How to Build and Optimize a Marketing Funnel | Amazon Ads

A marketing funnel is the purchase cycle consumers go through from awareness to loyalty. Learn how marketing funnels work and how Amazon Ads can help with ... AcompleteguidetothemarketingfunnelThemarketingfunnelisacriticalpieceofthemarketingprocess.Itoutlinesthemoststraightforwardjourneycustomersmighttakeintheirpathtopurchase.Ultimately,themarketingfunnelisahelpfulframeworkforconnectingandengagingwithcustomersalongtheirjourney.Hereyou’llfinddetailsoneverystageofthemarketingfunnel,andhowAmazonAdscanhelpmarketersmaximizeresultswithafull-funneladvertisingapproach.Whatisamarketingfunnel?Themarketingfunnelconcepthasbeenaroundforover100years,anditspurposeistoeasilycategorizemajormilestonesalongtheshoppingjourney,fromawarenesstoconsideration,todecision,thenloyalty.Sometimescalledtheconversionfunnel,itrelatestothecustomer’sjourney—buttoday’spathtopurchaseisfarmorecomplex,andveryfewcustomerjourneyswillmirrorthefunnelexactly.Effectivemarketingcampaignsuseamorecomprehensiveapproach,suchasfull-funnelmarketing,designedtoreachshoppersateverystageintheprocess.Themarketingfunnelshapecorrespondswiththeideathatintheearlystagesofashoppingjourney,marketerscastawidenettoengageasmanyleadsaspossiblebeforenurturingthoseleadsthrougheachstageofthefunnel.Theaudiencenarrowsasyoumovedownthefunnel,andwhenyougettothebottom,youhaveshopperswhoaremostlikelytoconvert,andideally,becomeloyalcustomers.Whyaremarketingfunnelsimportant?Thoughthecustomerjourneymaynotbeaslinearasthesimplifiedoneexpressedinthemarketingfunnel,theconceptisstillimportant.Thedigitalpathtopurchaseisanythingbutlinear,andthedigitalmarketingfunnelaccountsforthefactthatconsumersenterandexitandmovearoundthefunnel,andtheirshoppingisn’tlimitedtoasinglestoreorgeographicarea.Withcustomers’abilitytoshopanywhereatanytime,brandsshouldthinkabouthowtheycanreachthematallstagesofthecustomerjourney.Theconsiderationphaseinthedigitalmarketingfunnelalonecaninvolveextensiveresearchandcomparisononlinebyconsumers,andisnolongerlimitedtocomparingproductsinstore.Manybrandshaveadjustedtothisnewwayofshopping,andembracedthisless-linearpathtopurchasebyconnectingwithcustomersinauthenticandvaluablewaysacrossthefunnel.Marketingfunnelsarealsoimportantforbothleadgenerationandleadnurturing.Intheawarenessandconsiderationphases,brandsusecampaignstoattractnewleads.Inthedecisionandloyaltyphases,brandsusecampaignstonurturecurrentleadsand,eventually,helpgrowcustomersintobrandadvocates.Digitalmarketingandthemarketingfunnelarecriticaltoconnectingthedotsbetweenwhatchannels,tactics,andcontentisdrivingthemostattention,conversations,and,ultimately,salesfortheirbrand.StagesofthemarketingfunnelThereisnouniversallyacceptedversionofthefunnel,withvariedexplanationsincludingthree,four,orfiveormorestepsconsumersgothroughintheirshoppingjourney.We’lloutlineafour-stagemarketingfunnelbelow,includingthestagesofawareness,consideration,conversion,andloyalty.Stage1:AwarenessBrandawarenessisfamiliaritywithabrand,whichcouldincludeknowledgeofitsname,messaging,toneandstyle,values,andculture.Brandawarenessbeginswithconsumerresearch,andinvolvesattractingcustomerstoabrandandhelpingthemrecognizeandrememberit.Thegoalistokeepthebrandtopofmindbyemployingrelevantcustomertouchpointsalongthepathtopurchase.Todriveawareness,brandswanttogetinfrontofconsumerswheretheyare.Thiscouldincludetelevision—bothlinearandstreamingTV—digitaladvertising,audioads,socialmediacampaigns,contentmarketing,andmore.84%percentofshoppersbegintheironlineproductsearchesondigitalchannelsthataren’tabrand’sownedwebsite,sothesetouchpointshavebecomeincreasinglyimportant.1Theobjectiveattheendoftheawarenessphaseisforyourbrandtostaytopofmindforcustomers,sothatwhenthetimecomesforthemtomakeapurchase,theythinkofyou.Stage2:ConsiderationThegoalofconsiderationmarketingisincreasingthelikelihoodthatconsumerswillconsideracertainbrandanditsproductswhenshopping.Marketingmessagesshouldaddressapainpoint,highlightaninterest,oransweraquestionforconsumers.Atthisstage,customersaretryingtogettoknowabrandanddiscoverwhatdifferentiatesitfromsimilarbrands.Brandsshouldeducateandinformcustomersintheconsiderationphasetohelpthemunderstandhowyourproductorsolutionmeetstheirneed.Examplesofmid-funnelconsiderationmarketingsolutionsmightincludepositivecustomerreviews,customertestimonialsandcasestudies,andwebinars.AmazonAdsofferssolutionsforthisstagelikeSponsoredBrandsandvideoanddisplayadsthroughtheAmazonDSP.Theseadproductshelpcreatetouchpointswhencustomersmaybeactivelybrowsingandresearchingproductstobuy.Stage3:ConversionThegoaloftheconversionstageistoencourageshopperstopurchaseaproductorservicebecausetheybelievethebrandthey’vechosenistherightsolutiontotheirproblemormeetstheirneed.Alsoreferredtoasthe“decision”or“purchase”phase,thisstepisabrand’sopportunitytoinvestinastrategythatwillhelpthemstandoutintheircategoryanddifferentiatethemselvesfrompeerproducts.Thisphaseiswhereawell-detailedwebsiteproductpageisimportant,aswellascreatinganexceptionalcustomerserviceexperiencetoinspirecustomerconfidenceintheirbuyingdecisions.Conversioncanbearelativelyeasystageofthefunneltomeasure,becauseyoucanoftentrackwhichadclickleddirectlytoapurchase.However,it'simportanttorememberthatcustomerinteractionsintheprevioustwostagesdirectlyinfluencewhethercustomersultimatelyconvert.Stage4:LoyaltyBrandscanfosterloyaltybyprovidingaseamlesspurchaseexperienceanddeliveringaqualityproductorservice.Byfollowingupandnurturingconnectionswithconsumersafterpurchase,brandscanstaytopofmindforshoppers.Positiveinteractionsduringandafterthepurchasestagecanhelpinfluencewhetherashopperbecomesarepeatcustomer.Withoutaplanforfosteringcustomerloyalty,brandsmayfindthatmanycustomersmakeasinglepurchaseandmoveon.Onaverage,itcostsabrandfivetimesmoretoacquireanewcustomerthanretainanexistingone,2whichiswhysomemarketersalsocallthisphasethe“engagement”stage.Tobuildloyalty,it’simportanttocontinueengagingwithcustomerswhohaveinvestedinyourbrand’sproductsorservices.Effectiveengagementmarketing,suchasemailnurturecampaigns,socialmediaactivations,andloyaltyprogramscanbeimpactfulwhenitcomestobuildingbrandloyaltywithcustomers.Attheendofthisstage,thegoalisthatyou’veearnedloyal,satisfiedcustomerswhobecomebrandadvocatesandlifelongcustomers.Caption:Therearefourstagesofthemarketingfunnel:1)awareness,2)consideration,3)conversion,and4)loyalty.Abrand’sgoalineachstageisto1)attract,2)inform,3)convert,and4)engagecustomers.Whatisthedifferencebetweenthemarketingandsalesfunnel?Somepeopleusetheterms“marketingfunnel”and“salesfunnel”interchangeably;infact,somecombinethemintooneterm:themarketingsalesfunnel.Inreality,they’retwopartsofawhole.Themarketingandsalesfunctionsofacompanyororganizationhavetheirowngoals,andtheirrespectivefunnelssupportthosegoals.Themarketingfunctionistaskedwithcreatingandmanagingabrand,generatingawareness,anddrivingsales-qualifiedleads,whereasthesalesfunctionisfocusedonincreasingproductsorservicessold,bothinitiallyandrepeatedly.Usingonetoinformtheothercanhelpteamsstayinsyncandcreateanoptimalcustomerexperience.Howtoincorporateafull-funnelapproachinyourmarketingThemarketingfunnelisahelpfulframeworkforengagingaudiences.Atthesametime,customerjourneysandfunnelsaren’tinterchangeableconcepts.Today,customerjourneysrarelymovedirectlyfromawarenesstoconsiderationtopurchase.Shopperscanenterthefunnelatanystage,orseeminglyskipstagesaltogether.Inotherwords,whilethefunnelisahelpfulframeworkforensuringyou’rereachingcustomersacrosspotentialpathstopurchase,fewcustomerjourneyswillcompletelymirrorthefunnel.Youmaynotbeabletopredictthestepsshopperstakebeforebuyingyourproduct,butafull-funnelmarketingapproachtakesintoconsiderationthevariouswayspotentialcustomerscaninteractwithyourbrand.Thiscanhelpyourecognizeopportunitiesforengagementandreachcustomerswherevertheyare.Anexampleofasuccessfulfull-funnelapproachisOsmo.Theteamimplementedafull-funnelstrategytostandoutinacrowdedSTEMtoyspaceandreachnewandexistingcustomersatdifferentstagesoftheirbuyingjourney.LearnhowOsmohelpedincreasedbrandawarenesswithAmazonAds.Full-funnelmarketingmeasurementWithoutmeasurementandanalysis,it’simpossibletoknowtheeffectivenessofabrand’sfull-funnelmarketingstrategy.Herearethreeapproachesformeasuringandoptimizingyourfull-funnelstrategy.1.UnderstandhowchannelsimpacteachotherAfull-funnelapproachmightincludeadvertisingacrossmanychannelstoreachcustomersatanystageofthefunnel.It’simportanttodeterminebenchmarksforsuccessearlytoadequatelymeasuretheimpactofeachchannelonabrand’skeyperformanceindicators(KPIs).Eachphaseofthefunnelincludesitsownsuccessmetrics.Top-of-the-funnel(TOFU)Whenadvertisersneedtogainwidespreadbrandawarenessamongconsumers,TOFUmetricsmeasure:uniquereachcompletionrateclick-throughrate(CTR)Middle-of-the-funnel(MOFU)MOFUmetricshelpdemonstratewhenconsumershaveagreaterlikelihoodtopurchase.Thesebenchmarksmeasure:detailpageviewsnew-to-brandpercentagebrandedsearchindexBottom-of-the-funnel(BOFU)Thesearethemarketingmetricsthatmeasurethepurchaseendofthefunnelandcalculate:returnonadvertisingspend(ROAS)customeracquisitioncost(CAC)ordersorunitssoldBycomparingTOFU,MOFU,andBOFUbenchmarks,advertiserscanoptimizetheirspendatallstagesofthefunnel.OnewaytooptimizechannelperformanceiswithAmazonAttribution,whichhelpsbrandsseehownon-AmazonmediaandmarketingchannelsarecontributingtosalesonAmazon,whichcanbeusedtooptimizecross-channelads.2.CustomizemessagestothedifferentstagesoftheshoppingjourneyUsinganadserverallowsbrandstoensurethey’reservingrelevantads,andreachingaudienceswiththerightmessagebasedonwheretheyareintheshoppingjourney.Forexample,abrandcoulduseanadservertocreatearuletoshowaudienceswho’vepreviouslyvieweditsproductadifferentcalltoaction(CTA)orimagethantoaudiencesthathadn’tviewedtheirproductbefore.Thisallowsbrandstoconnectwithshoppersnomatterwheretheyareintheirpathtopurchase.3.ComparespendtopeersVarioustoolsallowbrandstogaininsightintohowtheiradvertisingspendstacksupagainstanaggregatesetofpeersintheirproductcategory.Thiscanbehelpfulinformationtolearnsothatmarketersareawareofwhetherthey’reover-orunder-indexingonsales,brandedsearch,andothermetrics.HowAmazonAdshelpsbrandswithafull-funnelstrategyAtthispoint,youknowthatafull-funnelstrategycanbeapowerfulframeworkforgrowingyourbusiness.Notonlydoesafull-funnelstrategymakesenseinthecontextoftoday’somni-channeljourney,butadvertiserswhotakeafull-funnelapproachseebetterresultsacrossthefunnel,includinguptothreetimesmorebrandawareness,twicetheamountofconsideration,andtwotimesmorepurchases.3AmazonAdsisuniquelypositionedsolutionsproviderforbrandstakingafull-funnelmarketingapproach.Wereachcustomersthroughouttheirdailylives,withsolutionsthatdeliveruniquereachandrelevance.WegiveadvertisersthedepthandbreadthofinsightsyouneedtocontinuallyrefineandoptimizeyourcampaignsbothonandoffAmazon.ConnectwithustolearnhowAmazonAdscanhelpyoudevelopastrategytoreachcustomersnomatterwheretheyareintheshoppingjourney.1eMarketer,Oct2020-“WheredoUSconsumersbegintheirproductsearches?”2InvespConsulting,CustomerAcquisitionvs.RetentionCosts–StatisticsandTrends,Nov20203AmazonInternal,2020