Something I love about Gen Z is their ability to take complicated, even intimidating concepts and give them simple, straightforward, and almost “cute” names. Take “sales funnels” or “marketing funnels” as an example.
This concept has been around for centuries, ever since humans began doing business. In the corporate world, they’re called Customer Conversion Journey, or Sales Acquisition Process, complicated, buttoned-up terms.
Then, Gen Z comes along and says, “Well, this is just a funnel. It looks like a funnel, acts like a funnel, so let’s just call it a funnel.” 🙂
This straightforward renaming is fantastic because it makes the process more practical, down-to-earth, and easier to implement, but there’s a downside. Sometimes when we give old concepts new names, we refresh them, but we might mislead ourselves into thinking we’ve invented them.
Essentially we might be reinventing the wheel. The danger here is we might not take the time to learn from those who’ve come before us because we believe we’ve come up with something totally new.
The Historical Context of Sales Funnels
Sales funnels, customer acquisition journeys—whatever you want to call them—have existed in the ancient marketplaces of Egypt, Rome and China. Merchants used certain psychological principles to attract customers and close sales. In medieval times, town criers acted as a form of top-of-funnel marketing, drawing attention to local businesses and events.
Understanding these historical roots can provide valuable insights into the psychology that humans have used throughout history to run successful marketing or sales funnels. By examining these time-tested principles, we can apply them more effectively in our modern digital landscape.
The Street Vendor’s Sales Funnel
Let’s consider an offline example: a street vendor. The vendor sets up their merchandise on a table in a busy metro station, where hundreds, if not thousands, of people pass by every day. This crowd represents the top of the funnel.
As people move along, some might glance at the merchandise or even make eye contact with the vendor. That’s the beginning of a sales lead. At that moment, the street vendor greets the person, aiming to create what you might call a pattern interrupt. Among the thousands of passersby, this one person, has signaled interest and the vendor’s greeting interrupts the passerby’s pattern, shifting them from just another face in the crowd to a potential customer.
The Psychology of Modern Sales Funnels
When we think about modern sales funnels and processes, the approach can be broken down into several key steps that mirror the actions of our street vendor. Let’s explore each step and see how it applies to both traditional and digital marketing:
1. Targeted Positioning in a High-Traffic Area
Just like the street vendor chooses a busy metro station with thousands of passersby, you need to position your business or platform where your target audience is most active. In the digital world, this might mean optimizing your website for search engines or running targeted ads on social media platforms frequented by your ideal customers.
2. Recognizing and Encouraging Signals of Interest
As people pass by, some may glance at the merchandise or make eye contact with the vendor. In the digital world, this could be someone clicking on your ad, visiting your website, or engaging with your social media posts. It’s essential to recognize these signals and even create opportunities for your potential customers to signal their interest. This could be a simple call-to-action buttons or interactive content that gives your potential customers the opportunity to like, comment or send you a message.
3. Capturing Attention with a Pattern Interrupt
When street vendors greet and engage people, they’re interrupting their usual flow and turn a passerby into a potential customer. Your sales funnel should include an attention-grabbing element that disrupts the customer’s usual browsing behavior. This could be a striking headline, a pop-up offer or an unusual value proposition that makes them stop and take notice.
4. Deepening Engagement Through Personalization
After capturing their attention, the vendor engages the customer by directing them toward specific products based on their interest. Similarly, your engagement should guide your customers to a product or service they’ve expressed interest in . It needs to be personalized, making the interaction relevant to the customer’s specific needs. This might involve using data-driven recommendations or tailoring your email marketing content based on your subscribers’ behavior.
5. Actively Understanding Customer Interests and Needs
The vendor continues to assess and adapt based on the customer’s responses. If these sunglasses are too big, they’ll offer you another pair. If those are too expensive they’ll show you slightly cheaper alternatives.
In your funnel, you’ll need to actively listen and observe to better understand what your customers are looking for, tailoring your approach as you go. This could involve analyzing user behavior on your website, conducting surveys, or using AI-powered chatbots to gather insights.
6. Presenting Clear Offers at the Right Time
When the customer shows significant interest, often by initiating bargaining, the vendor makes a clear offer. Online, you should be transparent and direct with your offers. If you’ve put in the effort to understand your customer and qualify them, you should not be hiding your price behind clicks and sign-up forms. By this time you should be confident that those who’ve made it so far, are not going to be driven away by your price, simply because your solution (product or service) is such a good fit. Present a clear offer at the moment the customer is ready to buy. This might mean having clear pricing labels or “add to cart” buttons.
7. Offering Tiered Value Options
The vendor might offer different price points or bundled products to match the customer’s budget. Providing multiple options allows customers to choose what best fits their needs and financial situation. In the digital realm, this could translate to offering different subscription tiers or product bundles to cater to various customer segments.
8. Building Trust and Maintaining Consistency
Trust is built through transparency and consistency. Just as the vendor is candid about their offer and product details, your interactions should always be clear and honest, reinforcing the customer’s confidence in their decision. This includes maintaining a consistent brand voice across all touchpoints and being transparent about your policies and practices.
9. Encouraging Long-Term Engagement and Seeking Feedback
After the sale, the vendor might offer a token of appreciation or invite the customer to return, fostering loyalty. In the digital realm, follow up with thank-you notes, loyalty programs, or requests for feedback to maintain and deepen the customer relationship. This could involve implementing a customer loyalty program or using email automation to nurture long-term relationships.
Applying These Timeless Principles in the Digital Age
By following these steps, you effectively turn a high-traffic environment into a series of opportunities for engagement, using psychological triggers that have been effective for centuries. This approach helps ensure that potential customers don’t just pass by but instead become actively involved with your brand.
While the tools and platforms we use for marketing have evolved dramatically, the underlying psychology of human decision-making remains remarkably consistent. By understanding and applying these timeless principles, modern marketers can create more effective, empathetic, and successful sales funnels.
The next time you’re designing a “funnel,” remember that you’re tapping into a rich history of human psychology and sales techniques. By blending these time-tested strategies with cutting-edge technology, you can create marketing approaches that are both innovative and grounded in proven principles.
