You already know the standard marketing funnel right? The one that looks like an inverted pyramid.
The top is whatever you need to do to attract people. The middle is following up and provide reasons to buy. The end is where people get persuaded to buy.
Looks something like this:
Even today, people still use this funnel. It’s simple, uncomplicated. There is a very big flaw on it though.
See that bottom part? Once people become customers, they get shot through the bottom into nothingness.
You go through all this effort to attract them, all this time and money to get them to buy. When they finally do, you get a nice paycheck, you pat yourself on the back, and off to attract someone else.
What happens to the customer once they become a customer?
A lot of people seem to forget that this money exchange means they decided to trust you.
Trust in what you sell, in what you say. How are you repaying that trust?
Businesses keep hoping once they become customers, that they will keep coming back. That they will magically remember you next time they need something.
Modern marketing doesn’t look at this that simply anymore. Modern customers want more value. They want their money to go further…
Then one day, the mighty Hubspot came to the rescue with a completely innovative way to look at the funnel.
The New Marketing Funnel – The Flywheel
They adapted the funnel and went one step further, they decided to make customers part of the model.
Now things don’t end when they become customers. You now want to make customers into promoters.
As people become promoters, they start attracting strangers to your business. Those strangers become prospects, then customers, then promoters,etc…. you get the idea.
It never ends, and that’s good for customers.
This way, you never have a weak section in your marketing funnel. You are always talking and engaging with your audience to bring them into the next step.
The more promoters you get, the cheaper your marketing becomes because they start promoting you by default.
Your funnel starts being fed more organically, which gives you extra time and money to do more, develop more. Make your business even stronger.
I want you to take a look at the flywheel again after reading this, and really think if your marketing funnel fits this modern way of doing things.
Promoters are the people that subscribe to your way of thinking, your way of doing business, or love your product that much. So much so that they will tell other people about you.
You have to able to express and excel at at least one of those things.
You can have an affiliate program, or teach something you fervently believe in. There’s tons of ideas once you decide what you want to do with your customers.
You have to be able to give customers a reason to become promoter of yours. It needs to feel worth it for them.
The inner circle of the flywheel is where your marketing lies.
There are 3 things you want to do in your marketing: Attract, Engage, and Delight…
How are you attracting people? How are you engaging those prospects? How are you delighting them throughout their purchase journey that makes them tell other people about you and come back?
Here is an easy graphic to understand the 3 stages:
What is your business doing to make customers into promoters? Leave a comment below and let’s chat about it 🙂