Marketing Is Like Dating—You Can’t Skip the First Few Steps
Have you ever had someone ask you to move in after the first date?
Exactly.
You’d be running in the opposite direction, right?
But that’s exactly what a lot of small businesses do with their marketing. They go straight for the sale without building any kind of relationship first.
❌ No brand awareness.
❌ No connection.
❌ No trust.
Then, they wonder why their campaigns performed poorly.
In marketing, there really isn’t a one size fits all that covers every industry when it comes to your funnel activities. But anywhere between 20-50% of your marketing efforts need to be focused on top-of-funnel (ToFu) activities. This helps you balance your marketing efforts across the entire funnel so that your message is hitting the right customer at the right time. So, by the time you make the offer, the customer is 1. aware of your product, 2. educated about your product and 3. ready to say yes.
If your marketing strategy feels like you’re screaming into the void—this is why. Let’s break it down.
Why Most Small Businesses Fail at Marketing
Let’s start with the facts:
👉 20% of businesses fail in their first year.
👉 Only 1 in 20 businesses make it past the $1M mark.
👉 Less than 1% of businesses make it past the $10M mark.
❓ Why? Poor market research, ineffective marketing, and not understanding their audience.
The common mistake?
Focusing only on conversions—the bottom of the funnel—and skipping the hard work of brand awareness and engagement.
Small businesses love to focus on the “targeted” ad strategy because it sounds sophisticated. But in a digitally noisy world, customers need to see you and trust you before they buy from you.
That’s why balancing your funnel is so crucial.
Whether you’re a local plumber, a retail shop, or a service-based business, the funnel works the same way—adjust the percentages based on your industry.
The Marketing Funnel Breakdown Explained
Whether you are new to business, established but growing, or struggling to get your name out there means a different percentage needs to be applied to your top-of-funnel activities. Coca-Cola doesn’t need to spend much on their brand awareness, they’ve already got that. But Bob’s Bakery, which just opened up last week? Probably should concentrate heavily on brand/neighborhood awareness.
20-50% Brand Awareness (Top of Funnel – ToFu)
Most small businesses are barely showing up here—this is why they struggle with long-term results.
At this stage, you’re just trying to get people to recognize your brand.
This isn’t about selling—it’s about becoming familiar.
🎯 Strategies to help with brand awareness:
✅ Maintaining consistency on social media.
✅ Running local sponsorships (Little Leagues, charity events).
✅ Networking with strategic partners (they need to know who you are too!).
✅ Direct mail campaigns (Every Door Direct Mail = visibility).
✅ Offering value—free guides, checklists, or quick-win resources.
💡 Think of this as building your airport.
Planes are flying over your business all the time. Top-of-funnel marketing is about making sure the right planes land at your airport.
👉 Resource: Need help improving your brand visibility? Check out the EDDM shared campaign to put your business in front of local customers for as little as $0.10 per piece.
25-35% Engagement (Middle of Funnel – MoFu)
This is where you start building trust and warming up your leads.
At this stage, they’ve seen you—but they’re not sold yet.
You need to give them a reason to stay engaged.
🎯 Strategies to help build engagement:
✅ Email marketing (they gave you their email—now deliver value).
✅ Small offers to build trust (free consultation, discounted first service).
✅ Good, actionable content—social posts, lead magnets, helpful articles.
✅ Retargeting ads (now that they know you, reinforce the message).
💡 Retargeting is key!
Many small businesses skip this step, but it’s one of the highest ROI strategies available.
👉 Resource: If you need help building a nurturing strategy, grab the KLT Workbook—it’s a step-by-step guide to social content that builds your Know, Like & Trust factor on social media.
20-30% Conversions (Bottom of Funnel – BoFu)
This is where most small businesses focus—and fail.
The mistake?
👉 Asking too soon (offering a pricey package without warming up the lead).
👉 Weak CTA or unclear next steps.
👉 No follow-through—once the sale doesn’t happen, they give up.
This phase is about sealing the deal—but only after you’ve done the work in the other 70-80% of the funnel.
🎯 Strategies to help conversions:
✅ Clear call to action (“Schedule your appointment today”).
✅ Low-barrier offers (“Free consultation” or “First service 50% off”).
✅ Social proof (reviews, case studies, testimonials).
💡 If you’ve done the first two steps right, this is where the sale happens naturally.
Why Only Focusing on the Bottom of the Funnel Fails
Here’s why small businesses burn out trying to focus only on conversions:
✅ It’s expensive. Conversion-focused ads are the most competitive and costly.
✅ It’s frustrating. If people don’t know you, they’re less likely to buy from you.
✅ It’s short-sighted. Even if you get the sale, you haven’t built a strong relationship.
It’s like planting seeds and then walking away before they sprout.
Sure, you might get a tomato or two — but most of the time, you’ll miss the harvest.
How to Fix It
The key is to balance your efforts across all three phases:
🎯 Strategies to help balance the scales:
✅ Increase your brand awareness through direct mail, social media, and networking.
✅ Build your email list and nurture your leads with consistent value.
✅ Retarget, reinforce, and follow up until they’re ready to convert.
💡 This is why multi-channel strategies work.
Studies show that customers need an average of 11 touchpoints before they take action—that’s why multi-channel strategies work.
If you’re ready to find the missing pieces in your funnel, start with a free marketing audit.
→ Let’s figure out where your strategy is breaking down and how to fix it.
👉 Request a Free Marketing Audit
It’s About the Whole Funnel
Smart business owners know that marketing isn’t about quick wins—it’s about creating lasting relationships that lead to consistent sales.
The Marketing Funnel isn’t just fancy marketing speak — it’s a mindset shift:
✅ Consistency over quick wins.
✅ Engagement over pressure.
✅ Trust before conversion.
Are you balancing your marketing strategy—or just shooting for quick sales?
👉 Curious where your marketing is working (or where it’s not)? Start with a free audit—we’ll map it out together.”
