– Written By Amanda Milovich, Marketing Account Manager

The Marketing Flywheel | Funnel’s Bigger, Badder, Brother

As long as we can remember, it’s been all about the funnel. Everyone and every firm had their secret sauce to operating within the funnel, but the linear and cone-shaped structure was the holy grail of marketing processes nonetheless. 

It wasn’t until Inbound 2018 where Hubspot CEO Brian Halligan, metaphorically tossed the funnel in the recycling bin and replaced it with the wait for it….Marketing Flywheel. Circular, curiosity-piquing, and cutting-edge, the magic behind the marketing Flywheel lies within the mechanical function of its cousin. It is a heavy type of wheel that efficiently stores energy and can be used to increase a machine’s momentum. The same is true for the Marketing Flywheel. You like the sound of that, don’t you? We did too. That’s why we balled up the funnel and saluted Kobe as we tossed it into the agency archives. 

As you can see, the basics of the funnel are still present. They’re just more defined – draping the lens of the customer experience over each stage. The three stages are: attract, engage, and delight, which translates to the yellow, green, and blue of the Flywheel. Sounds easy until you have to remember to make sure each stage is centered around creating ease and adding value to your future and current customers. Remember this: what slows down a Flywheel (or any wheel)? Friction. Friction can be found in marketing messaging that doesn’t resonate with the audience, a confusing online buying experience, or being on hold with the front desk staff for 7 minutes. 

So what are some tactics you can put into place to avoid friction? Let’s address those with our SerenTipits.  

SerenTIPit: You can decrease friction in the attract/marketing phase by creating detailed personas of all possible or ideal customer types. Your personas need to be crafted based on industry & location but, most importantly, your brand. Perhaps you have a run of the mill bakery. Then your persona would be anyone because everyone likes cupcakes. But if your brand is edgy, your treats are vegan, and your name is Cutthroat Cupcakes, then your persona will need to fit into this unique mold. Your content marketing mix must be carefully crafted to ‘speak’ to these personas. If your head is spinning right now because you have a budding business and everything we just said scares you, fear not. We offer a full brand workshop that takes off of this work right off your hands. Learn more HERE. 

SerenTIPit: You can decrease friction in the engage/marketing phase by adding as much (properly working) automation in as many touchpoints as you can. Automation includes tactics like website chatbots, texting campaigns, apps for booking/updates, and email drip series. More and more, we are seeing that if you take out the need for human interaction in their early stages, engaging with your content marketing mix, people are more willing to engage and convert. Our client Bodify who is the #1 CoolSculpting provider in the state, sees 60 percent of their consults booked via text. Automate, mates. 

SerenTIPit: You can decrease friction in the delight/sales phase by creating a stellar customer experience. You can take a page out of our client, Drybar’s, playbook on this one. If you’ve ever had a blow out from them, you know what I’m talking about – they’re fantastic! From the ease of booking to the reminder email of your appointment to the luxury experience in the chair to the free birthday blowout email you get on your big day – these steps all set them apart in their customer experience. When setting the bar on your customer experience, set it Dry Bar high. 

Change can be scary, but we have learned to love the Marketing Flywheel. Our strategies are more targeted and effective. In turn, our clients’ customers are feeling heard and staying loyal. The Flywheel is the real deal, and implementing it will help you reach your 2020 goals!