From a sales and marketing perspective, full-funnel marketing is a process, visualised as a funnel or cylinder, turning leads or prospects into customers and brand advocates. This process aims to capture as many leads as possible so brands and businesses can nurture a relationship with these prospects and funnel them into the next customer journey stage. A full-funnel marketing strategy involves the customisation of content and marketing messages, such as paid campaigns, to fit the particular funnel stage. This practice builds better brand experiences for all customers wherever they are in the funnel.
A marketing funnel usually has four stages:
- A customer’s relationship or journey with a brand starts with awareness or stage one. During this stage, a brand’s goal is to be the prospect’s top product or service choice when a purchase decision occurs in the latter stages of the funnel.
- Stage two is known as the consideration phase. This level is where brands educate leads on how their product or service is the best solution to their pain points and needs.
- Stage three is where a conversion, from a lead to a first-time buyer, takes place. More often than not, the paid campaigns from stages one and two influence this conversion.
- The last stage, loyalty, happens after a positive interaction between brand and customer. A positive interaction, either a seamless checkout experience or a product or service that meets or exceeds all expectations, can turn a one-time purchase into a repeat purchase. Repeat purchases allow brands to engage with loyal customers and build profitable and sustainable long-term relationships with them.
A full-funnel marketing manager develops the full-funnel marketing strategy and fulfils the following duties and responsibilities:
1. Comes up with effective strategy tactics for each stage of the marketing funnel.
Your full-funnel marketing manager should know which online campaign works for each marketing funnel stage. What appeals to brand advocates in the loyalty stage, such as exclusive discounts and regular email interactions, may not be well-received by audiences in the awareness stage.
2. Knows how to develop and optimise paid media campaigns.
An experienced full-funnel marketing specialist doesn’t take a set-it-and-forget-it approach when it comes to paid media campaigns. Instead, a highly trained and skilled full-funnel marketing manager recognises how important bids, target audiences, and creative A/B testing options are. Your manager also identifies different opportunities for engagement and knows which paid media campaign is best to reach customers wherever they are.
3. Utilises marketing funnel AI tools expertly.
There are many marketing funnel tools and software platforms available nowadays. When you have a great full-funnel marketing manager in your team, they can find the best one that suits your brand’s needs and business objectives.
4. Upskills regularly to stay updated on the latest marketing funnel tools and industry practices.
A manager who constantly and continuously learns new marketing funnel technologies and tactics can improve the efficiency of your brand’s paid media campaigns.
5. Analyses and interprets data and compiles them in a comprehensive report.
Your full-funnel marketing specialist organises, cleans, and studies the data extracted from your marketing funnel and paid media campaigns. It’s also their job to interpret and draw conclusions from the results and set up systems to track what works and what doesn’t. A comprehensive report should reflect all of these steps.
6. Collaborates with management on paid campaign results and uses the data efficiently for future efforts.
To meet your business’ monthly revenue goals, you need to know how many leads are necessary. By collaborating with your full-funnel marketing manager, you get a clear picture of the whole marketing funnel and how a prospect moves from stage to stage towards your end goal. Collaboration also allows your full-funnel marketing manager to identify missteps in the marketing funnel objectively and competently explain all of the data points and campaign results to you and your whole team.
Full-funnel marketing captures your customer’s journey from a potential buyer to a converted and engaged customer. Your in-house or outsourced full-funnel marketing manager can make this journey a very personal and relevant experience for every lead. The best full-funnel marketing specialist can also help your business achieve the overall objectives of your digital marketing plan and meet or exceed revenue targets.
