Don’t Skimp on Your Entrance Exam
Every part of the sales funnel is important, but at the very top of it is where it all starts… with your top-of-funnel marketing. It’s your first handshake, you first opportunity to introduce your brand… what it represents, what it offers, the value it provides, etc. to prospects. It’s generally the largest part of the marketing/sales funnel and is designed to get in front of eyeballs, educate potential customers, brand awareness (for those who may not even have any awareness about your brand at all), and ultimately generate leads.
Remember, this is the first step in the customer journey, a journey that might not last more than a cup of coffee unless you invest the time, resources, and money necessary to ensure your first impression is a lasting positive one. One that piques interest, generates curiosity, and demands interest. Without this, you’ll never get to where you’re trying to go… engaging and nurturing prospects (middle-of-funnel) and ultimately converting these prospects (bottom-of-funnel). Not to mention that effective top-of-funnel marketing educates and builds the brand awareness, trust, and credibility (the valuable long-term benefits of top-of-funnel marketing) necessary to improve the performance of the rest of the sales funnel (higher recognition, engagement, response rates, etc., which ultimately lower customer acquisition costs). Without this, you’re essentially playing the Adam Sandler role in 50 First Dates… starting from scratch every single day (in this case… starting from scratch on every sale). That’s not effective and certainly isn’t a wise approach with your marketing dollars.
Focusing on and investing in the awareness stage is the key to making it to the stages that actually put money in your company’s pocket. Remember, you’re in the “discovery” stage here, so when it comes to your top-of-funnel marketing think educate, inform, value, customer needs, etc…. not sales. There’s a time for sales, but don’t skip “leg day”… do the work. Slide your way into their DM’s the right way and the rewards will come.
Whatever tactics your top-of-funnel marketing plan utilizes, be clear and concise, think high-quality customer-focused content, problem solving, etc. and you’ll be where you need to be as they trek down the rest of the sales funnel.
Need help with your top-of-funnel marketing? Get in touch with us at Beyond Direct. Whether you’re just looking to have a conversation or have us guide you through the entire journey… it’s what we do. Or don’t… and you can just try to thread a needle with boxing gloves on (please do let us know how that goes).
By: Christian Vergara | Vice President
