If you’re reading this article, then you already know that marketing impacts sales. What you may or may not know is how cultivating the right marketing messages at the right time can significantly contribute to your success in capturing sales from ready customers.
I’ve got news for you. Marketing is a scam – well, it is if you are putting out things that have no basis or foundation. Unless people deeply understand who you are, and that you are in fact who you say you are, then your marketing is a scam.
The way to counter this is by planning better, longer, more cohesive, strategic campaigns that show who you are, who / what the brand or product is, and what to do with the product.
Last year, we worked with a client who has a service-based business and created a product teaching others how to build their own version of the service she provides. She already has an existing follower base, so she has access to a community of people. She even teased the product about a year before coming to us and had established an initial email list.
This year, she was ready to sell her products and wanted an ad strategy that would push initial sales. This was during the Fall, so we positioned the offer around Black Friday. We set up her messaging and gave the offer its own brand standard and identity – landing page, cover images, compelling ad and social copy, the works.
However, despite the amazing offer and the powerful visibility our ads generated, we realized more work would be needed to convert her high traffic to equally high sales. People had questions. They wanted more insight into the course. They wanted follow up information about the business side. They ultimately wanted certainty that their investment would not be a waste.
This is not a visibility problem nor a lack of interest problem. It is a lack of information around the specific solution and how it would benefit the customer “problem”.
In other words: This was not the passive income product our client had in mind.
In order to be mindful of her time, our strategy for improving her conversions needed to be highly curated for her. General ideas and tactics would not work. We would need to be able to demonstrate that while we had plenty of people in the awareness stage, and can confirm that a percentage of them were showing interest and consideration, our strategy now needed to focus on creating information that would make them feel confident about a significant purchase (in this case, as a course priced between $1000-$2000).
As such, we are currently developing an education-based nurturing campaign, which will launch in the Spring and coincide with tax refunds (a time when it will be easier for customers to make the investment).
As you build out campaigns and strategies to scale your business, it is important not to get frustrated by a lack of results, and instead get informed.
Your data and ability to understand it will help you make the types of decisions that can take your business from going into the red, to exceeding projections even in a down market.
Here’s how to PLAN BETTER MARKETING.
Know your numbers and know what purpose each asset and piece of message is meant to have and how it can be used to move people through your funnel. You’re also going to want to ensure you have a creative campaign in place as people are drawn to new ideas and concepts. From there, your campaign theme or big idea should be used through the various stages of the sales funnel to continue to surprise, delight, or entice your customers all the way through to purchase.
These types of campaigns, when done well, produce immediate and substantial revenue boosts by creating urgency and targeting high-intent customers.
We recommend using a Marketing Planner to flush your strategy out, but here is a mini case study of how an entrepreneur could use the 4 primary stages of the Sales Funnel to optimize their marketing strategy.
1. Drive Awareness at the Top of the Funnel
Case study: A fitness brand wants to create a summer campaign to capture new customers, re-engage past customers, and generate an influx of sales. He decides to create a series on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube of “Quick Home Workouts to Build Better Abs.” This campaign attracts health-conscious individuals, and watching or subscribing to the content brings them from the awareness stage to the interest stage.
2. Nurture Interest in the Middle of the Funnel
At the end of each video and in the caption or description, the fitness entrepreneur mentions a free fitness checklist to those who want to commit to a more routine practice. As people sign up, the fitness entrepreneur sends a series of emails introducing leads to his home workout program, while sharing tips, success stories, and offering free trials of his classes.
3. Drive Decisions at the Bottom of the Funnel
After several emails, the fitness entrepreneur decides to reveal a special discount on his custom, home workout program for leads that are ready to start building their Summer Body at Home now. This tactic is meant to drive immediate sales from people who need just a little push.
4. Encourage Repeat Purchases Beyond the Sale
After purchasing the home workout program, customers receive a brand t-shirt and access to bonus work outs. Plus, anyone that refers a friend gets loyalty points towards more free gifts and workouts. The fitness entrepreneur also decides to do a member spotlight each week on those who are succeeding in their fitness journey. The shirt is seen by the customer’s personal community expanding brand awareness, the incentives for referrals encourages customers to get their friends more involved, which supports conversions. Meanwhile, the member spotlight keeps current customers happy, engaged, and feeling like part of a community.
Marketing campaigns and sales funnels are not standalone strategies; they are interconnected tools that amplify each other’s effectiveness.
Campaigns attract and engage your audience, while funnels guide them toward making a purchase. When seamlessly integrated into the sales funnel, marketing campaigns can both amplify your message and also reveal opportunities for improvements in your funnel. By tracking the performance of each stage of your funnel, you can see which marketing tactic or campaign strategy is working and which needs to be better optimized or refined. Use these powerful systems together to better drive sales and achieve business growth.
Want better marketing? Plan better campaigns. Ask us how – 404-953-KOOL (5665)
- Plan Better – This is the Pro-Tip Every Entrepreneur Needs - February 6, 2025
- Three Tactics for Driving Traffic to Small Business or e-Commerce Websites - December 12, 2024
- Spark Creativity: Make Your Life the Content - October 3, 2024
0 Comments