Marketing Bow-Tie vs. Marketing Funnel: How to Impact Revenue with Data Visualization

Summary: <br> How to reach out to Gary Malhotra:<br> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-malhotra-bb680b/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> </a> <a href="https://twitter.com/TapClicks" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> </a> <a href="https://www.tapclicks.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a><br> When you think of turning potential customers into revenue, what metrics come to mind? Do you focus on the typical vertical marketing funnel? If so, you likely aren’t maximizing your revenue potential. We spoke with <a href="https://www.tapclicks.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TapClicks</a>’ VP of Marketing and Experience, Gary Malhotra, about his approach to marketing and the one metric he assigns the most importance to.<br> Can you guess what it is?<br> Marketing’s Most Important Metric<br> Rather than focusing on the numerous metrics associated with traditional marketing efforts, Gary suggests adopting a revenue-centric mindset. Revenue, he says, should be your marketing team’s most important metric. If your current strategy isn’t bringing in the right amount of revenue, change it, because revenue is what keeps a business going.<br> What does this mean for your marketing strategy? Here’s an example.<br> In most marketing organizations, only 5-10% of backlinks from influencers contribute to 80-90% of your total influencer revenue. Instead of increasing your total number of influencers’ backlinks, you should double down on the group of influencers that are actually providing revenue. Give them case studies or product roadmaps to work with, get their feedback on upcoming products, and make them work harder and smarter for you so they can bring in even more revenue.<br> By focusing on currently-existing revenue streams, you will improve not only your marketing costs, but also the amount of revenue and business you’re bringing in.<br> The Horizontal Bowtie<br> Marketing has changed, and the metrics you focus on the need to change with it. That means shifting your mindset from the traditional image of a vertical funnel to one of a horizontal bowtie.<br> On the left side of the bowtie are new customers coming into your business. They then convert in the middle and expand outward toward upsell revenue. This is where focusing on existing revenue streams comes in. It’s much easier and more effective to get additional revenue from existing customers than new customers. The more you can increase revenue from these established streams, the more you’ll affect your company’s total revenue.<br> Granted, determining which factors in your marketing strategy will have the largest effect on your total revenue can be difficult. To help make your available data valuable, Gary provided suggestions for factors to focus on each side of the bowtie.<br> Left Side of the Bowtie (New Customers)<br> <br> * Buying intent data - What does prospects’ activity on Google and your website tell you about their intent to buy?<br> * Lookalike data - What do your current best customers look like, and what prospects look like them? Those lookalikes are prime targets for sales.<br> * Clickstream data - What is the path to purchase when discovering your website? What is the path to purchase once potential customers click through to your website?<br> <br> * Attribution data/Multi-channel campaign data - Where are most of your most valuable leads and customers coming from? What types of campaigns and channels have proven to be most valuable to your total revenue?<br> <br> Right Side of the Bowtie (Current Customers)<br> <br> * Customer support tickets - What are the biggest issues your current customers are facing? When customers cancel, what are their reasons?<br> * User reviews - What are people saying about your services/product and market? Are there any major issues you can work on to increase customer retention and upsells?<br> <br> Data Visualization Tactics<br>