The consumer purchase funnel is a consumer-based marketing model which illustrates the movement of a consumer through the decision-making process – from becoming aware of the brand and then narrowing focus down along the funnel to an eventual purchase.
There are a number of alternative versions of the consumer purchase funnel, some of which are more detailed or developed than others, but the basic structure in all versions of the model remains the same. Keeping things simple, we will focus on the four main elements of the consumer purchase funnel:
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Brand Awareness
Brand awareness is the stage in which the consumer is aware and familiar with the brand and even has an impression of the product, but continues to purchase a different brand.
A well-designed Online Display Advertising campaign, launched with the help of experts, can optimise brand awareness by utilising the brand’s online presence and by using advanced targeting methods.
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Consideration
Consideration is the stage in which the consumer shows an active interest in the product.
Online Display Advertising offers the opportunity to use behavioural targeting and retargeting methods to increase an ad’s effectiveness and optimise results. As research indicates, the click through rate in behavioural targeting – serving ads to users based on their past online activity – surpasses non-targeted ads by 670% and substantially increases the user conversion rate (1).
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Intention
Intention is the stage in which the consumer makes some positive steps in order to purchase the product.
As consumers move along the purchase funnel, using optimisation tools enables the capture of more consumers as well as an increase in the conversion rate. Extensive research conducted recently based on Australian online campaigns found that levels of purchase intent were dramatically higher among respondents exposed to rich display ads and videos than static ads or simple flash, and that well-managed Online Display Advertising has a high impact on a consumer’s intention to purchase (2)
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Purchase
Purchase is the final and culminated stage in which a successful process ends with the purchase of a product.
Understanding the consumer purchase funnel in this way should help you craft targeted messages and understand what to offer which consumer and in what context.
1 H., Beales, “The Value of Behavioral Targeting”, Network Advertising Initiative, 2010.
2 Millward Brown Consultancy, Rich Display and Video Ads Boost Purchase Intent”, Marketing, 24 May 2012.
Shai is a co-founder of Benchmarketing and focuses on segmentation, traditional marketing & sales strategies. Shai continues to pursue his interest in Marketing Segmentation and in particular marketing to ethnic and multicultural groups.
