The marketing funnel starts with articles about the shortage that exists in software developers and the high salaries caused by that. This is the stage where the awareness of working as software developers begins to develop. As a result, higher education institutions and professional colleges develop study programs accordingly to provide an answer to the desire of those interested in learning software development. This is the stage where people start to be interested in studies in the field (consideration), and many of them also enroll. By enrolling to the various study tracks (conversion), the educational institutions benefit from the large number of enrollees and the courses they deliver (the number of enrollees for bachelor’s degree studies in computer science in many public colleges is significantly greater than the number of enrollees in any other department in those colleges). Later, a few of those who complete the professional trainings do progress and manage to find their first job in software development. Despite the large number of those that complete their studies and despite the fact that it is a much larger number than the number of jobs offered, there is still a shortage of software developers. Professional training graduates that start working in software development and also meet the expectations of their employers are now transferred to the human resources department in their company, with the aim of retaining them (to do everything possible so that they do not move to work in another company). The amount of effort that will be invested in each of them will be in accordance with its value for the company. This value is largely derived from the extent to which that employee is a talent in his field. This is the stage in which resources will be invested to develop the employees’ loyalty to their workplace (loyalty) and this is also the stage where an attempt will be made to use those employees to recruit employees at a similar level. This attempt might also involve material benefits for every new employee recruited (advocacy). This is also the stage in which the company might try to use some of the employees as professional speakers in various professional conferences or as participants in various advertisements for recruiting new employees.
What is a Marketing Funnel?
According to Wikipedia, The Marketing Funnel (AKA Purchase Funnel) is a consumer-focused marketing model that illustrates the theoretical customer journey toward the purchase of a good or service. As far as software developers are concerned, two separate marketing funnels can be identified. We can also treat them as one big marketing funnel. The first funnel is handheld by the educational institutions that run professional and academic learning programs, and the second is handheld by high-tech companies that try to find talented software developers in order to hire them. The selection of a talented programmer to work in a certain hi-tech company can be considered as a transaction in which the client is the programmer who is willing to give his time (pay in working hours), and the seller is the high-tech company which is willing to provide in exchange for the working hours an adequate salary and satisfactory working conditions.
Hi Tech Companies' Software Developers Funnel
It is highly recommended for anyone who takes his/her first steps in the field, whether he/she is a computer science student or a student in a professional training course, to be aware of the funnel maintained by the various high-tech companies. As part of this funnel, high-tech companies will invest resources in increasing the number of people interested in working for them. whether through advertisements or through other means. Out of the many students that will submit their application, only a few will make it through the funnel and get a contract.
The Marketing Funnels' Phases
In different sources you can find different lists of the phases that make up the funnel. The description of the phases in the various sources is not the same, and in some sources additional phases appear and/or certain phases appear under different names. At the same time, the main phases we identify (from checking the various sources to describe the concept of the marketing funnel) are the following:
Creating awareness – awareness
At this phase, the potential customer’s awareness of the product or service we sell is developed. We develop it usually through articles in newspapers, advertisements, and programs on television.
Creating interest – consideration
After the potential customer is already familiar with the product or service we sell, comes the phase where the desire of the potential customer is stimulated to consider the purchase of the product or service.
Making the purchase – conversion
This is the conversion phase. The phase in which the potential customer moves from the phase of interest to the action in which he decides to purchase the product or service we sell.
Loyalty development
After the customer has already made the purchase action, we must guarantee his satisfaction so that he remains a loyal customer for additional products and services.
Client brings a client – advocacy
At this phase we will develop among loyal customers the possibilities to make these customers bring new customers. This is the phase where the company succeeds in converting the satisfied customers into ambassadors of the product or service they purchased.
Identifying the different funnels and taking them into account when taking our decisions can help us make better decisions. Whether it is someone interested in studies in the field or a company that is interested in locating new talents, we will be happy to assist through the consulting services we provide. With regard to the implementation of the advocacy phase in a company that has already recruited talented software developers and is now interested in finding more talented developers, we recommend considering the possibility of appearing as sponsors of the conferences we produce.
