A marketing funnel appears linear when viewed from a distance. The funnel shows the customer journey like it is a natural progression.
First, awareness should open people up to future interactions. In the consideration stage, clients begin to compare brands. Eventually, the prospects will reach the final stage of the buying process and convert.
The customer journey is not linear. Customers may enter your funnel but remain in the awareness and consideration stage for months or even years.
You can’t get people to buy things they don’t need. Why would a business buy sales software if it had just switched service providers a few weeks ago? You can’t force your clients to purchase unless they are ready.
What do you do while they are converting?
Keep your relevance. To keep your clients in the funnel, you must invest consistently in business development.
Imagine your clients as a herd of deer. They may not be hungry right now, but it doesn’t mean that they won’t ever be. It would be best if you had your hand and business ready to extend out when they are hungry.
Your potential clients may not need you now. You can’t do anything about it. You can, however, control your ability to remain relevant by investing in new business development initiatives.
Avoid these six “kisses that kill,” which undermine business development to ensure you remain top-of-mind even when clients are not actively engaged in your funnel.
You are inconsistent in your project management
Imagine that it is the start of the year, and you have developed a marketing plan with a number of innovative initiatives. Imagine you’ve produced a highly relevant episode but then decided it was too difficult and stopped the production. They might be disappointed if the next episode doesn’t come out.
This undermines your credibility. How can you expect clients to trust you when you are unable to maintain your projects?
You are doing the same thing as everyone else
Your business or agency will be doomed if it sounds and looks like its competitors. In workshops held by my company, many attendees claim to be a “full service, integrated marketing agency.”
Many businesses make the mistake of sounding exactly like their competitors. You should offer your target audience unique messages and selling points to avoid sounding like everyone else.
Your content doesn’t target your audience specifically
Generic content is likely to be the case if it does not give a clear impression of your brand and who you are trying to reach. This kind of marketing message might be perceived as haphazard or unfocused by potential clients.
Content should be written to address the questions and concerns of your audience. You won’t reach anyone if you try to get everyone.
There are too many niches
Many agencies and businesses tend to advertise that they are specialists in multiple niches. An agency, for example, might claim to have extensive experience in the beauty, wellness, and pharmaceutical industries. This could lead to a wide range of content that does not reach the target audience.
You can also focus your content on fewer niches and attract the right clients.
It would be best if you had more clients than you think
Too many clients reduce the time businesses and agencies have to spend on accounts that generate consistent revenue. You only need two or three new clients per year if you target the right prospects in your marketing (those who spend between 2% and 10% of your adjusted gross revenue). Your resources will be stretched if you grow more than 25 percent a year. So, only market to the right prospects and hire them.
Wait passively for new clients to come to you
Many businesses sit and wait for new customers to go through the door.
You may rely on word of mouth for a steady flow of business, or you might already have a strong clientele.
You should try different strategies and change your tactics to stay relevant. This could mean revisiting your marketing strategy every quarter or adopting a new campaign.
By staying the same or doing nothing, you could lose out on potential clients who would be interested in improving your business.