Spaghetti Funnel

How do you attract and retain loyal customers? That question has been a main focus of companies’ marketing managers and decision-makers for as long as purchasing has existed. Today’s complex environment in which people have more information at their disposal has made it apparent that the dated strategies of influencing consumers are too simple. The spaghetti funnel theory can provide a better guideline for those looking to grow their businesses in the increasingly competitive market. 

What is the spaghetti funnel?

Everyone involved in marketing has heard of the “funnel” at some point; in this metaphor, consumers begin with various potential brands in mind at the top of the funnel. Through the marketing directed at them, they then gradually reduce their number of possible options as they move through the funnel. Ultimately, this leaves them with their favorite purchasing choice at the small end of the funnel. (McKinsey)

Moreover, the goal of marketing has always been to take advantage of any touchpoints and opportunities along the way in which potential customers can be influenced to buy their brand. However, Google recently published a whitepaper called “Decoding Decisions- the messy middle of purchase behavior,” which enlightens us to the difference in today’s world as opposed to 100 years of theory. 

In Google’s research, the spaghetti funnel diagram is a winding, random squiggle that looks like spaghetti mixed together on a plate. It represents a new way of buying than the old funnel model. Nowadays, from a consumer’s trigger (the initiative that they first take) to what they ultimately buy, there is no set journey. No single pathway exists. Rather, Google’s research provides a wild web of touchpoints that maps out the actions that people who shopped took. 

For example, common points of contact included: review, video sharing, retail, blogging, comparison, voucher/coupon, and branded sites. Also extremely important were search engines, portals, social media, forums, interest groups/clubs, aggregators, publishers, and notice boards. Most consumers have probably used more than a few of these researching tools. Marketing teams must take all of these factors into consideration if they hope to reach and have an impact on a consumer’s buying process in today’s world.

With the rise of the Internet, its accessibility, and the plethora of information available, it has transformed into a tool that allows people to compare just about anything. “That’s clear in how we’ve seen purchase behavior change over the years on Google Search. Take the terms “cheap” and “best.” Worldwide, search interest for “best” has far outpaced search interest for “cheap.” Those same dynamics hold true in countries around the world, like Germany, India, and Italy, for instance, when “cheap” and “best” are translated into local languages,” Google’s whitepage reports. Of course, consumers’ ability and initiative to do their own research with all the tools available is an impactful factor that every marketing team must take into account.

What are former traditional models of the consumer decision?

The classic method of modeling the average consumer journey from start to purchase is the funnel, as we mentioned before.

An article from McKinsey summarizes: “The funnel analogy suggests that consumers systematically narrow the initial-consideration set as they weigh options, make decisions, and buy products. Then, the postsale phase becomes a trial period determining consumer loyalty to brands and the likelihood of buying their products again.

Marketers have been taught to “push” marketing toward consumers at each stage of the funnel process to influence their behavior.” The funnel model worked well to market to broad chunks of the population for many years, but in this day and age, it’s becoming more obsolete as customer awareness increases. Additionally, there are more options on the market, so word of mouth and other consumers’ opinions are increasingly factorable. 

Each day, people are increasingly coming into contact with more touch points and buying factors that are a direct result of the myriad of digital channels and product choices available. Combined with the fact that consumers of today are better-informed and more discerning, there has been an explosion in the routes through which marketing can influence each individual’s consumer decisions.

The traditional funnel analogy purports that customers systematically narrow down their initial consideration set as they go through the process of weighing options, making decisions, and eventually buying a product. It does help companies understand their product’s strength at a certain stage, to highlight snags or faults that slow adoption, and to make it possible to analyze the business model, create more effective products and marketing, and overall improve the customer experience.

However, there are many more factors at play now than when the original funnel model was created. Accumulated impressions from family and friends’ experiences and opinions, ads and news reports from countless channels in all directions, and consumers’ own experiences shape their initial-consideration set. That is, the small number of brands that consumers take into account at the top of the “funnel” has greatly narrowed in comparison to before, plus they perform much more research than they once did.

The decision-making process is a much less linear journey than before, “…with four primary phases representing potential battlegrounds where marketers can win or lose: initial consideration; active evaluation, or the process of researching potential purchases; closure, when consumers buy brands; and postpurchase, when consumers experience them,” as McKinsey says. In the postsale phase, the trial begins. After testing their new purchases, customers consequently decide if they would purchase the same thing next time, determining the likelihood of repeat buyers and brand loyalty. 

Furthermore, the changing consumer buying habits, decision journey, and the subsequent different marketing methods are something that companies must focus on. Marketers have been taught to push marketing at each stage of the buying journey to influence peoples’ behavior. However, research has found that consumer-driven marketing is very important. Customers are taking control of the process and actively searching for information they find useful to compare products and make decisions. 

After researching current business trends, an article by McKinsey reconfirmed the importance of customer-driven marketing: “In today’s decision journey, consumer-driven marketing is increasingly important as customers seize control of the process and actively “pull” information helpful to them. Our research found that two-thirds of the touch points during the active-evaluation phase involve consumer-driven marketing activities, such as Internet reviews and word-of-mouth recommendations from friends and family, as well as in-store interactions and recollections of past experiences.” Overall, only one third of the touch points on customers’ maps involve what we consider company-driven marketing.

Moreover, marketing teams must move quickly beyond push-style communication, and determinedly adapt their strategies to influence consumer-driven touch points; Internet sites, social media, and word of mouth, to name a few.

What drove the changes to the new model of a spaghetti funnel?

Interestingly, buyer enablement calms the confusion that “spaghetti bowl” journey maps create. One of the best forms of customer service is to help your clients decipher the difficult parts of trying to make purchases in today’s chaos. Customers are struggling to buy complex B2B solutions. Research has shown that purchase regret increases with the more difficulty the consumer experienced during their journey; purchase regret is the user’s feeling about what they bought, specifically if they are having trouble with it.

In one real-world example of purchase regret outlined by Modus, a buyer had purchased a CRM software. Their team had taken two years to reach a consensus and finalize a buying decision. The supplier’s side was done correctly; they were realistic and fully delivered, met deadlines, etc. However, the buyer ended up hating the system, simply because every time they log in, all the frustration they endured for two years while trying to buy it comes flooding back.

Another way to think about the spaghetti funnel’s multiple random touchpoints is to understand the current buying process as plate spinning. Modus asks: “Have you ever been to a fair or circus and watched the guy who tries to get six plates spinning on sticks all at the same time? By the time he gets three going, the first is wobbling and needs to be stabilized and then you add more, and repeat the process trying to get them all spinning together.” Heads of marketing can’t assume that people’s process is linear, and they must adjust accordingly.

The highest impact action that you can take in order to drive business growth is to calm down the chaos of customer buying by completing the jobs necessary in order to help them make a buying decision.

Furthermore, you can visualize the spaghetti bowl or funnel as four buckets of buying that influence consumer decisions. They include problem identification, solution exploration, requirements building, and supplier selection. Of course, it’s also not linear. When asked if they ever revisited any of the four buckets during their journey, over 75% of buyers said that they revisited all four buckets. Information surfaces, through many avenues at any phase of the process, causing them to rethink their opinions and loyalty. These “what ifs” make such a huge difference and prevent buying from being linear. (Modus)

Struggles like validation and consensus happen in each of peoples’ four buckets. Each step of the consumer journey includes these factors, complicating the buying process even more. This is where marketing strategies come into play. Information and content play important roles in buyer enablement and ultimately customer loyalty.

Getting the correct information and tools to your potential buyers is the perfect way to simplify their lives. What content helps people finish each bucket? Benchmarks, product tours, ROI calculators, and other useful content can help those in charge of buying solve their specific problems. Simplifying their process is a huge difference between the past and nowadays. Since there are so many options and so much information out there, your job as a marketer is to streamline people’s lives and make it apparent how your product is the best fit.

According to an article by Modus, “Content trumps channels.” Another factor discovered by research is that channels themselves don’t matter as much as you might think, but content does. Many buyers want to use your website and your sales reps to obtain the necessary information. However, the opportunity to improve and expand this information is huge. Only ⅓ of buyers said that the information they accessed on vendor websites or sales reps impacted their buying process. Whether interacting digitally or in person, the most important factor is the information that enables customers to make decisions in each of the four buckets: problem identification, solution exploration, requirements building, and supplier selection. Help people along these routes with awesome content and you’re already a step ahead of the competition.

How is it relevant to startups and businesses?

In today’s very competitive, complex business world, not all loyalty is equal. Essentially, long-term brand loyalty is the goal because with so many options and influences along a consumer’s purchase journey, keeping the customers that you already have is the most effective method. Nowadays, when consumers profess loyalty to a brand, they embody different types of loyalty. For example, some are active loyalists, who not only stay with the brand, but they also recommend it to their friends and acquaintances. 

The other type are the passive loyalists; those people who stay with a brand without being committed to it, whether due to laziness, indifference, or the confusion caused by a never ending bombardment of information and endless choices. Businesses and startups especially should be prioritizing the expansion of their base of active loyalists.

This is achievable by investing the most in new touch points. Of course, this requires entirely novel, creative marketing efforts, not only efforts to boost word of mouth advertising, customer satisfaction, or getting onto the Internet. It’s much more effective to combine as many of the touch points as possible, to get the strongest outcome and the most active loyalists possible. (McKinsey) 

Essentially, if you want your startup to thrive at any phase, or you want your business to stay strong in these increasingly competitive times, your marketing content and plan must be adjusted according to the times. Focus on consumer-centered solutions and you’ll reduce the confusion that comes along with buying amidst all the noise.

How can founders change their marketing models to be more competitive in this new landscape?

So how can you as a founder or head of marketing make a significant difference in a potential customer’s journey? McKinsey outlines a few important actions to take. First of all, some companies require new messaging to win at whatever stage of the journey offers the greatest revenue opportunity. It may be better to replace a broad message that shows up in all the buckets or touch points with a message that addresses weaknesses at touch points such as initial consideration or active evaluation. Tailor messaging to the point in time, as well as the individual experience.

Secondly, invest in consumer-driven marketing. The widespread connectivity experienced today allows marketers to provide rich tools to help consumers decide which products are best for them and learn about their options; this is essential in the online world. Online targeting engines and content-management systems let marketers create endless variations of advertisement, based on the context, viewers’ behavioral patterns, and a real-time idea of what the organization should be promoting. Consumer-driven marketing is actually very helpful to companies and consumers alike.

Additionally, integrating all customer-facing activities is a top priority. Teams in charge of the company’s informational websites, loyalty programs, and PR should be coordinated and communicated between levels and properly led. An organization-wide customer voice is necessary to unify activities such as product development, market research, public relations, and data management; the CMO is a great candidate to take responsibility for this. Integrate the face your customers see and experience to be organized and gain loyalty.

Google’s team also has a few recommendations for companies looking to influence purchase decisions:  

• Show up at key moments of exploration and evaluation to win or protect your share of consumer preference.
• Apply behavioral biases to give shoppers the information and reassurance they need to exit the messy middle and complete a purchase.
• Optimize site speed, user experience, and onsite messaging to shorten the distance between trigger and purchase. (Google)

Other recommendations are quite easy but can make a world of difference in your company’s future success. For example, a simple website that’s easy to navigate acts as an anchor for all online channels and points of contact. Use a well-revised, user-tested platform with helpful, properly-sized images to prevent website lags. Maintain one page per major product or service that provides the potential customer with enough information to help them understand each product’s unique selling proposition. 

“Finally, showing up in key moments of exploration and evaluation is why the online presence of your business needs to be spread over many channels. At the interest stage, AKA “Messy Middle,” these channels include: Google, Bing search, Facebook, Instagram, Yelp, LinkedIn, and other social media (find out where your best customers hang out),” says the Google team.

Target and retarget your display to reinforce messages and increase their frequency to increase the chances that customers choose to buy from you; this can be done through Google Display Network, Facebook, and third-party companies like Simpli.fi. Videos showing how your company and/or product is unique are also great; channels include YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. Take advantage of shopping sites (Amazon, Shopify, Google Shopping). Utilize podcasts, radio, broadcast TV, and OTT and CTV to stream messages (including short-form commercials or long-form storytelling). (Google)

Increasing your organization’s competitiveness in this increasingly complex business environment can seem daunting, but it really just involves using the tools at your disposal. Nowadays, there are countless channels through which customers experience a myriad of information that they actively seek out, all of which contribute to their purchase decisions, purchase regret, and customer loyalty. Interacting with consumers and calming the chaos they experience at multiple touchpoints is essential to influence their decisions. Ultimately, providing an easier pathway and lessening the noise that the spaghetti funnel model has created in every consumer’s life is the key to lasting success.

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