"The funnel is dead." "The funnel isn't dead." "It's a loop", no" it's not, it's consumer centric", "it's a dicky bow"...etc. You've probably listened to, and been involved in a number of similar conversations about the consumer journey (Or is it the customer journey?) may have a strong opinion about this yourself or are a little unsure.
To have a meaningful discussion, it's important to ensure we start from the same foundation. The context of this post is based upon:
Please keep in mind the above reference points when reading the following.
It's definitely a funnel...up to a point.
Logic dictates (and the data backs this up) for a business, who looks at the numbers, and most do, obsessively, there has to be a fall out of people who are aware, to those who become interested, to those who consider and then commit. It can't be any other way.
Some will argue, that the funnel can get wider if people search for something and their selection of choice opens up further....but that is from the consumer perspective, not the brand, and it is their awareness widening.
Therefore, the basic funnel (Example for
GfK here) is correct in shape. The layers can be debated on labelling, but the flow is right. That's because it ends at the point of purchase.
Interestingly though, by definition, the point of purchase is where the "customer" journey starts. So what happens to the funnel at this point? Does the same shape continue?
Well...it could, if the brand has a really bad product, meaning there is no repeat purchase. This funnel would continue to get thinner as customers disappear. Thankfully, most successful businesses have good products and a high degree of brand affinity, therefore repeat purchase occurs. Customers stay loyal and the customer base grows, so the funnel has to get wider. There are more customers than those currently buying. Agree?
A dicky bow or a loop?
McKinsey, because they're quite clever, recognised the fact that the customer relationship starts after purchase. They didn't draw a dicky bow (a widening of the funnel) as this indicates a straight forward linear process, which would leave a gap on how to get back into the top of the funnel; or to be more precise, how to re-enter the funnel pre-repeat purchase. Therefore, they came up with a loop, the "Loyalty Loop".
Now, to be a little bit pedantic, the loop as shown here, is also not completely correct. It needs to be a blend of the funnel and the loop a "
Funneloop". i.e. The loop is wider at "initial consideration set" and gets thinner towards "moment of purchase", then gradually widening at the "Trigger" into the Loyalty Loop. The more loyal the customer base, the wider this loop becomes.
I'd also add that the McKinsey version, does mix up the perspective from a consumer and brand point of view.
What these don't show...
Both of the above models, theoretically work. But they are both based upon a single relationship; that between the consumer and the brand. And as we're viewing the consumer journey from a brand perspective, this is fine. However, what the brand must keep in mind is the influence of other consumers, and this is where social media plays a part. Other consumers can impact the consumer journey in two ways:
- The shape of the funnel. The angles of the sides can be more acute if other consumers have less favourable opinions and experiences with the product or brand. This will increase the dropout at each stage of the funnel and loop.
- The Transition between stages. How smooth, seamless or easy it is for people to progress along their chosen path.
- The speed at which people pass through. Less favourable opinion from others, may cause people to deliberate more and therefore, be less impulsive and take their time in coming to a decision. Especially relevant in higher ticket purchases.
So what is important, is to consider the influence of others, whether this is traditional "word of mouth" or online in social networks, review sites and search engines.
The moment of truth
P&G have operated over the years around the "moments of truth" along the consumer journey. This all starts with a stimulus, a first moment of truth, typically standing in front of a shelf full of products and making a choice. This is followed by the second moment of truth, the experience with the product. Very straight forward and follows a similar pattern to the previous two models. However, with the evolution of the social web, user generated content, and the fact that anyone and everyone can offer their opinions, should they so choose, a new moment of truth has appeared.
This has been called the "
zero moment of truth" or ZMOT and researched by Google. It's the post stimulus behaviour (and includes 2nd screen activity) that consumers now carry out. We all do it. Once stimulated, we search for more information. Search results now being populated with consumer opinion, as well as brand marketing. We read reviews, check the Facebook Page, maybe the Twitter account, and then use social to seek the opinions of others....more so, from the people we know and trust. We also recognise that not all reviews can be trusted, in the same way we can not always trust traditional word of mouth. So as well as the importance of absorbing what people say, we also assess the type of people who have written the reviews, as well as that overall or groundswell of opinion. We assess whether or not this opinion is credible.
That's why the zero moment of truth is now so very important to understand. ("Shelf" may not actually be a physical shelf of course, it could be an online purchase too.) As well as the consumer brand relationship, it's important for brands to recognise the "dynamic" between fellow consumers themselves. What are the levels of existing affinity amongst them towards your brand and product? Are there any other high levels of affinity that these consumers share? Who are deemed the more influential consumers or hubs of trust? (We're not talking
Klout type influence here, we're talking the ability of people to encourage others to take an action.) How do consumers express themselves around your brand socially? Which ones of these have the highest "value"?
Consumer centricity
Not to be left out, Facebook and Forrester also undertook a level of research around this, and came up with the "Connected World" model. Which indicates a change from a funnel in the analogue world to a consumer centric model in the socially online connected world. I would personally disagree that the model has changed...the funnel will always exist, as previously stated from a brand perspective. What I think this model actually shows is the different perspectives. On the left we have the brand perspective, and on the right the consumer perspective. Therefore, they both have a place. The key take away being, brands need to understand the "connected world" in as much detail as they possibly can.
Understanding the who is associating with them socially, how consumers are behaving, and why they are doing so (their motivation) is now an absolute necessity. Only then, can a brand or business really understand how to behave themselves across the social channels; and in turn help shape and control the speed of consumer behaviour through the "
funneloop".
