The Dark Funnel with Tom Augenthaler

Tom Augenthaler and Joe Lynch discuss the dark funnel. As the founder of an influencer marketing company, Tom helps companies tell stories that make the customer the hero. Having customers and influencers talk positively about your company is one of the best ways to attract and win new business.

About Tom Augenthaler

Tom Augenthaler is the Founder and CEO of The Influence Marketer. On the website, Tom shares his ideas and knowledge of influencer marketing with others looking to learn about this powerful strategy. Tom is a pioneer in the space and has been working with influencers since 2007 while with Hewlett Packard, and as a consultant helping corporate clients since 2009. He is an international speaker, corporate trainer, and recognized as one of the Top 50 experts in the field by Talking Influence. Tom writes for several media outlets including Social Media Examiner and Social Media Today. Tom earned a Bachelor of Arts in History from Gettysburg College and a Master of Liberal Arts in English and American Lit from Harvard University.

About 551 Media and The Influence Marketer

The Influence Marketer is the best place to learn about B2B influencer marketing. Tom Augenthaler has been helping top brands utilize B2B influencer marketing since 2007, he is a true pioneer in the space. The Influencer Marketer provides lots of free content on influencer marketing and is the place to go for any company looking to start or improve their use of influencer marketing. Tom offers full team training on the many different aspects of the process, one on one mentoring, or strategy calls. He consults digitally and in-person to help B2B businesses build a marketing strategy that is right for them.

Key Takeaways: The Dark Funnel

Tom Augenthaler is the Founder and CEO of 551 Media, where he helps B2B companies build brand affinity with influencers.
In the podcast interview, Tom explains that the dark funnel is a customer’s purchasing journey that occurs off-site through social, paid, competitive, influencer and other channels not controlled or visible to the brand.
In recent years, marketers have come to rely on sales funnels that culminate in a marketing generated lead, but increasingly savvy customers are avoiding the tactics and methods (webinars, white papers, cold calls, etc..) that put them in the sales funnel.
Instead customers are educating themselves about their buying options via articles, blog posts, social media, videos, influencers, etc.. outside the view of the sales and marketing team. Prospects from the dark funnel often contact companies with a good understanding of the company’s service offering and very close to making their buying decision.
Marketing tools that enable marketers to engage, track, and contact prospects are great, however, some brands have been over-zealous and savvy customers are keeping themselves off the radar and in the dark funnel.
Recent research by Sirius Decisions and Forrester suggests that 67% to 90% of the customer’s purchasing journey is in the dark funnel – consuming off-site content.
Tom and his team help companies navigate the dark funnel. They empower businesses to inspire, educate, and persuade through influencers.