Marketing Funnel vs Marketing Hourglass

Leads, how to get them and how to turn them into customers, have vexed many small businesses. No business can survive for long without them. Yet, I have never met anyone who has said they are satisfied with the quantity and quality of their leads. So, what’s the problem? Why is there a high level of dissatisfaction with the process?

Most of you are familiar with a Marketing Funnel. Bring in a bunch of leads at the top of the large opening and the funnel narrows as you qualify and sort the leads. Finally, at the narrow bottom you have those that become customers. You can find many examples, but here’s a typical illustration:

One significant problem with this and other funnels is the focus is on chasing after those leads. Typically the lead goes to someone in sales and they keep contacting the prospect until they get an appointment or they give up pursuing the prospect from lack of contact.

There is a better way to think about this process. A way to turn a lead into an advocate for your business. It’s called the Marketing Hourglass and was developed by John Jantsch. The concept is one of the key elements of the Duct Tape Marketing System. Whenever people see it, especially non-marketing types, they usually say that it helps make sense out of the marketing process. Here’s an illustration to compare with the funnel above:

When you overlay John’s definition of marketing – “Getting someone who has a need to know, like, and trust you” – with the Marketing Hourglass then the know-like-trust actions lead to try-buy-repeat-refer. The key to it is to develop touch-points, processes, education, and product/service offerings for each of the 7 phases of the hourglass.

The first approach, the Marketing Funnel, most often results in businesses attempting to go from “Know” to “Buy” and wonder why their conversion rates are so low. When you create ways to move prospects to “Trust” and “Try” then you will be the preferred vendor when they are ready to “Buy”.

But, you’re not done when they buy – you only think you are. Completing the process with “Repeat” and “Refer” you now have your best customers willingly and enthusiastically referring you to others. There is no better way to grow your business.

Learn More About the Marketing Hourglass

We have a free 30-page eBook that describes the Marketing Hourglass in even more detail. Click this link Marketing Hourglass eBook for your complimentary copy. And be sure and let us know how you like it and how it helps your business.