Customer Acquisition Funnel Explained: Turning Strangers into Customers 

A customer acquisition funnel is a model that businesses use to understand and track the customer’s journey from awareness to purchase. To create an effective funnel, you must become aware of the six different stages of the funnel: awareness, interest, consideration, intent, evaluation, and purchase.  

This funnel helps in identifying and acquiring new customers. Customer acquisition is an important and integral part of any business’s growth strategy and revenue generation. It also helps in building brand awareness and customer loyalty. 

Let’s take a deeper dive into the different stages of acquisition.  

Awareness 

The first stage is awareness, where the goal is to introduce your brand, product, or service to a broad audience and make potential customers aware of your brand’s existence. This stage is the first time a prospect encounters your business or product offering. The primary focus of this stage is to get your brand on the radar of potential customers.   

Interest 

In a customer acquisition funnel, the interest stage is when potential customers, having moved past initial awareness, actively seek more information about your product or service. The prospect is interested, and it’s now that you have to get them hooked. Provide valuable information and educational content through strategies like blog posts, webinars, email nurturing, and product demos to engage and deepen the interest of your prospects.  

Consideration 

The consideration stage is when prospects who want a solution to a problem actively research and compare your offering against competitors. Prospects evaluate different options to find the most appropriate solution to their needs. They actively seek information, read reviews, and compare product features and pricing.  

Intent 

The intent stage is when a prospect shows a clear intention to purchase your product or service. They move past general research and demonstrate a readiness to purchase. They might take specific actions like adding items to a wish list or shopping cart, request a demo, or initiate contact with the sales team.   

Evaluation 

This stage analyses performance at each stage from awareness to purchase, to optimize strategies and identify bottlenecks in order to improve conversion rates. It maps the customer’s journey, defining relevant metrics for each stage, using data-driven insights to understand the specific actions, needs, and mindset of customers at each stage of their journey.   

Purchase 

Also known as the conversion stage, it is the final step when a prospect makes the commitment to buy a product or service. Leads are converted into paying customers at this stage. The goal is to make the purchase process as smooth and hassle-free as possible for the customer. A positive purchase experience can lead to customer loyalty and repeat business.