You hear it everywhere in digital marketing today, but what exactly is funnel hacking? And should the ag sector be paying attention?
In this blog I break down what “funnel hacking” is and how it works so you can be aware of the benefits and pit falls of utilising it in your Ag-related business.
Let’s break it down:
What’s a funnel?
In the digital marketing context, a funnel is a set of steps a potential customer goes through before making a purchase. A good funnel considers the entire customer experience – not just getting people in the door.
A sales funnel in its simplest form moves a customer from A (knowing nothing about you) to B (doing business with you).
What’s a hack?
A hack today is better known as a “shortcut” or “work around”.
Funnel hacking in the online marketing context is taking a proven funnel strategy that’s working (aka funnelling customers) and drawing out the same components to create the winning formula for your business.
So, how does funnel hacking work?
Funnel hacking is the process of investigating the sales and marketing practice to “hack” a potential formula that can then be integrated into your own digital marketing.
Many companies track only the traffic, the users and the revenue, but it’s key to know what happens in between those things: getting the customers, keeping the customers, and growing the customers.
Only 3% of first-time visitors are ready to purchase, meaning traffic will not automatically convert users. This is why a well-developed funnel is vital for any online business to show you what path a user typically takes to convert a sale on social media or your website.
Wright Social advocates leveraging proven formulas that work in digital marketing today. However, we also know that each business in Ag is different and relies on fostering a unique customer experience to ensure long-term relationships are built.
We also know that the activity of comments, opt-ins and other “social proof” on a social media funnel (think contests or lead magnets) can look impressive on the outside but the funnel as a whole may not be converting. Unless we have access to the full data set, we are building funnels blind.
Funnel hacking is serious business, in fact some of the best digital markets globally are the best funnel hackers – they stay up with the trends and apply the code to their own projects. When things change, they change. There’s even a world-class marketing event all about funnel hacking called Funnel Hacking Live.
Learn from the wise words of funnel hacking expert, Akbar Sheik:
“You can take these formulas, but you have to melt your fingertips into it. You need to melt your brand into it and personalise it towards your audience to talk into your people, your prosects.”
I had the privilege of meeting Akbar in mid 2019. His point relates to the importance of staying relevant to your target audience and true to your brand promise. Be aware of what funnels your competitors are using, note their industry, audience, objectives and “results.”
Take down ideas, then look inward. Focus on your brand, your customer, your goals. Building a funnel strategy with your customer at the heart will ensure you lead with a value proposition that funnels customers for life.
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Do you know what you’re looking for when researching your competitors? Let us know in the comments below!
