What is consideration?
There are all sorts of sales funnels, in which a bunch of prospects enter at the top of a wide funnel and a smaller number of customers exit via a narrow outlet at the bottom. (There are also upside-down “funnels,” but I won’t discuss them here.)
There are umpteen different definitions of the sales funnel, but I tend to gravitate toward the “awareness – consideration – conversion” three-step funnel because it’s the easiest to describe and understand. Two discussions of this three-step sales funnel are provided by Venn Marketing and Walker Sands (the latter of whom throws in things that happen AFTER the purchase, engagement and advocacy).
Both sources define consideration as the second step in the funnel. I personally prefer how Walker Sands defines consideration:
(B)uyers are considering your solution instead of competitors’ solutions.
From Walker Sands, “5 Key Stages in Building a Profitable Social Media Marketing Funnel.” (Link)
Once customers who are aware of you have considered your offering, selected ones will decide that your offering is superior to all the other offerings, and will move to conversion.
Additional information on consideration
Here is a sampling of what John E. Bredehoft of Bredemarket has written on the topic of consideration.
(12/11/2023) When You MUST Focus on Features
Bredemarket has consistently preached benefits, benefits, benefits, since customers want to know what’s in it for them. Customers don’t care if Bredemarket has been in business for three years; they care about how Bredemarket will facilitate consideration of their offerings.
But Tamara Grominsky, in her article “High-Converting Homepages,” points out one significant exception to the “benefits over features” rule—or, in alternate terms, the “outcomes over capabilities” rule.
More at https://bredemarket.com/2023/12/11/when-you-must-focus-on-features/
(10/8/2023) Your Prospects Don’t Care About Your Technology
Adopt a customer focus and talk about things that your prospects care about, such as how your product will solve their problems.
- Do your customers struggle when considered against the competition? Will your technology help them stand out?
More at https://bredemarket.com/2023/10/08/your-prospects-dont-care-about-your-technology/
(8/28/2023) Does Self-Focus (Rather than Customer Focus) Lead to Blandness?
But too often a company’s products appear to be just like the products from all the other companies, which makes the consideration phase (where prospects try to differentiate between products) difficult.
More at https://bredemarket.com/2023/08/28/does-self-focus-rather-than-customer-focus-lead-to-blandness/
(8/9/2023) Three Key Ways to Receive Bredemarket Information
Are you considering contracting with a marketing and writing service?
Would you like to know more about Bredemarket’s marketing and writing services to provide the right words for identity/biometrics, technology, and local B2B firms?
Would you like multiple options to learn about Bredemarket?
More at https://bredemarket.com/2023/08/09/three-key-ways-to-receive-bredemarket-information/
(7/26/2023) Is the Funnel Consideration Phase Quantitative or Qualitative?
But how do prospects in the funnel consideration phase evaluate your offering as opposed to competitor offerings? Is it truly a quantitative and logical process, or it is in reality qualitative and emotional?
More at https://bredemarket.com/2023/07/26/is-the-funnel-consideration-phase-quantitative-or-qualitative/
(7/24/2023) Awareness Calls to Action
So THAT’S where I moved the reader on to the consideration phase—AFTER they had read the blog post AND the e-book.
But while they were still on the blog post, I assumed they were still in the awareness phase.
More at https://bredemarket.com/2023/07/24/awareness-calls-to-action/
(7/20/2023) Illustrating Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt for Facility Monitoring
I just ran across an excellent example of how a content marketing expert can raise fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) in the mind of a prospect in the “consideration” phase.
These prospects need people to monitor their facilities and protect them against threats. In today’s world, it’s technically possible for facility monitoring professionals to work from anywhere, including their own homes.
Rapid Response Monitoring wants to discourage this.
More at https://bredemarket.com/2023/07/20/fud-facility-monitoring/
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