Marketing Funnel Inspiration for MLM
A marketing funnel is the breakdown of the customer journey from “awareness” to “purchase”. A marketing funnel also includes post-purchase follow-ups which can increase retention and up-selling. Here we examine the buying process and how to create a perfect marketing funnel for MLM.
How to Make a Marketing Funnel for MLM
Step one is directing traffic aka audience to your page. You can do this by creating SEO-friendly content that catches their attention. As leads progress through your marketing funnel for MLM, your outreach methods should become increasingly targeted until you close a sale.
Quality Leads
Good content marketing will drive high quality leads into your marketing funnel for MLM, which will give you a better return on investment (ROI) than any “scattergun” methods. Wasting valuable time trying to convert poor quality leads into buyers can be costly. A purchased mailing is one example of poor quality leads. Make sure you understand GDPR regulations with regards to email sign-ups, data security and how you use those email addresses and make sure you have a policy on this. Ensure sure you sign up to the Information Commissioner’s Office if you are running a system which means you will be holding people’s personal data. Even a single email address is defined as personal data under GDPR regulations which came into force in 2018. Although this has actually helped marketers streamline their processes in many ways, as well as providing privacy protection for the public. There are many automated emailing platforms such as Mail Chimp that come with GDPR processes built-in. Make sure you do your research and that you have covered yourself legally. A good marketing funnel for MLM will filter out poor quality leads, allowing you to focus your attention on turning your good leads into many sales.
Buying Process
Interestingly we all act similarly when it comes to buying habits, regardless of product or the demographic of the buyer. The timespan, investment and complexity of consumer behaviour will vary according to the type of purchase, but the stages of the buying process remain the same, which you can utilise to create the ideal marketing funnel for MLM. The reliable stages of the buying process are:
- Problem / need recognition
- Information search
- Evaluation of alternatives
- Purchase decision
- Post purchase behaviour
Problem / Need Recognition
A person needs to recognise that they have a need that must be fulfilled in order to make a purchase at all. Consumer needs can range from simple and easily solved problems to issues without clear solutions, or even a wide range of solutions to choose from. Add another layer of complexity for any industry that the customer engages with but may not fully understand and they will need the skills of an expert to provide guidance. Expert accounting and financial services for your business from MLM Accountants for example. The first step towards creating the perfect marketing funnel for MLM is to make a list of every consumer need that your brand answers.
Information Search
Once a consumer recognises that they have a problem / need, they will search for a solution. Understanding the expectations of your customers will help you understand what makes them buy a product. Consumers commonly turn to Google, social media and forums to look for potential solutions and recommendations. At this stage they want information. They are not yet seeking promotional content. Here’s where you can position yourself as the helpful industry expert with informational content that helps them in their research, no strings attached. Which is the first stage of your marketing funnel for MLM that they will engage with.
Evaluation of Alternatives
Your potential customers will compare the alternatives. One factor is price. How long they spend evaluating the market will depend on how much they feel they are investing in this purchase. An expensive or complex investment will require more evaluation than something simple like choosing what takeaway to have tonight. What you are aiming to do with your marketing funnel for MLM is build value for your product. This can appeal to a range of consumer values. These could be a healthy lifestyle, eco products, quality or buyer status. These will vary according to your industry. Your MLM brand will provide you with the unique selling points (USP) of your products. Your role is to show your audience how your products fit in and enhance their lifestyle. Profile your customers and get to know your competition. Think about how and why your products will stand out and make content that presents that within the setting of a lifestyle that will be relatable for your target audience.
Purchase Decision
The purchase decision is the natural conclusion of the first three stages. The potential customer has determined that they have a need, they have researched their options, they have now decided which one(s) matches their need and now they are considering making their purchase. Your aim now is to help your potential customers feel confident in their decision to purchase your product. This is the point in their journey that you want to present them with content that confirms their confidence in their decision. Case study content that demonstrates the success of a previous or current customer is effective, especially when the new customer feels they can easily relate to the case study. Create case studies that reflect your subtly different consumer profiles. The main reason for the failure of your marketing funnel for MLM and your potential customer being put off at this stage, is encountering negative feedback. And finally their likelihood to believe negative feedback. For example, a few less-than-positive reviews online, may be brushed off, knowing that all Internet comments should be taken with a grain of salt. After all, most people only review products and services that they absolutely love or absolutely hate, but most customers fall somewhere in between and don’t review. However if someone they know personally shares an opinion of the product, this evaluation will be considered a high quality opinion. Word-of-mouth is very often the strongest form of marketing, because it comes with trust built-in. This is where your network becomes very valuable, because you should have access to a cache of consumer buying habits, so work together.
Post-Purchase Behavior
A good post-purchase experience isn’t content driven. The product simply needs to live up to expectations. This is where the after-care comes in. The process does not come to an end following a successful sale. After sales activity is just as vital as every other stage of your MLM marketing funnel. Clearly you will believe in the product’s credentials. But what does your customer think? Is it as good as you told them it is? If you have a great product that solves a problem, post-purchase behavior will take care of itself, however you can add value to their experience with a good quality follow-up. Under the right circumstances, a well placed introductory offer or complimenting product information will instantly build value and / or loyalty. But you need to gauge the quality of their experience, otherwise you could break their trust in you irrecoverably with a misplaced promotion.
Negative Feedback
If your new customer experiences disappointment after their purchase, they’re more likely to request refunds, write negative reviews and recommend that others in their social circles purchase from your competitors. So you need to have the ability to step in at this point and find out what’s going on. Perhaps you can help them with a little more guidance, or fix a problem like damaged packaging. There may be nothing you can do. If the product is a mismatch, or doesn’t answer their need, at the very least you need to understand why. Furthermore a sympathetic response or a simple acknowledgement could divert them away from leaving you negative feedback, which would prove damaging to future sales. While receiving negative feedback feels unpleasant, it is an invaluable opportunity to improve and grow your business, which is exactly what you need. Just be vigilant to keep out of the public eye as much as possible. Criticism actually provides direct and exact information about how you understand your customers product experience and how you can adjust your communications and improve your marketing funnel for MLM.
Positive Feedback
Your happy, new customers that are greeted by a thoughtful onboarding process, personal attention and all the resources they need to use your product successfully, are more likely to confirm to themselves that they made the right choice. And when they’re confident in you, your product and themselves, are more likely to repurchase and to pass on their satisfaction to others in the form of recommendations and product endorsements. This is the result you will get from a accurately tuned marking funnel for MLM. There are simple actions you can take to facilitate better post-purchase behavior. For example, you could offer easy to access customer support. This would be an effective way to step-in and head off negative feedback. Encouraging a satisfied customer to leave a positive review while they still feel invested in the buying process will help you build your profile and instill buyer confidence.
Fine Tune Your Marketing Funnel for MLM
Finally keep your marketing funnel for MLM finely tuned. Start off with some simple content marketing and then monitor your analytics to evaluate what is driving traffic to your pages, and what is achieving engagement. Adjust your processes and use the data to constantly improve. Chalk up any apparent failures to your learning process and keep getting better, whilst always building your profile and your audience.
At MLM Accountants We Know How to Help You
At MLM Accountants we can help you understand the best solutions for the success of your business. All you need to do is get in contact with us at MLM Accountants. Call us today 0203 237 2927 for help and guidance.