Don’t kid yourself the marketing funnel is dead, says Point of Connection panel
Marketers shouldn’t rush to proclaim the death of the marketing funnel, a panel of guests on Mumbrella’s Point of Connection sponsored podcast have all agreed.
Marketo’s MD, Will Griffith; Exponential’s director of global sales strategy, Tyler Greer; and shopping expert Peter Wilson were all united in defending the age-old business theory.
However, they added, marketers should embrace technology to understand how different types of purchases have different versions of awareness, consideration and purchase.
The latest episode in the sponsored series, co-produced by both Mumbrella and Exponential, goes live today and is hosted by Mumbrella regular and ex-Clemenger strategist Al Crawford. To listen, press play on the Soundcloud link above or subscribe via iTunes.
Tyler Greer was adamant the marketing funnel still exists, but that our understanding of it has changed, and the role media plays at each stage of the funnel is changing, especially with digital.
He said: “We often confuse the speed of the consumer journey with the shape of it because it gets interrupted or disrupted with, say, impulse purchases.
“But ultimately we still move from awareness to consideration and identify whether that particular product is going to fit with my life. Do I want it? Do I need it?”
B2B expert Will Griffith echoed the thoughts: “I don’t think anybody would argue your traditional B2B buying process has collapsed – but it’s certainly changed. The dynamic between research and consideration in the early phases has altered dramatically because people can access the information themselves while keeping salespeople at arm’s length.
“People need to go through that decision-making process and marketing has a huge role to play in that.”
“You don’t place the same amount of investment of time, effort and energy into buying paper plates as you would a car,” added Peter, who runs consumer consultancy The Shopper Collective. “But the other part is: how much time are you willing to invest in it?”
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