A clever marketing model based on atomic physics encourages us to think about the energy required to move customers to higher-value states.
We often talk about the sales funnel, which is a convenient illustration of the buying process, but an awkward one. After all, it effectively suggests that we squeeze prospects down a funnel until they pop out by getting a (possibly unwanted) sales call. Ouch.
Here’s a different analogy. Particle Physics Meets Pipeline: Introducing Atomic Buying Journeys on Jon Miller’s blog suggests that customers and prospects orbit around the atomic nucleus of our brand in different shells, representing awareness, consideration, decision, purchase, adoption and even advocacy. This gives us a model where moving customers outward – towards advocacy – requires energy input.
It’s clever, even if the idea of having our brand at the centre of things could still be a little problematic. As the article says, the model encourages us to think about the energy required to move customers to higher-value states, and the importance of consistent engagement to keep them there – as well as a lot more, if you think about the basics of atomic physics.