In today’s world of instant gratification, the need for immediate results and returns on investment (ROI) has dominated the marketing landscape.
While focusing on ROI is essential, this mindset has caused many businesses to neglect the potential revenues hidden within their marketing funnels and sales pipelines.
Breaking Through: Top-of-Funnel Awareness
Consider a recent interaction with a personal trainer who wanted to improve her marketing strategy. We identified numerous areas to focus on, from website content to conversion rate optimization.
However, with limited resources, we needed to find a low-impact solution that would keep revenue coming in as we worked on her website.
Exploring her existing efforts, we discovered that her email list of 1,200 subscribers offered a fantastic opportunity to generate additional income.
Tapping Into Hidden Potential: Middle-of-Funnel Nurturing
We shifted our focus from driving website traffic to nurturing the mid-funnel potential clients that had been previously overlooked. This revelation is quite common and highlights the importance of not underestimating the power of “old school” marketing techniques like email, SMS, remarketing, and loyalty marketing.
Capitalizing on the Opportunity
Using the personal trainer’s email list as an example, we segmented her subscribers to create personalized outreach campaigns:
– 100 past clients
– 600 blog email opt-ins
– 300 “purchase not completed” potential clients
We sent targeted email campaigns to each segment, with varying incentives and content. After two months, the campaigns generated an additional $3,900 in revenue without any extra ad spend. The beauty of this approach is that as more visitors interact with the website, the mid-funnel opportunities continue to replenish, allowing for ongoing nurturing campaigns.
Leveraging Marketing Automation for Mid-Funnel Opportunities
By utilizing marketing automation tools, you can build a system that automatically nurtures and converts these mid-funnel opportunities.
It’s a significant opportunity that many businesses neglect, like planting seeds but never watering or giving them sunlight.
Continuing the Cycle: Bottom-of-Funnel Retention
Once conversions are complete, you can continue to nurture your customers using the same mid-funnel strategies. Marketing automation is incredibly customizable, making it an ideal ally for loyalty marketing and retaining customers for ongoing business opportunities.
You don’t need to be a massive brand to benefit from nurturing mid-funnel opportunities. The key is to invest time, think beyond instant gratification, and give your mid-funnel prospects the attention they deserve to unlock their full potential.
Balancing Marketing Automation Costs and Paid Media Costs
To maximize the benefits of nurturing mid-funnel opportunities, it’s essential to understand the costs associated with marketing automation and compare them to traditional paid media costs.
Marketing Automation Costs
Marketing automation platforms can vary in cost depending on the features, number of contacts, and level of support you require.
Typically, you can expect to pay anywhere from $50 to $1,000 per month for a marketing automation platform, with the average small-to-medium-sized business spending around $200 to $300 per month.
These platforms often include features like email marketing, SMS marketing, lead nurturing, CRM integration, analytics, and more. While there may be an initial investment in setting up your automation campaigns, the ongoing costs are relatively low, especially when compared to paid media advertising.
Paid Media Costs
Paid media costs can vary significantly depending on the channels you choose, such as Google Ads, Facebook Ads, or display advertising.
The cost per click (CPC) or cost per thousand impressions (CPM) can range from a few cents to several dollars depending on the industry and competition.
For small-to-medium-sized businesses, a monthly ad budget can range from $1,000 to $10,000 or more, depending on your goals and the channels you’re using. This does not include the time and resources required for creating and managing the campaigns.
Comparing Costs
When comparing marketing automation costs to paid media costs, it’s clear that marketing automation is a more cost-effective option for nurturing mid-funnel opportunities.
While paid media can be effective for top-of-funnel awareness and attracting new visitors, the ongoing costs can be significantly higher than utilizing marketing automation to nurture and convert existing prospects.
By investing in marketing automation, you can allocate more of your budget toward nurturing your current leads and customers, which often results in a higher ROI.
Additionally, marketing automation allows you to create highly personalized campaigns that build trust and loyalty with your audience, further enhancing its value.
In conclusion, while both marketing automation and paid media have their place in a comprehensive marketing strategy, understanding the costs and benefits of each can help you make informed decisions and maximize your ROI.
By focusing on nurturing mid-funnel opportunities through cost-effective marketing automation, you can unlock hidden potential and drive long-term success for your business.
Are You Sitting on a Gold Mine?
Here at National Positions, we know the value of using these strategies in conjunction with one another, and now you do too!
Our team can help get you on the right track with marketing automation, either as a stand-alone strategy, or as we prefer, using email marketing as a way to diversify your strategies online.
Contact our team now to see what possibilities may be sitting right under your nose!