The Fundamental Principles of Funnel Marketing: How to Create Lifetime Customers By Marcia Yudkin At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Interested in building a solid cadre of lifetime customers? If so, make sure you start with a clear understanding of the dynamics of a marketing funnel. A marketing funnel is a system of attracting likely customers, tempting them to opt-in or purchase something inexpensive, then moving them toward buying more and more costly and valuable products and services.

A superficial understanding of the concept is better than none, because this will lead you to do some of the things that help create lifetime customers. However, fully exploiting the potential of a marketing funnel and avoiding common pitfalls requires that you deeply understand these four principles.

Principle #1. Most people need to get to know you or your company slowly with a simple, low-risk initial action. Instead of expecting that they’ll immediately make a large purchase, set up your marketing funnel so they can opt in to your list, then receive content over time that builds trust and creates a strong desire for your offerings. Or start them off with a low-cost item, such as a book or report under $20 that sets the stage for the more expensive purchase.

While I’ve seen customers arrive at my web site from a search engine and purchase one of my $495 or $795 home study courses the same day, nearly always they read quite a bit of the free content at my site before pulling out their credit card. More often, those who spend at that level have been receiving content-rich emails from me regularly for at least a few months.

Here are some recommendations that follow from marketing funnel principle #1:

* Whether you use press releases, articles or pay-per-click ads to generate traffic, do not direct those readers to a general home page but instead to a landing page that entices them to opt in or make their low-cost, low-risk first purchase.

* Create an automatic followup system, using email, postal mail, telephone calls or some combination of those methods so that those who opted in or purchased continue to hear from you over time.

Principle #2. Create an array of products and services at different price points, so that someone interested in buying from you can select their level of spending initially as well as move up from a low-priced purchase to a higher one and one after that. It’s hard to make good money selling reports that top off at $97. Essentially you’d have whetted someone’s appetite for more and forced them to satisfy it elsewhere.

For example, small business cash flow expert Caroline Jordan has a book that costs $16.95, a package containing the book, a newsletter and three audio CDs for $97, a package with all that plus additional CDs for $277 and a package containing all that and a one-on-one consultation with Caroline for $777. And yes, she does sell quite a few of the $777 packages.

Principle #3. Marketing succeeds through repetition. Never expect to tell even your best prospects for a product or service about it only once. For any limited-time offer or event, plan a minimum of three messages about it in your followup system. To keep the interest of past and potential buyers instead of seeming to be nagging them, vary these messages. Talk about the theme of your offering from several different angles.

Principle #4. Provide great service whenever anyone orders. Ship promptly, pack tangible products carefully so they arrive in good shape, respond to customer emails and phone calls and add some kind of unexpected bonus item in the box so that the recipient opens their package with complete delight.

You might think the customer service advice should go without saying, but time after time I’ve experienced shoddy treatment from prominent information marketers who behave as if I no longer matter once they’ve collected my money. You’ll do better, of course, because you’re in the business of creating lifetime customers. Right?

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