In this article, we will discuss How to elegantly map digital channels to customer funnel

1. How to Elegantly Map Digital Channels to Customer Funnel
Marketing has one goal; it’s to satisfy the consumers' needs and wants at the
moments that most influence their decisions. So here comes Integrated Marketing
Communications (IMC) in the picture; these are coordinated, consistent means by
which firms attempt to inform, intent, persuade, and remind consumers directly or
indirectly about their products and brands. The goal of IMC is to unite all aspects
of marketing communications, so they work together efficiently and effectively.
The communication integration model involves 4 criteria for the effectiveness of
the IMC system —
1. Coverage — It forecasts the reach of the promotional activities to the unique
potential consumers who are not aware of the brand or product still. The
reach to the potential consumers should be maximized using various
marketing channels but in the same case overlapping between the different
marketing channels should be avoided. For example, if a customer has seen
a particular advertisement on any of his social media account then it should
not appear again on some other account.
2. Cost — The cost of overall promotional activities should be minimized. The
most effective and efficient marketing channel should be used to reach the
audience at minimum cost.
3. Coaction — This means that using different marketing channels in such a
way that they are sequential in nature and complement each other so that
the message being conveyed is binding in nature. For example, the
promotion run on TV for a clothing brand might showcase the quality of
the clothes and how they support women of rural areas by giving them a
job of stitching might show their concerns towards society and support
towards women empowerment.
4. Congruity — Different channels of marketing used to promote a product so
the ultimate message being conveyed from all the channels must be
consistent with the product’s USP. For example, though the advertisement
for bike brand Yamaha is done from different marketing channels it should
convey the ultimate message of speed from all the channels of marketing.
After having examined the marketing communication mix let us see how the
AIDA model can be applied to digital marketing. The goal of an advertisement is
to create awareness among consumers about the product, generate interest among

2. them so that they have a desire to try the product and finally to spur them into
action to buy the product. This has been put in an acronym form “AIDA”.
AIDA Model: The AIDA Model, which stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, and
Action model, is an advertising effect model that identifies the stages that an
individual goes during the process of purchasing a product.
Awareness: This is the first step in the buying process, to create recognition about
the brand and product in a consumer’s mind. Digital marketing plays a vital role
at this stage as some channels of digital marketing such as social media
advertisements, SMS, E-mail marketing, etc. are very helpful in promoting the
brand or the product.
Interest: Just awareness is not enough; consumers must be interested in buying the
products and to know more about the brand. In the funnel model, this stage has a
large number of brands and consumers will choose from it the brand they are
aware of and are interested in.
Desire: Consumers develop a preference towards certain brands and products
depending on the evaluation they have done on the competing choices. The
evaluation can be done using inputs from reviewers, peers, retailers, influencers,
specialists, marketers, and competitors. Few digital channels which are apter in
this stage are community forums, blogs, and review rating websites.
Action: This is the final stage in which consumers purchase the product which
they prefer. Brands generate revenue in this stage and this stage is the outcome of
various promotion efforts. Having conveniently located outlets and e-commerce
facility will make it easier for consumers to purchase the product. The marketer
should ensure that all the hurdles are removed and consumers find the right
product, at the right time and at the right price. The traditional AIDA model had
only four stages as the marketers did not pay attention to the post-sales stage. So,
this is the fifth stage in the AIDA model where the consumers become loyal to the
brand or product and tend to purchase it and refer to others as well.
Advocacy: Consumer’s experience satisfaction or dissatisfaction for a product
post-sales. Based on their experience they spread the word of mouth to their
friends, family or colleagues or post a review on social media. If consumers are
highly satisfied, they become loyal to the brand or the product and tend to buy it
again in the future.

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