Episode 74: The Marketing Funnel is Broken! Why You Need the Marketing Hourglass to Grow Your Cleaning Business

You've probably heard of the marketing funnel or sales funnel. The problem with the funnel is that most companies stop marketing after they get prospects as clients. This video explains why you should use the Marketing Hourglass to guide your prospects through the entire buying process, starting with Know, Like and Trust, and them moving them forward through Try, Buy, Repeat and Refer.

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Episode 74 - Video Transcription

I'd like to ask you a question. Have you ever heard of the marketing funnel or sales funnel? Go head, raise your hand!

Ok, so I can't see how many of you are actually raising your hand, but my guess is that a lot of you HAVE heard of the marketing funnel. And that's not surprising, it's been around for years. So the idea with the funnel is that you get prospects into your funnel so you can market to them like crazy, in the hopes that you'll squeeze a few down through the bottom as customers.

Well I'm here to tell you that the funnel is broken! And that's because, for most companies, once you get them as customers, that's where the marketing usually stops. The funnel doesn't talk about marketing that can be done after you've made the sale.

So what I'd like to suggest, is that a happy customer is your best lead generation tool. So instead of using the funnel, I like to use the Hourglass. You can see that the top half of the hourglass resembles the funnel, but it's the bottom half that focuses on what happens AFTER someone becomes a customer. And that's why the hourglass is so powerful, because it focuses more on the total customer experience.

Take a look at the 7 steps of the Marketing Hourglass. It's basically a logical, step by step system that moves people through the buying process. You've got Know, Like, Trust on top, and Try, Buy Repeat and Refer on the bottom. The idea with each of these steps, is to intentionally create the content, tools and processes that leads them to the next step. The Know portion of the Hourglass is how people are first introduced to your business - either through advertising, networking, or a referral. The Like and Trust portion of the Hourglass includes things like the educational content on your website, "Liking" you on your social media pages, and the added credibility when they find you through Search Engine Optimization. One step many people miss is the "Try" portion of the Hourglass.

The idea here is to give people a way to try out your product or service either for free or for a very low cost, before they make the major purchase. So things like a strong guarantee that lowers their risk, or a free evaluation or audit, or free educational events, are all examples of "Try". The Buy portion of the Hourglass is more than just a transaction. What are you doing to create a memorable buying experience for your new customers? Maybe you could create a New Client Kit that shows them how to get the most value from your product or service. And then nurturing them through the process, making sure they understand all the services you offer, with the intention of having them become a Repeat customer. And when it comes to Referrals, rather than just being thankful when you get one, create systems on how to actively get referrals from both clients and strategic partners.

Now this is what most people's hourglass looks like. They go from Know, right to Buy, without adding any of the Like, Trust and Try elements - even though they know people need to Know, Like and Trust you before they'll buy from you.

The next thing people wonder is, "Ok, they've bought from me, so why aren't they referring me?" And it's because they're not doing anything to create a memorable buying experience and they're not doing anything to nurture those clients so they continue to buy from you. So this is the whole point of filling in the gaps of the hourglass.

We want to make sure you have all the elements filled before you go spending all kinds of money on just the "Know" part of the hourglass, because this is typically where people spend a lot of money for no return on their investment.

So the next time you wonder why your marketing doesn't seem to be working, I would challenge you to fill out your OWN Hourglass. First, list what you're currently doing in each stage; then look at where the gaps are, and then start filling those gaps. Once you start filling the gaps, you'll see your marketing momentum start to increase. Now I'd like to ask YOU -- where are the gaps in YOUR Hourglass?