Print Content for Each Phase of the Marketing Funnel
What is a Marketing Funnel?
What was the most recent larger purchase you’ve made? Think about how you first heard about the company, and if you had bought from them before. Had you been receiving emails or postcards from them? All of these interactions you’ve had with that company, even the actual purchase, are phases of the ‘marketing funnel.’
The marketing funnel, or purchasing funnel, is a model used to show the journey a customer takes as they go from having never heard about your company to becoming loyal customers. Like every good visualization model, there are a myriad of variations on the associated terminology. Let’s go with the model that references: ACPLA (awareness, consideration, purchase, loyalty, advocacy).
Funnel Breakdown
Awareness -
Customer is identifying that a problem exists, and that it needs to be solved.
Consideration -
The point where the customer is learning about possible solutions (companies/brands/products/services) and is comparing them against each other. At this phase, you are working differentiate your product from the competition’s.
Purchase -
Final decisions before purchase are being made: customer is comparing available options within one brand and product line, and is actually buying.
Loyalty -
Customer looks to the company to be available for continued support and to get the most out of their purchase,
Advocacy -
Customer recommends you to friends and other contacts. (And the process repeats with each referred customer)
Interactions at Each Phase— Content & Tracking
Top of the Funnel - Customer Meets your Brand
Print content
Flyers and business cards given out indiscriminately
Banner and billboard advertisements
Point of sale signage
Digital & other content
Social media posts
Blog posts
Website landing pages
Webinars
Guides
Email newsletters
Television and radio ads
SEO and PPC marketing
Metrics to track
Website traffic
Social reach
Subscribers
Inbound links
Referrals
QR code scans
Direct landing page visits
Middle of the Funnel - Familiarizing, Comparisons, Pre-purchase
Print content
Targeted mailing
Business cards and brochures specific to customer interest
Catalogues
Digital & other content
Case studies
Webinars
Guides
Free tools
Webinars
Opt-in marketing
Free downloads
Educational blog posts
Demos
Metrics to track
Email open rates
landing page conversion rates
lead source
cost per lead
lead quality
customers
lead-to-sale conversion rate
revenue
cost of customer acquisition
QR code scans
Bottom of the funnel - Purchase, Loyalty, Referrals
Print content
Samples
Real-world freebies
Coupons
Tailored brochures and catalogues
Digital & other content
Forum threads
FAQs
Tutorials
Blog posts
Customer service content (chat, social media posts)
Surveys,
Referral incentives
Loyalty discounts
Metrics to track
Purchases
Shopping cart tracking
Recurring revenue
Customer lifetime value
Active customers
Churn rate
Net Promoter score
Referrals
Reviews
QR code scans
Direct landing page visits
Pros & Cons
It’s true that trying to fit every potential lead into this linear process is just not realistic. Customers often go back and forth at each stage, and each portion of a marketing campaign affect multiple stages of the funnel at once. However, visualizing marketing strategies based on the funnel model is useful long-term as far as breaking down each stage. It’s a great way to look for ways to improve and budget.
It’s important to understand the power of diversifying with print. It can increase an emotional connection with your brand and create a deeper impression than if you rely on digital marketing exclusively. Click here to learn about the ways printed advertising can bring your target audience closer to your brand.