The market funnel has been transformed into something new, transitioning its form in order to match the evolving technology that is now present in businesses’ strategies to acquire and keep customers. This change has been deemed necessary because of the claim that marks the market funnel as broken and in need of an upgrade. In response, the market funnel has become the market loop, a version that possesses the structure of a double-ended funnel. Overall, the market loop makes the relationship between potential and current customers more personal while unknowingly creating an easier way to spread the awareness of a business and its products to others. The entire process of the loop is helping businesses find potential customers at a rapid rate, proving its structure to be the best format for this present day.
One of the greater attributes from the loop structure is that every customer does not have to enter this process from one distinguishable spot. This opens up the amount of potential customers that can come across a new business, meaning there is more room for businesses to invoke a lasting impression on a customer through different formats and ways of communication.
Basically, there is no need for predictable steps in order for a customer to become a part of this awareness to purchase process. There is now creative freedom and the ability to build personal connections with customers right away. The loop is omnichannel and is presenting the customer as the one in charge of the interaction between the customer and the business in question. In reality, though, it is the business that has unprecedented access to the customer’s experience through these stages, making the business in control of the customer’s experience and consumption of the business’s image and products.
While the market funnel focused on the prospect of following this format of awareness, interest, desire, and action, the loop allows a much broader experience for a customer to dive into from any point of the process. These stages are awareness, engagement, consideration, purchase, adoption, retention, expansion, and advocacy. A customer could already be in the consideration stage of the market loop with no need for being involved with the above steps. This person could have heard from another that a certain business is great, meaning the stage of consideration has already been accessed. What is also beneficial is the fact that this customer does not have to travel to the next projected stage. This person can easily skip to the advocacy stage by talking to others about this business that was recommended from one of this customer’s friends. Overall, this loop structure elicits a new strategy for a business to play with in order to engage with one’s potential and current customers in a multitude of projected formats and experiences.
