from you. Consider a personalized email or even a call if you have their number (and it makes sense for your business).
Some good end of funnel offers include discounted pricing (that is time sensitive), coupons, demos, free trials—or just an easy way to buy your product or service!
The biggest thing to remember when building your marketing funnel is to always keep your customer in mind. How can you help them overcome their problem? What content can you give them that explains how you can help them better than anyone else? The best part about marketing funnels is that satisfied customers who have enjoyed working with you may become a super-fan who refers you tons of business—and that’s an outcome that you can’t put a price on!