Engage, acquire, nurture, convert - The marketing engine that powers the buyer journey

‍Breaking Down the Marketing Funnel

‍For marketing funnels to be truly effective, the idea of a simple, straight path to a sale needs to be aligned how buyers actually progress through their buying journey. The reality is that the actual buyer journeys are much more dynamic; buyers might revisit earlier stages or skip steps entirely depending on their changing needs or how they source information.

At Everything Connected, we’ve refined the stages of the standard marketing funnel to ensure a smooth journey for our customers. We carefully respond to each shift in the buyer’s journey for a tailored experience. Our strategy focuses on securing sales, building enduring relationships, and ensuring client satisfaction.

However, to progress buyers through the journey you need to look at the four parts of the funnel process:

1. Engagement - using channels to engage buyers, whatever stage of the journey they are on
2. Acquire - turning potential buyers into leads
3. Nurture - progressing leads through their buyer journey
4. Conversion - maximising the opportunity to convert the 3% of buyers who are ready to buy now
   

Here's a general look at effective strategies for engaging different audiences:

• Content: Create useful and engaging content tailored to your audience’s needs, making your brand a valuable resource.
  

• SEO: Optimise your content to ensure it is seen by those looking for what we offer, increasing your visibility and reach.
  

• Social Media: Adapt your content for various platforms, from detailed LinkedIn articles to engaging Instagram stories, meeting your audience where they are.
  

• Email Marketing: Personalise your emails, providing curated content that resonates with each recipient, encouraging their journey with our brand.
  

• Paid Ads: Use targeted advertising to reach a wider audience, carefully crafting messages that attract and direct traffic to your site or campaigns.
  

To deepen that engagement, host webinars or meetups to allow for direct interaction. This will help build stronger relationships and share expertise. Keep your team informed and engaged so the completed work translates into positive client experiences. ‍

Strategies for Acquisition‍

Enhancing customer acquisition is essential for growth. Tools like HubSpot and Odyssiant can provide us with valuable insights into customer origins and interests. HubSpot, a marketing platform, identifies bottlenecks or drop-off points in our marketing funnel. At the same time, Odyssiant, a buyer journey mapping, tracking, analytics and optimisation tool assesses and promotes the content that leads to purchases. With this information, you can refine marketing tactics to engage potential customers more effectively, boosting conversion rates. This targeted strategy enhances audience connection and engagement.

The Art of Nurturing

Lead nurturing is about maintaining a meaningful connection with potential buyers over time. Through sustained communication and sharing content that meets their specific needs and interests, we guide leads down the pathway to purchase. This process is much like tending to a garden. By consistently providing water and nourishment - in the form of valuable insights, solutions, and engaging stories - we help our prospects grow in their journey with us, moving them closer to becoming customers. This thoughtful and attentive strategy guarantees that when the time comes for them to decide, your brand is at the top of their considerations, and you’re ready to fulfil all requirements.

‍How does the marketing journey help to make sales? It mostly involves improving sales materials and figuring out how marketing efforts affect sales results. In brief:

• Targeted Content: Content can be sharpened to address buyer specifics, encouraging progress through the purchase funnel.
  

• Leverage Data: Analytics can be used to refine strategies and improve engagement, tailoring efforts to what data reveals as most effective.
  

• A/B Testing: Conducting comparative testing lets you identify the most powerful versions of sales materials.
  

• Align with Sales: Ensure marketing leads are well-qualified and smoothly transitioned to sales teams for follow-up.
  

• Attribution Tracking: Find methods to link sales directly to specific marketing actions, making the best use of resources.
  

Through these focused efforts, marketing can significantly increase conversion rates and contribute to revenue growth.

After conversion, the journey of customer value management (CVM) starts. This involves welcoming new users, guiding them on how to use your product or service, and offering support to ensure they're happy. The goal is to build loyalty and long-term relationships by meeting their needs.

To sum up, each step in the marketing process, from first catching people’s attention to keeping them happy after they buy, is crucial for business growth. It’s about more than just making sales. At Everything Connected, we're dedicated to improving each part of the journey. We aim to build strong, lasting connections with our customers by enhancing their experience at every stage, thereby creating a loyal customer base and boosting our business in the long run.

Ready to see how a cohesive marketing strategy can transform your business? Find out more about the buyer journey or LET'S GET CONNECTED