Before social media, cars were just becoming a thing. Michelin Tires: Yeah, the tire company crafted the perfect marketing sales funnel.

In fact, this marketing strategy worked so well that it's being used by the top entrepreneurs and businesses today.

• Alex Hormozi (Gym Launch)

• Iman Ghazi

• Click Funnels

• Amazon

All these companies are gaining millions a year in revenue by setting up their marketing funnels using the same concept as Michelin tires.

Even Alex Hormozi preaches about this concept but doesn't even realize it's before his time. (he might, idk)

Top Restaurants = Tire Sales

People probably know what a Michelin Star is and what it represents.

But most people would not make the connection that the Michelin Stars is directly related to the Michelin Tire Company.

How did a tire company get into the restaurant review business, and how the hell does it help sell tires?

In the 1900's automobiles were just becoming a thing.

In France, around 3,000 people owned a car. (not a whole lot compared to today)

But it was forceable that car owners would rise in the next few years and decades.

Two brothers

• Edouard Michelin

• Andre Michelin

Started a tire company.

However, the automobile market was still too small for them to profit.

So... they started looking for ways to get automobile users to purchase their tires.

At the same time, they wanted to encourage others to buy more cars.

Enter in their GENIUS idea.

A guide for motorists!

With the growing market for long-distance tourism, there was a demand for quality information.

The Michelin brothers saw a gap in the market for a guide that was aimed at motorists.

So, they created their Guide that provided drivers with helpful information.

• Maps

• Tire repair and replacement instructions

• Gas stations

• Car mechanic listings

• Restaurants

• Hotels

The guide was filled with information that was difficult to find at the time.

As the automobile market grew, so did the Michelin guide.

Eventually, the restaurant section of the book became the most popular. Evolving into a guide for the top restaurants in the world.

To ensure the quality of the listings. Full-time food critics would travel the world visiting restaurants anonymously.

The Michelin company wanted to provide the most value to the guide reader.

Ranking restaurants with a three-star rating.

1 Star - High-quality cooking, worth a stop.

2 Stars - Excellent cooking worth a detour.

3 Starts - Exceptional cuisine, worth an extraordinary journey

Today, 90 Years later, a new Michelin Guide is still being published yearly.

The "Perfect" Funnel

Why did the Michelin Guide work as a successful marketing strategy & Sales Funnel. Most importantly how can we apply this to our brands in today’s digital age?

Michelin understood the importance of FREE value and how it would equate to more tire sales.

In today's terms, this is known as a lead magnet.

You provide a potential lead with free value in exchange for their email or contact information.

Michelin wasn't collecting emails (cause it didn't exist at the time)

However, they provided significant amounts of value for motorists and potential motorists.

And whenever a motorist needed new tires, guess who they would think of?

Michelin, of course!

The brand became correlated with positivity and help.

Setting up an Online Funnel.

Let's look at Michelin's funnel compared to a modern-day online funnel. (Alex Hormozi's Gym Launch)

The customer journey is a little more complicated, especially on Michelin's timeline, as sales funnels weren't sophisticated then.

This is a bird's eye view of their perspective funnels.

Notice how they each have that lead magnet?

These companies (and many others) have taken a similar approach to generating leads and acquiring customers/clients.

Let's break down a great online funnel even further….

Optimizing your funnel:

I can make an entire newsletter on each one of these sections. For now, this is a top-line view with the exact things you need to know.

Distribution (Top-of-Funnel)

Goal - Generate Eyeballs on you or the company

Methods:

• Ads

• Organic content

Alex Hormozi's (Gym Launch):

His company's top-of-funnel uses video content to generate attraction and eyeballs.

They distribute the content through paid advertising on social platforms.

Michelin Tires:

They didn't have the luxury of social media to generate attraction.

So, they took different methods to distribute their lead magnet.

At the end of the day, top-of-funnel is all about generating attraction.

Michelin provided their Guide Book for free to any motorist who purchased a car, and they gave the Guide away for free in many general stores.

Lead Magnet (Middle-of-Funnel)

A lead magnet:

• Builds trust

• Builds expertise

• Builds authority

• Promotes your business

• High perceived value

• $0 low cost to distribute

• Captures leads

A lead magnet is something you can give away for free that's very valuable for your ideal customer.

Alex Hormozi (Gym Launch) - Gives away "the step-by-step Guide to building a massive profitable gym."

Michelin Tires: Gave away a Guide for motorists with valuable information they would need.

• Maps

• Tire repair and replacement instructions

• Gas stations

• Car mechanic listings

• Restaurants

• Hotels

Back then, things were simpler. Michelin giving out a free lead magnet (Michelin Guide) was all that was needed to lead people down their funnel.

Today, to receive the free lead magnet, most people capture an email so they can email market to them later.

This brings me to my next point.

Email Marketing (Middle-of-Funnel)

Welcome Sequence

As soon as your lead opts their email in for the free lead magnet, the best thing is to have a welcome sequence.

A welcome sequence is how you sell them within the email. Here is an optimal sequence to have:

• 1 Email every 48 hours

• Provide value

• Build Trust

Email #1:

• Send lead magnet

• Provide company insight

Email #2 (48 hrs)

• Provide case study

Email #3 (96 hrs)

• Teaching something of value

All of these emails should provide a link to directly book a call or to a sales page for the viewer to take the next step.

Tip

Think of each part of your funnel as a funnel on its own. It's all about getting the person to the next step within the funnel.

If you look at your distribution strategy. The content you make can have a funnel system to it.

There are specific email sequences you can have to build that trust with the prospect to get them to book a call.

Book Call/Sales Page (Middle-of-Funnel)

Depending on what you are selling, the next step is to direct your email lead to a booked call or a sales page to purchase a product.

I'll Keep this section short.

Providing value within the emails while at the same time having CTA's directing your readers to the next step.

And that's how a Tire Company started the perfect online social funnel!