Flip the Funnel by Jaffe - Research Paper Example

? Flip The Funnel Reflection paper of the of the Contents Contents 2 Introduction 3 Underpinnings of the new theory 3 New approaches to marketing 5 The ‘flip’ of the funnel 5 Conclusion 7 References 8 Introduction All companies, whether big or small, stand in the similar position when it comes to attracting customers towards their brands. Customers make rational choices about spending their hard earned money on the items they want to obtain. Whether they would spend their money on the products of a particular company or with their competitor depends on the brand evaluation by the customers and the kind of customer relationship shared by the company with the customers (Aaker and Keller, 1990). The book named ‘Flip the Funnel’ shows a triangular relationship between good old-fashioned fundamentals of business, future-focused vision of the business leaders and most importantly, common sense. This book allows the development of a totally new way of thought thinking and provides space for turning the existing conventional practices upside down in order to develop a new way of thinking (Jaffe, 2010, p. 270). This new methodology has taught me the way in which businesses can expand through shrinking costs. Reduction in costs would also allow shrinking the financial budget. It helps managers to adopt strategies about achieving higher yield from making less investment and incurring lesser costs. This new process focuses not only on profit maximization but also on the needs of the customers, so as to induce them to satisfy their needs by spending their money with the particular company. Underpinnings of the new theory According to my perception, the Flip the Funnel theory concentrates on two underutilized constituencies in the marketing field; the customer evangelists and the employees of the company. This theory on one hand focuses on the prospective customers that are not exiting customers of the company but who might become loyal customers of the brand in future. On the other hand, it also focuses on the employees. Employees are also customers at the other end of the funnel. This potential has remained unexplored and if exploited can yield good benefits. The method of flipping the funnel is different from the acquisition principle of the traditional marketing funnel that emphasizes on generating new business from new customers (Court, Elzinga, Mulder & Vetvik, 2009). In difficult times the company does not have the opportunity of mitigating risks, cutting costs or make a tradeoff between quality and quantity, since quality helps the company to keep its reputation alive. On the contrary, the company has to improve its commitment and make wise investment decisions. All activities of the business affect customer decision and therefore affect the future performance of the business. Although for big businesses the effect of these activities sometimes appears to be insignificant, often actually they are game changing. I have learnt from the book that customer experience, short term interactions between the company (its brand, products and customer service) and its customers and long term business performance, are inter-related. Therefore these activities are potential enough to significantly impact future sales; both in terms of repeat purchases by the existing customers and also new business generated from the existing customers. Therefore, Jaffe has put it convincingly that there should be no hesitation regarding flipping the funnel in modern business activities but, the doubt should be cleared regarding the appropriate time at which the funnel can be flipped. Also the question, that how much the tunnel should be flipped, has to be answered well ahead of actually practicing the method of turning the traditional marketing tunnel (Jaffe, 2010, p. 271). This new method advocates a strong idea; a company-customer pact should be followed that imbues the idea of partnership between these two parties. New approaches to marketing The book demonstrates several examples by which it establishes that the secret behind becoming leading-edge marketers is the art of carving out lasting relationships with the clients and by engaging with the customers most authentically. These relationships can tolerate fluctuations in the business cycle and live through long economic downturns. These customers stay loyal to the brand even after the company has passed though a financial downturn. Employees are the heart of any business; any business would wither without the support of its employees. In the course of satisfying the customers, managers tend to forget that the employees are also customers in the end. The new theory by Jaffe puts it this way that talented and engaging employees help in both ways; they help to take the brand to new heights by virtue of their hard work, and also they represent their own brand, thereby serving as ambassadors of the company. The example of Costco shows that good relationship with customers begins with establishing long lasting relationship with ones employees. The company uses the strategy of ‘incentivization’ and fuses it with ‘activation’ (Jaffe, 2010). This replaces the need for activation and the entire process of marketing is transparent and is conducted from within the organization therefore building a long term commitment. The ‘flip’ of the funnel Advertising is an integrate part of marketing. However, the process of advertising and the extent of it should be monitored. The very groundwork of consumer behavior is described by the marketing funnel, i.e., ‘A.I.D.A.’; “Awareness, Interest, Desire, and Action” (Egan, 2007, p. 43). This theory is believed to be the most accurate to describe the four different phases in all consumers experience between the state of being unaware of the product or service to the state when they feel almost committed (usually monetary commitment) to acquire the particular item (Maclaran, Saren, Stern & Tadajewski, 2009). This marketing funnel is a predictable process that starts with studying the pattern of consumer behavior and ends with chasing the sales target by attracting the maximum number of customers. It considers high quantity to reach the end point at which quality is achieved. This method consumes a prolonged time period and huge reserves of resources, in order to yield the targeted revenue. The marketing funnel, due to its characteristics, can be called “an acquisition funnel” (Jaffe, 2010, p. 3). On flipping the marketing tunnel, Jaffe has shown in his book, that certain organizations have been able to change their marketing procedure to bring revolutionary changes in the yield. They start off with sales as the early step to marketing instead of arriving at the point of sales after the entire process of marketing gets over. This tactics inspires the thought that sales are not an end of marketing, but is integrated with the process of marketing and it can enhance the process of advertising further. Sales are capable of advocating the brand and increasing the brand value. This forms the ‘flip’ in the conventional marketing funnel. The entire process puts paramount importance on customer experience and its betterment. The key to this new form of marketing is retention, which becomes “the new acquisition” (Jaffe, 2010, p. 3). Conclusion In course of studying this book I have come across the concept several times that the method of flipping the traditional funnel requires more than merely common sense. On reading this book I have gained deep insights on the philosophies that the marketers believe in and the techniques utilized by them to survive in this highly competitive market. It shows that marketing is no more a one-way process; nor even two-way. It relates to a holistic process involving an enthusiastic conversation between the entire targeted customer base and also the customers that are indirectly influenced by the marketing activities directed toward the target customers. The outcome of flipping the funnel is high-quality business and therefore requires superior business sense. It is based on the idea of building durable relationships between the customers and the company and the cornerstone of these relations are mutual trust, respect for humanity and high reciprocal value. This leads the way to double the sales figures while chopping off the budget to half (Duru, 2006). References Aaker, D. A. & Keller, K. L. (1990). Consumer evaluations of brand extensions. Journal of marketing, 54 (January 1990), 27-41. Court, D., Elzinga, D., Mulder, S. and Vetvik, O. J. (2009). The consumer decision journey. Retrieved from http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/marketing_sales/the_consumer_decision_journey . Duru, C. E. (2006). The impact of leadership roles in relation to customer retention: An analysis of the relationship between insurance agency customers and insurance agency management. Michigan: ProQuest. Egan, J. (2007). Marketing communications. Connecticut: Cengage Learning. Jaffe, J. (2010). Flip the funnel: How to use existing customers to gain new ones. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Maclaran, P., Saren, M., Stern, B. & Tadajewski, M. (2009). The SAGE handbook of marketing theory. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Read More