Interactive and the Brand Experience Cycle
Funnel, schmunnel. The cycle -- that's the new funnel.
Funnel, schmunnel. The cycle -- that's the new funnel.
You’ve probably heard of the purchase funnel. The stages in purchase funnels vary, but for the most part they are awareness, consideration, preference, purchase, and sometimes retention (loyalty).
Consider instead the brand experience cycle, my version of what most people call the purchase funnel. I prefer a cycle because, visually, a funnel has an end to it. Yet most successful brands enjoy multiple purchase cycles. Assuming the brand experience is a good one, customers come back to buy again.
I put together the brand experience cycle with the notion you can influence a customer through interactive marketing at any point along in the cycle. Interactive marketing can, and should, play a role in all stages of the brand experience cycle. Though online media is perhaps best suited to increase awareness, consideration, and preference, the experience part of the cycle should be closely tied to the Web site and loyalty to e-CRM (define) programs.
Some specifics:
Loyalty. Loyalty is a function of a great brand experience. Interactive marketing can and should play a huge role in generating loyalty. Use your Web site to facilitate loyalty. Perhaps develop communities for brand loyalists, or maybe create a personalized site and newsletters.
Once the customer has gone through the cycle and has had a good brand experience, the next time he’s in the market, your goal can be to skip awareness and consideration and go straight to preference. The idea is you’re always using interactive marketing to draw people into the various phases of the brand experience cycle.
The next time someone asks, “Where does interactive marketing fit into the overall marketing mix?” you can answer based on the brand experience cycle.
If you have other ideas about how interactive marketing or, more specifically, online media can play a role in the brand experience cycle, give me a shout.