What is a Digital Marketing Funnel?

If you’re new to digital marketing, you might be wondering why everyone keeps talking about funnels. People are drawing upside-down triangles for a good reason. The digital marketing funnel is a simple way to visualise how customers become aware of brands and then purchase from them.

The digital marketing funnel describes the steps that people take towards an action, such as purchasing a product, filling out an enquiry form, or subscribing to a brand. People usually become aware of brands, and then develop an interest in and desire for their offering before taking action. 

The marketing funnel is a popular strategic framework because it helps brands decide how to communicate with potential customers throughout their purchase journey. However, since the number of customer touchpoints keeps growing, there are mixed opinions about how the marketing funnel should look. Some people refer to flywheels while others talk about hourglass shapes. 

These alternative models aim to reflect the confusing and messy pathway that modern customers truly take on their way to investing in a product or service. 

However, we like to stick to the faithful funnel because it is a simple representation of the customer journey. It’s a robust framework that is easy to understand.

What can you use a digital marketing funnel for?

A digital marketing funnel is used to conceptualise how your digital marketing strategy will guide a potential customer from awareness through to action. It’s a planning and measurement tool that helps you stay on track with your marketing goals.

Essentially, the marketing funnel helps you figure out what message you need to send to each customer at various stages in their purchase journey. You can use it to structure your digital marketing campaigns effectively and encourage people to convert on your website.

You can set and measure goals at each stage of the digital marketing funnel. This helps you to figure out where you are winning or losing customers, and then update your strategy accordingly.

Funnel visualisations also help explain why the entire target market doesn’t end up purchasing and pinpoint opportunities to convert more people.

How to map your digital marketing funnel.

Start visualising the journey a customer will typically take to find your brand and purchase from you. Define your end goal (most likely a purchase) and plan the steps that your ideal customer will take to get there.

Top of the funnel: moving customers from awareness to interest

At the very top of the funnel, people are beginning to recognise a problem and your brand’s role in helping them solve it. At this stage, you need to identify your target market and figure out how to reach them. At the top of the funnel, you will be trying to drive traffic to your website and engagement with your brand on other platforms. So, you might be measuring page views, impressions, click-through rates, and engagement rates to monitor your success.

You could be sharing videos, blogs, and social media posts that tell your brand story. You will be trying to make your brand resonate with your target market and opening up receptiveness to future interactions.

Over time, your audience should become more interested in your brand and more likely to recall it when they have a problem you could solve.

Middle of the funnel: turning interest into desire

People who are in the middle of the funnel are now in the market for your product or service. They’ve encountered your brand in the past and are weighing you up against your competitors. At this stage of the purchase journey, you should be trying to help them make the right purchase decision.

They will be refining their needs and wants, and weighing up the pitfalls and benefits of the other options on the market. You should be helping your customers to make comparisons and giving them all of the information that they need to make the right decision for them. 

Customer reviews, brand advocates, and social proof help to build trust at this stage. Informative buying guides or video tutorials can also instil confidence. You should be highlighting your features and benefits, and showcasing how your brand improves people’s lives.

At this stage, you want to ensure people have positive interactions with your brand, so you might be tracking metrics such as time on page and bounce rates.

Bottom of the funnel: nurturing desire and inspiring action

This is the final stage in the customer journey which you have been encouraging people to reach. If a person makes it here, you have built up enough desire for them to make a purchase and become your customer.

Everything you do at this stage of the digital marketing funnel should be focused on facilitating and encouraging the transaction. You should tap into their motivations for purchasing and persuasively guide them towards making a sale. You will be using lots of direct calls to action, such as “buy now” or “find a store near you”. You might also be using remarketing campaigns to remind customers about products that they have left behind in their cart (as well as others that they might like).

If you highlight why you are the best solution and provide a great customer experience, you’re more likely to win the sale over your competitors.

Remember to nurture customer relationships after the purchase too. Loyalty programs and email campaigns should be used to reward customers, encourage repeat purchases, and spark positive word of mouth. Your marketing campaigns will be so much more cost-effective if you can generate value beyond the first purchase!

Structure your thinking.

If you have read this and thought that you don’t always follow such a linear process when deciding what to purchase, you’re right!

Human beings make decisions in messy ways. We have a lot of needs and desires, and our attention is often pulled in multiple directions. However, the digital marketing funnel is a great way for brands and marketers to structure their thinking.

It removes some of the guesswork from online marketing and helps you learn about how your customers make decisions. It can help you to build and run data-backed campaigns and be front of mind the next time your customer is making a purchase decision.