9/10/2017 How Will Digital Transformation Change the Marketing Funnel?

 / CMO Network / #GettingBuzz

OCT 3, 2017 @ 07:33 AM 3,663 

How Will Digital Transformation Change the

Marketing Funnel?

Daniel Newman , CONTRIBUTOR

Exploring all things Digital Tranasformation FULL BIO
Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

Shutterstock

The marketing funnel goes something like this: Awareness, interest, consideration,
intent, evaluation, decision. Normally, marketing is responsible for the first part of
the funnel, and then sales takes over toward the end. However, the digital
transformation has changed — and is continuing to change — the roles within the
funnel.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielnewman/2017/10/03/how-will-digital-transformation-change-the-marketing-funnel/#51b197ac56f3 1/4
9/10/2017 How Will Digital Transformation Change the Marketing Funnel?

Technology has introduced new kinds of marketing tools that take the guesswork
and grunt work out of marketing. Specifically, and thanks to data and analytics,
marketers have a much more intimate picture of who their customers actually are.

Below is a summary of how technology is being used to personalize marketing

efforts for the customer:

Awareness

This step of the funnel is where you introduce yourself to potential customers. An
effective way to shine a positive light on your business is via marketing automation
(MA), which continues to play an integral role in the marketing funnel, as it is a
proven time and money saver. CRM software also helps put your best foot forward
by helping to segment an audience, perfect messaging for targeting email
campaigns, nurture leads, and evaluate progress. Employing personalized marketing
efforts like branded and targeted strategies make the customer feel as though their
voice is heard. Predictive analytics and other data marketers know who their
customers are and can predict who is most likely to move further down the
marketing funnel.

Interest

If you’ve made a good first impression, your potential customer has moved down the
funnel and expressed interest in your product or service. Analytics, while potentially
overwhelming, shed much needed light on our customers, showing us where they
are and what messages are likely to pique their interest. Data gleaned from Google
Analytics provides a wealth of information from customer demographics to what
they click the most to the specific keywords they used that landed them on your site.
Once you know who your customers are, it’s much easier to give them exactly what
they want. Additionally, a Software Advice survey reports nurturing leads by way of
data collected for things like targeted email campaigns results in 451% increase in
qualified leads. To maintain customer interest, don’t crush them with the details
that are still irrelevant in this step of the funnel. Things like price and added features
aren’t necessarily important right now, as we learned from Apple’s 2001 one-minute
TV spot for their new-at-the-time iPod. Rather than focus on how the iPod was
ahead of its time or would ultimately replace then-popular CDs, Apple played up
customer interest by simply saying, “iPod, a thousand songs in your pocket.”
Targeting marketing means less is more.

Consideration

https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielnewman/2017/10/03/how-will-digital-transformation-change-the-marketing-funnel/#51b197ac56f3 2/4
9/10/2017 How Will Digital Transformation Change the Marketing Funnel?

At this point in the funnel, marketers want to turn a customer’s interest into action.
To do that, they use predictive analytics once again to determine any additional
messages that would make a difference for their audience. With the information
learned from generated interest in the aforementioned step of the funnel, marketers
effectively transition customers from “I like it” to “I want it.” A Harley-Davidson
store in New York is a fantastic example of how using predictive analytics can
successfully boost sales leads. This particular store boosted leads to the tune of
2,930%! This unprecedented increase was in response to their “lookalike” marketing
efforts made possible by an accurate CRM system. To turn consideration into action,
marketers can also compare their products to the competition’s. Many sites give
customers the option to compare similar products of one or many brands. This kind
of transparent marketing essentially earns consumer trust.

Intent/consideration

This stage of the funnel is a customer putting an item of interest into their shopping
cart. Customers are intending to buy, and at this stage, marketers and the sales team
can use AI and chatbots to answer any additional questions. The goal is to close the
deal then and there, but if a customer leaves an item in the cart, marketers will then
return to the previous steps in the funnel. Even if a customer has left the site, AI
uses the information gathered — email address, Facebook profile — to communicate
the “forgotten item.” It’s usually at that time AI offers would-be customers a
discount or another promotion to lure them back in. And it’s no coincidence that the
“forgotten item” begins to automatically populate in Facebook and Google sidebars
as the customer continues to peruse the ‘net in search of a better buy. This kind of
personalized direct marketing is innocuous yet effective, and continues to influence
customer purchases.

Decision

The sales team takes over here to complete the transaction, but not without a little
help from their friends, namely AI. Predicting customer behavior and closing deals
is simplified by the 80/20 rule: 80% of revenue comes from 20 percent of the
prospects, and 80 percent of the pipeline comes from 20% of the campaigns.
Predictive analysis like AI identifies the 20 percent. Not only do we strive to close
the sale, but the ultimate goal is to earn buyers’ trust, effectively creating loyal,
come-again customers. What does that look like in the marketing funnel? It looks
like digital personalization, like a coffee shop sending en-route repeat customers text
messages asking, “Shall we have your usual waiting for you?” Using an IoT-
connected order history can improve the customer journey in ways we haven’t even
imagined yet.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielnewman/2017/10/03/how-will-digital-transformation-change-the-marketing-funnel/#51b197ac56f3 3/4
9/10/2017 How Will Digital Transformation Change the Marketing Funnel?

Digital transformation continues to change the marketing funnel, customizing the

buyer’s experience at every turn. To effectively measure success, marketers must
create data-driven metrics that, above all else, view customer feedback an invaluable
part. Embracing the right technology allows marketing strategies to educate and
inspire customers, creating a lasting, loyal customer base.

Daniel Newman is CEO of Broadsuite Media Group, principal analyst at Futurum
and author of Futureproof.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielnewman/2017/10/03/how-will-digital-transformation-change-the-marketing-funnel/#51b197ac56f3 4/4