Flipping the traditional marketing funnel
When we consider the traditional marketing funnel it’s easy to see why we feel pressured when it comes to sales.
We’re focused on what we need to do: raise awareness, get people interested, persuade them to consider us, convert them to customers and then keep them.
It’s all about us, and that’s why sales – and marketing more generally – can feel scary, intimidating or overwhelming.
But if we flip the funnel, we flip the focus from what we need to achieve to what our customer is feeling. Straight away, we become more customer centric.
Destressing sales with the Levels of Awareness Framework
The 5 Levels of Awareness Framework was developed by Eugene Schwartz, a copywriter, marketing legend, and author of several books – the most famous being Breakthrough Advertising which is where he outlined the Levels of Awareness.
Despite being written almost 60 years old, it is highly in tune with the core principle of modern marketing: That the best marketing happens when you meet your potential customer where they’re at.
It’s a framework that takes account of the extent to which your prospective customer knows:
- they have a problem that needs solving
- the solutions that exist to solve it
- which products can help and how
- and why they should choose yours from the other options
First up we have Problem Unaware: They are Unaware of a problem of issue that could be solved. Our job here is not to sell but to Educate them and demonstrate that there may be a better way.
Next comes Problem Aware – they are now Aware they have a problem but don’t know the fix. Here we need to Acknowledge and validate their pains. We can start to talk about the benefits of addressing them and hinting at solutions more generally.
They then move to Solution Aware: They are aware of the problem and researching solutions. This is where you can start selling your product or service: Show that you have a valuable solution that may be a good option.
Then it’s Product Aware, where they are Actively considering solutions and providers. This is where we can more easily Encourage them to choose our product by showcasing specific features.
Finally, we have Most Aware: they are ready to make a decision or have already converted to a customer. Here we need to Reinforce their choice by providing proof and addressing doubts.
How can we implement a simpler sales process?
Start by understanding the customer – consider each stage of Awareness and answer the following questions:
- What are they thinking?
- What are they feeling?
- What are they doing?
- What are they saying?
Only then, ask what opportunities you have to engage with them. Often, organisations start with an assumption that a customer knows what solution they are looking for (Solution Aware), so the tactics to reach them are missing some vital steps.
Look at the levels of awareness and ask:
- Which tactics will work best at each for your audience?
- What types of content can you use to engage them? (note: pieces of content can and should be utilised at different stages of the journey e.g. by pulling out different quotes or visuals to support a particular level of awareness)
To take the stress out of sales, we need to flip the funnel.
We need to take the pressure off what we need to achieve and focus on meeting the customer where they are.
If we focus on branded, product aware messages before they are solution aware or even problem aware, that’s where sales starts to feel like a slog.
If instead we focus on educating, acknowledging, showing, encouraging and reinforcing, we become an E.A.S.E.R., a facilitator rather than a salesperson, helping them make their decision by meeting them where they are at.
As Schwartz himself said:
“The more aware your market, the easier the selling job, the less you need to say.”