Is Marketing And Sales Funnel Still Useful?

The Marketing and Sales Funnel is a well-known visual representation of the steps needed in order for businesses to market and sell their products and services. Looking at the Marketing and Sales Funnel Infographic we can see a graphical illustration of the concept.

However, today in a world full of information, we observe that many times customers do not follow the traditional order of the steps described in this concept, making businesses to question the usage of it.

Well, it is true that in our days the Marketing and Sales Funnel is not anymore an accurate model to describe the process in the correct order. Yesterday, I read in LinkedIn an interesting article about that issue, claiming that a graphical representation of a shaker (due to the ups and downs that customers are making between the steps) could explain visually better what is happening now.

Indeed, that could be the case, but on the other hand, it is still a tool with many usages for businesses.

So, how can we use wisely the Marketing and Sales Funnel today?

The answer to that question is the following:

1. Use it as a general guide to understand the marketing and sales process without focusing on the specific order of the steps
2. As a tool for creating relative KPI’s.
3. To understand, measure and evaluate the behavior of your clients based on the steps and not based on the order. For example, how many times a customer jumps from one step to another, what are the reasons, what the marketing and sales departments can do for that, and so on.
4. For your Customer Relationship Management process.
5. For providing better services to your clients, after you have studied the process of how your clients interact with your business and the reasons for that.
6. As a training tool for your marketing and salespeople.
7. To create better cooperation and coordination between your marketing and sales departments.
8. For your forecasting, if possible.
9. To establish a more accurate Marketing Plan based on the Sales needs.
10. To help you in your marketing and sales management, optimizing your performance.

If you are able to use the Marketing and Sales Funnel like that, the overall management of your business will be easier and more effective.

If your customers do not follow any normal patent regarding the steps of the concept, try to create your own Marketing and Sales Funnel that best describe their behavior and the best relative and effective reactions of your marketing and sales in each step. Then you can use it too as a beneficial tool for your business.

What are your thoughts? Do you use it in your company?