The Power of Brand Building
In an article by the Harvard Business Review, analysts criticize the traditional funnel metaphor for marketing as “failing to capture the shifting nature of consumer engagement”. For decades now, the funnel metaphor has been a guiding template for marketing agencies up and down Madison Ave. but industry professionals are now indicating that the model may need to be left behind in the digitally concentrated world of today. As the article mentions, today’s consumers have at their disposal the wide web with which they can perform incredible amounts of preliminary research before making a purchase, therefore making their “top of the funnel” considerably smaller than previous generations.
According to the article, this antiquated model can be replaced by a more modern one they call the “Consumer Decision Journey (CDJ). This model is segmented into four main phases: Consider, Evaluate, Buy, and Enjoy/Advocate/Bond. The key phase here being that last one in which consumers enjoy the fruits of their purchase, advocate the brand to their friends and family, and bond with others who also chose that brand. According to the experts, this phase is crucial because it allows brands to win satisfied consumers over for life, given that they don’t experience any major issues. The Harvard Business Review’s analysis has shown that “70% to 90% of marketing budget spending goes to advertising and retail promotions that hit consumers at the consider and buy stages”. In today’s market this is a waste considering that consumers are now influenced more in the evaluate and enjoy stages.
If brands and their marketing agencies want to remain relevant in today’s digital society, it would be in their best interest to phase out the traditional funnel approach in favor of a more modern system that takes into account the purchasing habits of consumers in the 21st century.
Article:
Image Credit:
https://knowledge.insead.edu/marketing/five-strategic-imperatives-digital-brand-building
- Note: This article is a class assignment for BUS 465 — Integrated Brand Promotion and Advertising at NCSU Poole College of Management. No part of the above campaign is real to my knowledge.
