A Look Inside The Funnels Marketers Create To Earn Your Money
Commercials like Papa Johns, Indianapolis Colts, and they are very eye-catching. It still takes work to watch a commercial, get in your car and go buy pizza or buy a ticket for a football game (and it helps if the Indianapolis Colts win the previous week’s game).
In my last article, I used Papa Johns. I’m going to transition to using the Colts.
Papa John’s and the Indianapolis Colts knows that this is the case, and they are in the game for the long haul. The Indianapolis Colts know that it’s important to be on their fan’s mind all the time, day and night. If the 24/7 marketing efforts leads to you buying a ticket to the game, it was worth it. How many of you have seen a commercial 12:00 am, 1:00 am, and so on? Or during the news interview with the local media for the next game? How many times do you see the Colts mentioned in the media? When they go to Riley Hospital for Children, they mentioned that they went. They are going to have a game this Sunday (direct sales attempt aka buy a ticket) but before that, some of the Indianapolis Colts players (brand) went to Riley Hospital For Children (second brand) to visit (aww factor). The players mingled with the patients. Andrew Luck (the quarterback of the Colts brand) sung Christmas songs to the patients. The psychology is right there. The coolest part about a savvy marketing campaign is that if it’s done right, you won’t even know it’s taking place.
How do brands like the Indianapolis Colts convince you to purchase a ticket or jersey? How do they get those sales?
The Chamber of Secrets, (like in the Harry Potter movie) is the processes that happens behind closed doors to earn your money. I mentioned Chamber of Secrets because the processes are “secret”. For example, do you think anyone from the Harry Potter brand had to tell fans to buy tickets to go see their movies? Don’t think so. It was a phenomenon. They had so much enthusiasm that they didn’t need to. Every brand would love it if their product would sell out like that.
This is an example of a sales funnel. Brands use it all the time. Do you really think these brands are going to tell you that they are using a funnel on you? It’s invisible.
The Indianapolis Colts knows that price of tickets is a big factor in a fan’s buying decision. They know that ticket costs are high. But they want my money. What are they willing to do to get you to buy a ticket?
As the funnel explains above, the Colt’s goal?
- Start a campaign to raise awareness
- Persuade people to look into buying a ticket/product
- Show them a benefit the fans would receive by buying. Provide them with opportunities that only they would get.
- Present the scenario for them to buy
- They become a ticket buyer
- Get them to buy again and again.
Of course, all of this has to be part of a un-see-able process that merges with what the customer wants before hand.
Goal: To move the fan/potential buyer as quickly as possible from one end of the funnel to the other and turn them from: A fan/potential buyer, to a lead, to a ticket buyer.
It’s ideal for the Colts to do this is to appear in a place where their fans will go. Preferably in a place where they either a) already purchased a product or b) where they frequent or c) a place they will go. The Colts hit a soft spot: They teamed up with Breast Cancer Awareness.
To commemorate national Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Colts have joined the NFL’s national “A Crucial Catch” initiative to encourage their fans to join them in recognizing survivors and raising awareness for this disease that threatens the lives of millions of women each year.
Below is additional information on the way the Colts and our partners, including the American Cancer Society, Ashley HomeStore, Indiana University Health, Indy Portables and Zeta Tau Alpha, are supporting Breast Cancer Awareness Month as we continue to search for a cure.
This will probably get several Colts fans to buy tickets by default. You have a team and other Indianapolis organizations that is supporting breast cancer? Colts is additionally stepping up to the plate by wearing wearing pink cleats, helmets, etc? The American Cancer Society, Ashley HomeStore, Indiana University Health, Indy Portables and Zeta Tau Alpha are also getting name recognition.
Congratulations! A Colts fan just entered the funnel for several different companies, including Indiana University Health, and The American Cancer Society, without even realizing it. Subconsciously, these companies also embedded themselves in the consumer’s mind. You never know when these companies will come in handy for a fan or 2, and that’s what they are banking on.
Now look at this photo.
You have the “Pamper Her Pink” campaign with the breast cancer ribbon (notice the Colts logo, this is embedding the Colts brand in your mind. Very subtle, but pure genius). Check out the NFL Ticket Exchange. Notice in bigger text that it says “Real Fans Need Real Tickets” and not “buy tickets” in the bigger text. Why? No brands wants to be too salesy up front.
These processes happen next after you click that “Real Fans Need Real Tickets” button.
a) You are taken to the next website so you can start the process of buying tickets.
b) The Call Of Action? To purchase the Colts tickets (and to get started doing so!)
Check out this case study by Lead Pages that tells us what texts on pictures and buttons compel people to click (some are better to use than others).
So now, I have to proceed with the process by clicking “find tickets.” Basically you are telling the Colts that I want to find out more information about these tickets.
I’m already several steps into the sales process. After clicking the “find tickets” button, I will start to see the prices of the tickets).
I see tickets for $51 to $61. Not bad at all.
FYI Moment: The finding out the prices aligned with what I wanted to do anyways. I clicked the links to find out more information about the costs of the Colts tickets. No one pressured me to this this, so I don’t feel sold to. I also know that I can back out at anytime.
Ticketmaster also plays a role in the funnel.
Suddenly, an popup on the side asks “Don’t forget your NFL Gear.”
I went from wanting a ticket after seeing the breast cancer awareness info (emotional tigger) to getting on ticketmaster (well-known ticket seller tigger) then while in the process of getting tickets they propose gear (hey this is a football fan, there’s no way they are going to go to a game without Colts gear trigger). I’m offered a way to buy gear. By adding the NFL Gear link on the page, it made it that much easier for me to want to buy the gear.
Can you see how genius this process is? The best part is it’s all your choice, it’s not forced at all.
P.S. Yes I did click on the NFL Gear to see what they had.
Hello! I’m Alesha! I’m a musician, actress, entrepreneur and writer and recent hospital patient (I still can’t believe that is real). Follow on Twitter. If you like what I’m writing, give me a heart and share! :) I like hearts. Let me know what you want me to write! Click here!
