Not everyone agreed that funnel fundamentals have disappeared, though. Conversion starts with awareness, a storyline, and feelings. “It’s very difficult to get to action from a storyline,” said Benoit Vatere, chief media officer of Liquid Death. The story and feeling need to be repeated several times before consumers act. “There are so many ways to consider the product and act, but the fundamentals are still the same,” he said.
Beth Tripaldi, head of strategy at ARGONAUT, calls the truncated or condensed omnichannel funnel “Chutes and Ladders.” Consumers are “taking over” the process. “A simple review can actually change your awareness and your reputation and your perceptions,” she shared. It’s a constant loop between inspiration and action, and everything in between.
Creators’ and consumers’ role in the funnel
The changing funnel means that Candace Payne, VP of marketing at Sephora, is focusing on meeting consumers where they are. A few months ago, the brand launched My Sephora Storefront, a creator-powered affiliate market.
“Now the creators can have a piece of content on their spot, take action, and then send people directly to a curated storefront on Sephora.com,” she said. “That’s really bringing together the creator influence, that emotional connection, directly to the commerce piece.” Hosting it on sephora.com gives the brand more ownership in the beauty affiliate market, Payne added.
In many ways, power has shifted from the brand to the consumer. Brands must be strategic in all parts of the funnel.
“The customer really is the one in charge,” said Tisha Thompson, CEO and founder of LYS Beauty. She discovered that their top-of-the-funnel efforts to gain attention were not necessarily leading to conversions. But a viral TikTok video showing someone using the brand’s product led to thousands of orders overnight. LYS capitalized on the sales, but had to backtrack to the awareness level to avoid sales being a one-off. “I will say, ultimately, what has united us in all of the areas of the funnel for our brand is emotional connection,” shared Thompson. “We have to make sure that we don’t just let data drive.”
