The Marketing Funnel Stage Most Businesses Are Missing
Most businesses focus on awareness and conversion. But the stage in between — consideration — is where deals are actually won or lost.
Cerno Team
Growth Strategy
Every marketing funnel has three stages: awareness, consideration, and conversion. Most businesses invest heavily in awareness (ads, social media, SEO) and conversion (sales calls, proposals, closing). But they neglect consideration — the stage where prospects evaluate options and form preferences. This is where deals are won or lost.
What the consideration stage looks like
A prospect knows they need branding help. They've found three agencies. Now they're comparing: reading case studies, reviewing portfolios, checking testimonials, reading blog posts, and evaluating cultural fit. They spend days or weeks in this stage.
If your marketing doesn't serve this evaluation process, you lose to competitors who do — even if your work is better.
What consideration-stage content looks like
Detailed case studies
Not just "before and after" images. Detailed narratives that explain the challenge, your approach, the strategic decisions you made, and the measurable results. A prospect evaluating agencies wants to see how you think, not just what you produce.
Comparison content
"Custom vs. template websites" or "Agency vs. in-house marketing team" — content that helps prospects make the decision they're already trying to make. Position these as helpful guides, not sales pitches. When you help someone make a better decision, they trust you more.
FAQ and objection handling
Address the concerns prospects have but might not voice: "How long does this take? What's the process? What do we need to provide? What if we don't like the direction? How do you handle revisions?" Answering these proactively removes friction from the decision process.
Social proof in context
Generic testimonials help, but testimonials placed in context help more. A testimonial from a similar industry on your service page is more persuasive than a testimonial from an unrelated business on a separate testimonials page.
Behind-the-scenes content
Show your process, your team, your tools, your workspace. Premium clients want to know who they'll be working with. Transparency at the consideration stage builds the confidence needed to take the final step.
How to build your consideration engine
- Map the decision journey. Interview recent clients and ask what they evaluated before choosing you. What did they read? What reassured them? What almost stopped them?
- Audit your content against the journey. Do you have content for every stage? Most businesses have plenty of awareness content and no consideration content.
- Fill the gaps. Create the case studies, FAQs, comparison guides, and process documentation that prospects need during evaluation.
- Make it accessible. Consideration content should be easy to find — linked from your services pages, included in your email sequences, and featured in your navigation.
The businesses that win are not always the ones with the best awareness marketing. They're the ones that make the evaluation process easiest and most reassuring.
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