MAD MARKETING TACTICS™ !: sales funnel

Showing posts with label sales funnel. Show all posts

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Mobile: Marketing "Cycle" Replaces "Funnel" - Paradigm Shift

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Has the marked increase in the prevalence of mobile marketing begun to displace the traditional sales funnel with something more like an iterative sales cycle? To some extent (yet to be determined) it has. If you are a smart business person, you will apply this knowledge to your optimal use. If you normally read The Mad Marketing Tactics Blog, you must be an early adopter, lest you be tossed off of my guest list for the annual Caribbean get together [which does not really exist].

I received the following information on a news briefing from the American Press Institute in one of their June mailings:

OFFBEAT
Mobile has made customers' shopping pattern an iterative rather than a serial process (Harvard Business Review)

With the rise of mobile devices, the traditional sales funnel is no longer applicable and is being replaced by a “shopping life cycle” because “consumers no longer go shopping, they always are shopping.” Similarly in media, a single delivery channel and time for news has been replaced by a personal cycle of news where readers are piqued by a topic, then explore various channels when most convenient for them.
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Following are some additional bits of information which tend to support this shift in marketing habits (consumerism) which much be met with changes in marketing tactics, marketing strategy and the media mix expenditure and market expertise focus and allocation.

+ Local mobile advertising expected to double in2013 (NetNewsCheck)

+ Media consumption in the future will be about simultaneous usage of multiple screens by consumers (MediaPost)

+ Choose a mobile strategy based on the quality of experiences and frequency of experiences (Harvard Business Review)

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In my opinion as the writer of The Mad Marketing Tactics Blog and of The InfoSphere Business Alerts And Intelligence Blog, I feel that this paradigm shift is real, and will grow in its dominance. the "fix" for sellers of services and products will have to incorporate the following aspects in terms of focus, emphasis and technological fluidity:

1) You must be increasingly mobile-friendly or actually mobile-based to accommodate the increase in tablets and smartphones. Your wares must be presented in a way that is friendly to the viewers' collective eye, must be easily device navigable, and must have a simple means to purchase and pay (with the necessary verifications) seamlessly and simply;

2) You must emphasize and promote the notion of automatic re-ordering, as well as the availability of text reminders about reorders and about sales, special events and new product or service developments. The idea is for the viewer/ consumer to have "things" that are automatically renewed and charged without thought or effort (if the item or service is not tremendously expensive) in a classical but technologically -advanced auto-renewal fashion. If the items are expensive or change from month to month, you must provide the customer with A) alerts, and B) a fast form [based upon the retention of a customer credit and shipping profile] to make ordering a select and click process; and

3) You must incorporate a subscription model and double-opt-in methodology in order to serve proven or motivated customers or clients rather than rely upon the rapidly-self-extinguishing model of the number of website visits and the percentage of conversions to sales;

The future of the marketing funnel is to be able to gain "subscribers" who become clients rather than to obtain potential one-time purchasers.

A sociological comment might be in order here; you might seriously look at having Millennials and your consumers who are tech-savvy be a part of your marketing tactics and strategy team, your focus groups, and your design contingent for product or service delivery.

As always, thank you for reading me, and for sharing these articles with your connections, colleagues and even CLIENTS (!) across you various social media channels by using your ever-growing arsenal of social media sharing tools and technologies.

Douglas E. Castle

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Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Marketing - Too Giant A Field To Be Covered By One Game-Changer: Time To Include Other News And Other Views

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"Marketing used to be simply the art and science of getting prospective clients or customers into the top of a sales funnel. Now, in this era of mobile communications, our job entails a new element of becoming a part of the consumers 'purchasing cycle.' The Holy Grail is to be the resource which your loyal customer has on speed dial on his or her mobile device, as well as to get that customer to evangelize and to persuade others to do the same. Successful marketing professionals will have to divide their time between attracting qualified prospects into the tunnel, and them getting them to incorporate our product or service in their purchasing cycles. The dream is to become the sole-source for as great a share of the market as is possible." - Douglas E. Castle

Something NEW!

My purpose in writing this blog is to provide readers with my focus, opinion and commentary on certain events, paradigm shifts, important trends, and possible future scenarios -- as well as ways to provide for them, either by positively exploiting them or by exercising the most effective damage control. My writing is for my readers, but it is inadequate in terms of comprehensive coverage on the general categories of subject matter being discussed. I will now offer you much more than ever before. And yes, cousin Frankie, it’s still free.

Henceforth [snobby word, eh?] I'll be posting more article links to this site, as well as whole weekly newspapers or curated collections of articles to this site covering interesting news items gathered from all media to provide every reader with a broader, better view than just my own. While my original articles will continue to be posted, these weekly reviews will lend some needed external perspective to the things that I'm speaking about, and will cover areas where I haven't focused my own attention as an author and an executive. I also feel that views which are not necessarily my own must be given fair representation. My readers are intelligent enough to decide which views are the most sensible, and who they can best believe.

As always, thank you for reading me, and for sharing my articles and other materials with your networks of contacts, colleagues and friends across the ever-increasing variety of social networks through your bookmarking, toolbars and other sharing tools.

A first sampling of this new information follows right beneath my signature and the list of search terms for this article. Please read it, and I hope that you truly enjoy it.

Douglas E. Castle

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