Why Marketing Funnels Fail And Why You Should Bury Them

Let’s address the elephant in the digital room – the sales funnel is dead.

It’s been buried for years and we’re all just now waking up to realize it. And if you run a business, then you should know or have experienced the effects of its long past expiration.

A Long Overdue Burial

As a seasoned agency owner running an award-winning agency, I’ve worked with and spoke to thousands of clients. Clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies, celebrities, and medium-sized businesses from all over the world.

Through having spoken with so many who are trying to grow their business, I hear the same stories; people being burned by marketing that doesn’t work. All their effort, money, and time wasted on marketing that never delivers the goods.

It’s not that the marketing agencies they work with mean to provide poor results. Their heart is truly in the right place.

It’s just that they haven’t invested the time and effort to discover what actually works or think outside the box for even a second.

They simply rely on what they think they know. Which in this case, is a marketing approach that has been dead for over a decade – the almighty “marketing funnel”.

Yet, so much of the industry is propped up on these linear dinosaurs. Which is why they keep pushing it.

The Buying Experience Has Completely Changed 

There’s no doubt the marketing funnel worked well in the old days of the internet.

But much has changed.

Today, there are endless options, varieties, and “flavors” of the same product or service. Customers no longer shop or buy in a linear fashion anymore.

They look around, then look some more. They get distracted by social media. They get text messages, watch YouTube videos, check the weather or sports scores – all on the same device they were looking to buy your product.

Their attention and desires do everything but follow a linear path.

When your marketing funnel assumes they do and when your emails keep hammering them with “BUY NOW”, you’ve lost them.

No one wants that kind of buying experience.

The traditional marketing funnel is like that one friend or relative we don’t answer calls from because we know the sole reason they’re reaching out is because they want something from you.

They deliver no value or show they truly care about you. We all have that one person in our lives.

A Successor Has Emerged

After over 10 years of research and development, and another 3 years of real-world testing, a successor to the marketing funnel has been found.

This “sales funnel killer” works for any business regardless of size, industry, or location.

It’s a marketing framework based on tried-and-true fundamentals of human and buying psychology. Fundamentals that aren’t changing anytime soon.

And it leverages what we know about how humans interact, form relationships, and how we behave with one another.

This next evolution of marketing is called the Marketing RAMP®.

It picks up where the funnel leaves off. No longer do interaction with customers follow a linear, predetermined path.

The customer journey is dynamic. It’s a two-way conversation rather than a one-sided lecture on why they should buy your product.

You can discover what each and every customer who enters the Marketing RAMP® biggest pain points are and speak specifically to that.

A Framework Built On 7 Marketing Pillars

The Marketing RAMP® is made up of seven fundamental marketing pillars. Each working together, and each as critical as the next, to close more sales for your business.

They are:

• Identify The Ideal Customer
• Craft The Brand Voice
• Create The Pitch
• Map The Customer Journey
• Build The R.A.M.P.
• Infuse Points Of Delight
• Plan The Assets

One of the main pillars I’d like to highlight is Map The Customer Journey. We’re paying special attention to this pillar because it does what traditional sales funnels fail to do – adapt.

Through mapping the customer journey, you can have a plan for every action your customers take.

If they decide to sign up for a lead magnet but don’t end up buying your core product, there’s a plan for that.

If they join your online course but don’t know how to get the most out of their purchase, there’s a plan for that.

If they are on the fence about buying but need an answer to a specific question, there’s also a plan for that.

This is the current and future of online selling. By adapting to the behavior of your potential customers, they can feel like they are being catered to.

Everyone wants to be heard and feel special. This is where the Marketing RAMP® excels and why it is the standout successor to the marketing funnel.

Opening Up And Eliminating “Funnel Vision”

Another reason why businesses fail with sales funnels is the issue of tunnel vision, or what I like to call “funnel vision”.

When you’re laser focused on one route to close a sale, you’re going to sell HARD. There’s no time to beat around the bush when you have one fixed path to closing the sale.

This is where businesses shoot themselves in the foot. They sell, sell, sell and the opposite happens – they turn the customer off with their salesy approach.

But when you open up the customer experience, like the Marketing RAMP® does so well, you don’t have to sell like a mad salesman trying to desperately meet his quarterly numbers.

You can take time to deliver value, get to know the customers, have them ask you questions, and so forth. You can delight them with assets and an exceptional experience.

Adding Points Of Delight is also one of the seven pillars of the Marketing RAMP® and it’s a critical factor in making potential customers feel like they’re not being sold to.

How To Get A Marketing RAMP® For Your Business

There are 5 more marketing pillars within the Marketing RAMP® to discover.

If you’d like to learn about the Marketing RAMP® and experience it for yourself, you can sign up and get free access to the Marketing RAMP® online software.

As a bonus gift, you’ll get unlimited access to our Learning Center.

And if you want to work with a team that can help you develop and revenue generating customer journey for your business, schedule a consultation today: