The Marketing Funnel
The marketing funnel is a business analysis technique that is used throughout the analysis. Because it details five specific steps in regards to business growth, it made it much easier to compare website results and impacts across different stores. The five steps of the marketing funnel are outlined below, and a brief description of the goals at each step are also provided.
Website Roles in the Marketing Funnel
Based on interview results, I categorized website information they had given into various stages of the marketing funnel that it supported. For example, if a website used quality photos, I would determine which category of business growth it helped the most (in this case interest). In the end, I found that the content on small business websites were generally limited to identification information so they helped with awareness and interest. In medium sized business, their websites also had e-commerce options which stimulated desire and action. In larger businesses, there were many features customized to individuals which aided in the loyalty stage.
| Gitane Style | Cafe Douce France | Rick's Ice Cream | Silicon Valley Fine Wine & Spirits | Footwear etc | Blue Mercury | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awareness | Contact info, store hours, social media, etc | Contact info, store hours, social media, etc | Contact info, store hours, social media, etc | Contact info, store hours, social media, etc | Contact info, store hours, social media, etc | Contact info, store hours, social media, etc |
| Interest | Store description, enticing product & store images | Quality photos of cakes, pastries, tarts, etc | Detailed menu and online order option | Detailed wine descriptions and clean interface | Elaborate homepage and account creation option | Complete product information and account creation |
| Desire | Email signup | None | Mailing list and connected Instagram pictures | Top notch product information and promotions tab | Current deals section and customer review feature | New arrivals, beauty news, review, pay over time |
| Action | None | Catering option | Customizable checkout options and catering option | Worldwide e-commerce and custom engravings | In store pickup and online payments | Free gift with purchases and in store pickup |
| Loyalty | None | None | Gift card and donation option | None | Rewards program with special deals | Rewards program with member rankings and order tracking |
General Recommendations for Better Websites
After categorizing website uses for various stores into the steps of the marketing funnel, it was possible to look at the situation from a bigger picture view and make general recommendations to improve websites. This section contains a comprehensive list of features that were brainstormed and can be added to any website to aid with business growth. It was compiled mostly from interview opinions but also includes a few suggestions from personal observations.
Features
- Awareness
- Blog
- Forum
- Interest
- Live chat
- Email sign-up
- Social sharing
- Heart items
- Desire
- E-commerce
- Contact form
- Save for later
- Gift card
- Action
- Call to action
- Members only page
- Loyalty
- Rewards program
- Donation
Information
- Awareness
- Mission statement
- Spelling/grammar
- Store information
- About us page
- Interest
- Product catalog
- New descriptions
- Answer questions
- COVID-19 policies
- Desire
- New arrivals
- Media gallery
- Testimonials
- Action
- Discount info
- Online demos
- Walk-throughs
- Loyalty
- Thank you message
Design
- Readbility
- Segment information
- Remove unnecessary content
- Headlines
- Hyperlink differentiation
- Attractiveness
- Page style
- Color scheme
- Consistent fonts
- White space
- Easy navigation
- Flexibility
- Mobile friendly
- Browser compatibility
Specific Recommendations for Each Business
After making general recommendations, it was possible to make specific recommendations for the websites of each store that had been interviewed. For each business, taking into account the current website and how feasible various features would be, personalized suggestions were made based on the list of general recommendations. They can be seen below.
