Why Your Customers Are Getting Lost in Your Marketing Funnel
The chase is on.
As the blue-tick hound picks up the scent of the game he’s been trained to go after, he begins his hunt.
Racing through the thick of the woods, his nose just inches above the cool, damp dirt below him, he follows the trail, confidently guided by the familiar scent.
As the scent grows stronger, he picks up speed.
He knows he’s close.
Rounding the corner, he’s cut off by a stream.
The scent is lost over the water.
He’s confused. Puzzled. He’s not ready to give up, but he’s not sure what to do.
Should he backtrack? Try to pick up another trail? Swim across?
What would you do? Or rather, what would your customers or clients do?
In the business world, the dog is your customer. On the chase to solve their problem, make a purchase, or get the results they’re looking for.
You have what they’re looking for, and your marketing funnel carries the scent that leads them to you.
The Marketing Funnel: Follow the Scent
Pay-per-click ads create a scent trail that guides customers to a landing page. It’s an essential part of any marketing funnel.
Landing pages direct users to your email list.
Email drips turn prospects into qualified leads.
Let’s say you’re running a PPC ad, like this real example we pulled from Google, that says “Get Up to $100 Off Your Tire Purchase!” but the landing page that ad leads to says “Buy 3 Tires Get One Free!”
These are offering the same deal, but the messaging is inconsistent and confusing.
Moving along this consumer journey ourselves, we were confused. Do we get $100 off or a free tire? Is the deal only for Cooper Adventure brand tires or do we get $100 off any tire brand?
Just like the dog that lost the trail at the stream, your potential customer now has to decide where to go from here.
Should they click the back button? Try the next search result? Go to a competitor?
If you’re like us, you just went to the next search result that offered you the same deal in both the ad and landing page.
Wherever you want your target audience to go, the general hope is that they keep taking steps in the right direction.
Be Consistent To Help Customers Follow the Trail to Your Marketing Funnel
Consistent messaging is how you keep them on the right path.
When it comes to your marketing funnel, consistent messaging is key.
From the first interaction to the last, you’ve got to provide a strong, consistent scent trail for your customers to follow.
But how?
What does it take to develop consistent messaging and keep your customer following the scent trail to the end?
Don’t worry, we’ve got the answers for you below.
How To Create Marketing Messaging That Works Within Your Marketing Funnel
What does it take to develop consistent messaging? To keep consumers moving through your funnel all the way to the end?
There are 3 keys to marketing messages that work.
Know What Your Customers Need to Believe
More specifically, you need to understand what your customers need to believe to buy from your company. It’s an important step on their journey through your marketing funnel.
For example, at a minimum they have to believe they have a problem and that you can solve it. But they also have to believe that they can afford it. And that you’re the best choice.
- Can they trust you?
- Do you have the expertise needed to get the job done?
- Will you do it on time and on budget?
- Will they look good to their boss or co-workers?
- Is it risky? Or does working with you eliminate risk?
Every business is different. Every offering within your business is different. And you may have a variety of target audiences.
Gear Your Message to Your Target Audience
The key here is that you take time to understand the 3-5 most important things that your target audience needs to believe to purchase your specific product or service.
For example, in working with Pinnacle Trailer Sales, we uncovered the following things that are critical for their customers to believe:
- Pinnacle has knowledgeable, in-house industry experts
- Pinnacle has versatile, innovative, and high-quality equipment in stock
- They can afford Pinnacle’s trailers
- They can trust Pinnacle to sell them a good trailer
- Pinnacle is interested in a genuine relationship with them
Now, think about what’s NOT on that list:
- How many years in business.
- How many employees.
- What their building looks like or how many square feet it is.
- And it certainly doesn’t matter where the c-suite went to college or what the landscaping looks like.
Yet, most of the time companies focus on these things. Things that don’t actually matter to the customer.
So, take time to figure out what these 3-5 points should be for your business.
Choose How and Where You Should Promote Your Message
After you’ve established what your potential customers need to believe, the next step is to decide how and where you can tell them.
For Pinnacle Trailers, this meant creating PPC ads. Ads with language that emphasizes that their employees are industry experts, that they have a large, versatile line of trailers in stock, and that they have real people who are ready to chat with callers at any time or show them around the lot in person.
These ads are placed on major websites that their target audience visits, on social media, and other relevant platforms. Relevant messages are also shared via email, phone calls, and in-person meetings.
Typically, using a mix of mediums works best. So, find out where your target audience is, how you should convey your message for each channel, and start sharing your ideas with potential customers.
Make Sure Your Message is Consistent Throughout Your Business and the Different Mediums and Channels You Picked in Step 2
It seems obvious, but the intentional execution of this step is critical to your overall success in establishing consistent messaging and moving consumers through the sale cycle.
For Pinnacle Trailer Sales, their MVP assessment is a crucial part of the sales process. It allows them to understand their customer’s business, and ensure that they provide the best possible trailer for every job or need.
The MVP Assessment is often promoted via PPC ads, so it’s critical that the operator that answers the phone mentions the MVP Assessment. Otherwise, the scent trail is lost, and the customer may be confused or frustrated.
Repeating core messages through multiple mediums lets the customer know they’re in the right place, and keeps them moving along their customer journey from PPC Ad -> Website -> Sales Call -> Visiting the facility in person.
Properly communicating your messaging to everyone on your team will ensure that the ideas you’re trying to land with consumers are shared via your visual content, used in sales conversations, included in your email campaigns, and used as the core messaging in ads and other outlets.
How We Ensure Your Customers Don’t Lose the “Scent” to Your Marketing Funnel
At Proclaim, we use a reliable, proven method of developing memorable and effective messages.
This process is backed up by decades of research and involves us collaborating directly with our clients to uncover the core problem their customers have, understand what they need to believe to make a purchase, and determine where and how these insights should be shared.
If you have questions about how to do this for your own company, or if you’d like to learn more about our process and methodology, please don’t hesitate to give us a call!
