How to Apply a Full Funner Marketing Strategy for Businesses

In fact, many brands still implement marketing strategies that focus solely on one stage of the customer journey, without paying close attention to the other stages.

For example, they only focus on the purchase stage by actively offering discounts or promotions, but do not build positive relationships with customers, which is a strategy for the consideration stage.

Did you know that this practice is actually not ideal? As a solution, there is a strategy that is more effective because it can comprehensively reach potential customers at all stages of the customer journey, namely the full-funnel marketing strategy. 

If you don’t want to miss out on conversion opportunities at each stage, check out the guide to implementing a full funnel marketing strategy in this article!

What Is Full Funnel Marketing?

Full-funnel marketing is a marketing strategy that targets consumers at every stage of the customer journey, from awareness to consideration to purchase. 

In this strategy, brands do not use just one technique but combine various marketing techniques to keep potential customers actively engaged throughout the process, thereby increasing the chances of conversion.

Why Is Full Funnel Marketing Important for Businesses?

The only reason is that the customer journey is not always linear, unlike the marketing funnel. This means that potential customers do not always move sequentially from awareness to consideration, then to purchase. They can enter at any stage and have different needs or desires at each stage.

Therefore, a full-funnel marketing strategy helps target potential customers at all levels of the funnel while adjusting the approach to the customer journey.

For example, a brand can create TV ads to attract attention at the upper-funnel stage and use remarketing ads to encourage purchases from potential customers who have already shown interest in making a purchase (lower funnel).

Conversely, focusing on only one stage of the funnel can be very risky. For example, if a brand focuses solely on conversion by creating remarketing ads, it may miss reaching potential customers who are still in the awareness and consideration stages.

Similarly, if a brand focuses solely on awareness by creating TV commercials, it will struggle to maintain customer engagement, ultimately resulting in lower conversion potential.

Read also: How to Create a Content Strategy for Optimal Business Growth

Important Factors in a Full Funnel Marketing Strategy

In practice, a full-funnel marketing strategy cannot be separated from the following factors:

1. Brand-Building Measurement

One of the most popular traditional marketing media is TV advertising. It is undeniable that this medium can reach a large audience and evoke specific emotional responses. However, on the other hand, brands tend to find it challenging to track details of consumer behavior or assess the effectiveness of their campaigns in influencing them.

As time passes, there has been a shift in trends, with consumers increasingly watching TV via the internet or digital streaming services, such as YouTube. This gives marketers insight into who sees their ads and how the ads influence consumer behavior.

As a result, three modern ways to measure campaign effectiveness have emerged, including the following:

• Attribution tools: The use of log data to see when and where consumers see ads and the actions they take.
• Addressable TV and audio: Smart TVs and set-top boxes can track viewers of specific advertisements using content recognition technology. 
• Digital “brand fit” surveys: Digital surveys on mobile devices to measure awareness, favorability, and purchase intent on a real scale. This method can separate the effect on groups who have just seen the advertisement from those who have never seen it.

2. Set Integrated KPIs

It is important to link KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) in each marketing channel (social media, email, advertising) and funnel stage (awareness, consideration, conversion) with real business results, such as customer conversions or the number of leads generated. This way, companies can have a better understanding of the real impact of their marketing activities.

For example, if many people start to recognize the brand without assistance (unaided brand awareness), marketers can check whether this has increased website traffic and online product purchases.

Integrated KPIs will help marketers understand how different marketing measures interact with one another, as well as which metrics are most important to focus on. For example, if a brand-building campaign effectively increases website conversions, the investment will likely be profitable.

Ultimately, companies can allocate budgets and adjust their marketing strategies to be more targeted. 

3. Media Mix Model (MMM)

MMM is an analysis method used by marketers to measure the impact of marketing campaigns and determine how much budget should be allocated to each type of advertisement or marketing channel.

Traditional MMM has several weaknesses, including an inability to identify conversions and a tendency to be less detailed and accurate. Therefore, several solutions need to be implemented to make MMM more accurate and align it with a full-funnel marketing strategy. Some of these solutions include:

• Incrementality test: A controlled experiment that separates groups that do not see the ad from groups that do.
• Multitouch Attribution (MTA) Models: To determine which channels deserve “credit” for conversions.

4. Full-Funnel Operating Model

The full-funnel marketing model illustrates how companies should implement a full-funnel marketing strategy with full integration, rather than simply attaching a new strategy to old processes.

In practice, full-funnel marketing requires comprehensive integration. This means that all marketing functions and processes must be adjusted to support this strategy. These adjustments mainly focus on four areas, which are:

• Cross-functional collaboration: Effective cooperation is required among performance marketing brand managers, analytics, and finance teams.
• Incentives for full-funnel performance: Marketing must be measured and rewarded based on its ability to achieve engagement and revenue targets.
• Adoption of test-and-learn by brand marketers: Rapid test-and-learn techniques commonly used by performance marketing teams must also be applied to mid- and upper-funnel teams.
• Closer collaboration with media agencies and partners: Collaboration can be conducted for rapid testing and iteration, or agencies can be encouraged to create integrated ad buys that utilize brand-building and performance marketing channels.

Read also: 5 Steps to Optimize SEO to Build Brand Awareness

How to Implement a Successful Full Funnel Marketing Strategy

Basically, the digital marketing funnel consists of three stages, namely TOFU, MOFU, and BOFU. The following is an overview of the implementation of a full funnel marketing strategy in these three stages:

1. Top of the Funnel (ToFU)

The top of the funnel (ToFU) is the first stage at which potential customers become aware of a brand or product. Top funnel marketing strategies should focus on the needs, problems, or difficulties faced by potential customers. 

The goal is to attract the audience as much as possible with relevant content, but without a narrative that directly sells the product. Some tactics commonly used in ToFU include:

• Influencer marketing: Collaborating with influencers whose audience base matches the brand's target audience.
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO): The goal is to increase website visibility on search engines by targeting popular keywords relevant to the audience's problems or interests.
• Social Media Marketing (SMM): To build a presence on social media platforms frequently used by the audience by creating engaging content to increase awareness.

2. Middle of the Funnel (MoFU)

The Middle of the Funnel (MoFU) is the stage at which potential customers begin to consider using your product to solve their problems or fulfill their needs. 

Mid-funnel strategies are generally nurturing and educational in nature, allowing the audience to feel more confident about making a purchase. 

At this stage, brands can provide informative or educational content, engage the audience, and help them solve specific problems. Some tactics that brands can use at the MoFU stage include:

• Webinars: Educate potential customers on topics related to the brand's products or services.
• E-books or how-to guides: Show that the brand can help them solve problems by discussing relevant and valuable topics.
• Email marketing campaigns: Send relevant and informative content directly to the audience. The goal is to encourage them to proceed to the next stage, such as booking a demo. 
• Testimonials or reviews: Trusted social proof can increase potential customers' confidence.

3. Bottom of the Funnel (BoFU)

At this stage, potential customers are already familiar with the brand and have interacted with it, for example, by downloading an e-book or attending a webinar. 

The bottom funnel strategy aims to convert leads into paying customers by providing an easy, attractive, and convincing purchasing experience.

BoFU is the final stage, so it is crucial for brands. If you want to target potential customers at this stage, try the following tactics:

• Email marketing: Send personalized offers, special promotions, or incentives to encourage potential customers to make a purchase.
• Retargeting: Target potential customers who have interacted with the brand but have not made a purchase.
• Live demo/consultation: Face-to-face meetings to demonstrate the full range of service features and answer questions. This tactic is commonly employed by B2B (Business to Business) companies.

In addition to implementing the above tactics, brands must also ensure that the purchasing process is easy so that potential customers do not hesitate, for example, by providing simple instructions that guide each step of the purchase. 

Ultimately, a comprehensive funnel marketing strategy is the ideal solution to ensure your brand can reach, engage, and convert potential customers at every stage of their journey. 

To implement it, a good understanding of the customer journey, content marketing, and channel marketing is required, as well as integrated KPI measurement. Team collaboration must also be given significant attention to ensure the process runs smoothly.

However, if your business resources are insufficient, cmlabs has an All-in-One 360° Digital Marketing Service that is ready to help. The cmlabs team provides all the digital marketing services you need, from TOFU to BOFU.

Some of the services available at cmlabs include SEO Services, SEM, SEO Writing, Expert Writing, Social Media Copywriting, Media Press Releases, and many more. Furthermore, cmlabs also has specific and purpose-driven tools that can help brands succeed in the digital space.

Many famous brands from various sectors have experienced sustainable growth with cmlabs. So, let your brand be the next one. 

Contact us now to receive comprehensive information or consult with us to determine the most suitable services for your business.

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