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Maybe it’s age or simply the accessibility of online information – but I feel like my memory isn’t nearly what it used to be. But why should it be? If I need to know something, I look it up online. If I need to remember something, I scroll through my pictures or social media. Heck, I don’t even need to type – I can just ask the virtual assistant that lives in my phone! I know I’m not the only one feeling this way – should we be concerned, or is this just evolution?

Give this song by Pearl Jam a listen with me as we see what the experts are saying this week.

Doing the Evolution: Dark Funnel

I first saw this article last year but thought it was worth discussing again. I’ve really started to hear my clients talk more and more about the ‘dark funnel’. So what is it, and how does it impact the B2B waterfall?

The key to aligning funnels with buyer journeys is to employ modern data science to illuminate what vendors like 6sense call the Dark Funnel.

Unless you’re the only provider of the solution you offer AND that category of solution is only discussed in your own digital properties (and what are the odds of that?), it’s likely that some or even most of your potential buyers will begin their buyer journeys elsewhere: on influencer sites, product review sites, competitors’ sites, social media, or one of many other places buyers can go in the digital realm. Taken together, all those places outside of your realm/control where buyers are searching for information make up the Dark Funnel.

But how do you track this? As a B2B organization, do you account for these activities in your analysis and funnel tracking? What about marketing attribution?

For many, it means that your sales cycles and funnel can be unpredictable. By tapping into the Dark Funnel, organizations can see and align their marketing and selling processes to the beginning of the buyer’s journey. By doing so, you’ll have a better chance of winning more deals, and you can bring consistency and predictability to the revenue generation process.

Doing the Evolution: Overusing Technology

I can’t attest to the seriousness of this study, but according to the authors, we will continue to evolve in a certain biological and physical way if we’re not careful. Given that North Americans are on their devices for at least seven hours a day, things could get weird!

Future evolutionary-induced traits may include:

• A hunched back and arched neck from looking down all the time
• A clawed hand from holding onto a phone constantly
• An elbow at a permanent 90° angle from holding our phones
• A thicker skull and smaller brain because of outsourcing knowledge and memories to the cloud
• A second eyelid (like camels!) to protect us from the blue light given off by our devices

What do you think? As you know, I’m already suffering from the smaller brain due to outsourcing knowledge to the cloud… maybe your prospects in the Dark Funnel are, too! So how do you take advantage to ensure their outsourced knowledge guides them to you?

As always, don’t hesitate to call me to brainstorm or just say hello!

Looking forward,
Rick

Rick Endrulat, President | ricke@v-causeway.com | www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat

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