The death of the generic funnel: Designing contextual user journeys

Your marketing might be built around a funnel, even if you’ve never called it one.

So, what is a marketing funnel?

In simple terms, it’s the idea that a potential customer moves through a series of steps: they discover your business, become interested, consider their options, and eventually make a purchase.

It’s a useful way to think about marketing. But it becomes a problem when we start designing every customer experience around that same sequence.

What works for one customer may not work for another. Someone discovering your business for the first time may need more information, while someone who has already interacted with your business a few times through social media may need something completely different. 

Instead of assuming every customer will follow the same path, businesses should start paying closer attention to the context around each customer journey. This means understanding what brought someone to your business, what they already know, what they’re looking for, and what would be most useful to them next. 

When you understand that context, you can make your marketing more relevant to your customers.

What does “context” actually mean?

Context is simply understanding where your customer is coming from and what they need at that moment.

For example, imagine a person finds your website after searching, “How much does it cost for ‘X’ service or product?” They may still be researching and trying to understand their options.

While another person searches, “Emergency ‘X’ service care near me.” They have a much more immediate need.

Sending both customers to the same page with the same message may not be the most helpful approach.

The first customer may benefit from a pricing guide or an explanation of your services. The second may want to see your availability and contact information right away. That means you would need to create web pages that meet both of these needs and also make the right page easier to find. So, when someone finds you, they can see exactly what they were looking for.

Optimize your current marketing

Contextual journeys can sound like they require a complicated new strategy, but they don’t.

Start with what you already have. Pick one important customer entry point: a blog, social media post, email, website landing page. Then look at what happens next.

• Does the next step connect naturally to what they just saw?

• Does it answer the questions they’re likely to have?

• Does it make it easier for them to take action?

If not, make a change. That could mean changing a CTA (call to action), adding a useful link, moving important information higher on the page, or making a service easier to find.

Meet customers where they are 

By making your marketing relevant to where customers are in their journey, you can make it easier for them to take the next step towards a purchase. And that’s what contextual marketing is all about: giving customers the information they need to move closer to choosing your business. 

Not sure where to start? Book a free consultation with us and we’ll help you figure it out!