Marketing expert and top-level speaker Steve Kemish translates some ‘marketese’ and shows how a couple of words, used well, can enhance a brand’s marketing strategy and the customer experience.
Recently, I was at a marketing event and I overheard this: “My boss once threw somebody out of a meeting room for using the word ‘funnel’ as they pitched their business to us!”
Now, apart from wanting to know the company name, the LinkedIn profile of that boss and what ever happened to the poor thrown-out-on-their-ear sales person, this quote really did make me think about the much maligned ’funnel’ – the marketer’s ‘f’ word – and how its straightforward nature has led to its downfall and a fall from grace in slide decks and on flip charts across the world.
The problem with that funnel (or ‘waterfall’ or ‘ladder’) is that, although it’s a nice way to help demonstrate how people go on a journey when you market to them, it is no representative of how humans work or behave. But that still doesn’t mean it lacks value.
Of course, we all know that visitors to your website or event stand don’t start there in the ‘suspect’ stage and openly seek to move themselves down the funnel through to ‘prospect’ by proving they have a valid interest in the product or service you offer, rather than being a mere tyre-kicker. Nor will they carry on from stage to stage of the funnel in a logical, linear and timely fashion. We are humans, we don’t do rational; we do erratic, unique and unpredictable! Ensuring the customer experience is smooth and enjoyable enough for that customer to return again and again takes enormous time and effort, as every hard-working marketer knows.
But please, don’t condemn the poor funnel to history just yet. As some experts will argue, news of the death of the sales funnel have been grossly exaggerated.
It is described here as a visual aid that shows marketers how to convert leads to prospects, prospects to customer and customers to repeat customers. At the very least, the simple funnel visual acts as a starting point to articulate to others in the business the different stages potential customers go through and gives a basic and useful way to segment your content efforts, to ensure you have a balanced and even spread of the right content at the right time throughout that journey and across the customer experience. 
Content as the new ‘c’ word for the customer experience
It’s this lack of segmentation that has led to the vast overproduction of content (= the new ‘c’ word) and a complete imbalance – use of heavyweight, large content pieces at the start of the journey, little substance at the critical consideration stage and, all too often, jargon-heavy or overly technical pieces that the average consumer won’t understand, even in technical and complex markets.
So, as we turn our attention to 2017 and the inevitable new trends and fads, stick with the old a little longer – embrace the funnel (or waterfall or ladder or whatever you call this customer journey) and, rather than obsess about each stage, think more about how you optimise your content. You will doubtless have a lot of content around your business, albeit not necessarily in the right size/format, but plan to give even coverage throughout. That way, if a potential customer happens across you at any stage, they will see relevant, easy-to-consume pieces that they will want more of – and might just share with others. Take some tips from expert copywriters who have honed their skills – see here and here for ideas.
Content marketing has and always will be a good idea, so focus 2017 on how you make more of what you already have rather than adding even more to the pile – can you recycle, reuse or resize what you have? Here’s some inspiration for you to check out.
Steve Kemish will be speaking at the forthcoming MINT Global in Amsterdam (April 3-4, 2017): a conference that is unlike any other; offering delegates an unforgettable experience as well as top-level insight into the very latest marketing expertise. Places are limited, so book your seat now at this unique event and don’t miss the boat (which is a hefty clue about that ‘unforgettable experience’)!