MBA Boot Camp: The Marketing Funnel (4.5)
Concepts & Vocabulary
The Funnel: A visual representation of the customer journey, wide at the top (many people) and narrow at the bottom (the few who actually buy).
Top of Funnel (ToFu): Focused on brand awareness and education.
Bottom of Funnel (BoFu): Focused on conversion, urgency, and closing the sale.
Conversion Rate: The percentage of people who move from one stage of the funnel to the next.
Core Lesson: AIDA
The most famous marketing funnel model is AIDA:
A - Awareness: Getting the customer to know you exist. (Tactic: A funny Super Bowl commercial).
I - Interest: Getting them to care. (Tactic: A blog post explaining how your product works).
D - Desire: Making them want it over competitors. (Tactic: Customer testimonials and reviews).
A - Action: Getting them to buy right now. (Tactic: A "20% off if you buy in the next 24 hours" email).
The MBA Insight: A common mistake companies make is running Bottom-of-Funnel tactics (like discount codes) to people who don't even know who they are yet. Conversely, you don't want to show a broad "brand awareness" TV ad to someone who has a product sitting in their online shopping cart—you just need to give them a nudge to click "checkout." You must match the message to the funnel stage.
Application & Reflection
Map a Campaign: Think about a brand that effectively got you to buy something recently. How did they get your Awareness? How did they build your Interest/Desire? And what was the final trigger that pushed you to take Action?
