Heads up: The age-old "sales funnel" metaphor—consumers begin their decision-making with a large number of options in mind and narrow their choices to an eventual sale—fails to capture the shifting nature of consumer engagement in the digital age, warns David C. Edelman in a recent article at the Harvard Business Review.

As a result, many companies could be wasting precious branding dollars, Edelman contends. "What has changed is when—at what touch points—[consumers] are most open to influence, and how you can interact with them at those points," he explains.

He cites an article in the McKinsey Quarterly that redefines the sales process in terms of the "consumer decision journey" (CDJ). Briefly, these are the steps in that journey:

Consider. Unlike in the days of the sales funnel, today's consumers often limit their considerations at this first stage, Edelman notes.

→ end article preview
Read the Full Article