The Awareness Levels Framework Every Marketer Needs

In this instructional video, Kelly Alhooie walks marketers through a five‑stage customer awareness funnel (Unaware → Problem Aware → Solution Aware → Product/Service Aware → Most Aware) and explains how to move prospects from the 97 % of the market that doesn’t even recognize they have a problem to the 3 % that are ready to buy. She breaks down each stage with concrete messaging tactics: curiosity‑driving hooks for the Unaware, pain‑focused content and free consults for the Problem‑Aware, clear promises of a solution for the Solution‑Aware, abundant social proof (testimonials, screenshots, before‑afters) for the Product/Service‑Aware, and urgent, outcome‑focused offers for the Most‑Aware. Alhooie stresses the importance of hyper‑specific audience avatars (e.g., “Lululemon‑wearing moms who fear leakage at the gym”) and aligning visual style, language, and incentives (lead magnets, free ebooks, phone calls) to each stage. She also warns against over‑focusing on the small “most‑aware” slice, urging marketers to craft top‑of‑funnel content that educates the larger unaware audience. Throughout, she provides niche examples from pelvic health, perimenopause, postpartum, and med‑spa businesses, illustrating how to use hooks (e.g., Barbie dolls), free downloads, urgency tactics (limited spots, price hikes), and a unique method to differentiate the provider.
Chapters
All right, guys, today I'm going to talk about the funnel, and this is super important to understand because it's all going to have to do about bringing awareness to your clients and who you specifically want to target. So here we go. Okay, so this is like a funnel that goes like this. Okay, and it comes down. And at the top right here, okay, this is for people that are unaware that they even have a problem. They have no clue that they have a problem. So these people here are unaware, I'm gonna say. Okay, you know what, let me move this over, hold on. Unaware, okay? All right, cool. Now, the next tier of people, okay, the next tier of people from that is going to be they are problem aware. Okay, this means that they, so problem aware, this means that they know they have a problem, but they don't know if there's a solution just yet for that. This is key. Next thing, we're gonna have solution aware. That means they know that there is a solution, they just don't know it's you just yet, okay? Now, there's product and service aware. Maybe they kind of know that there is a doctor that helps out with hormones, but they don't know specifically who that person actually is. Is it the MD? Is it the naturopath? Is it the nurse practitioner? Like, they don't know who specifically it is just yet. Then there is most aware. That means they know that you exist, okay? Now, about 3% of people hang out here. 3%. Most everyone, not ever, I shouldn't say everyone, but a lot of people, and a lot of people that you guys are trying to target, are gonna be unaware that they have a problem, and they're gonna be unaware that you are the solution. And so why is this important to you? You have to take people from that with messaging from here, and you have to message them through this whole entire process for them to actually finally get to purchase. So this is when they buy, just so you know. Okay. Down here is when they buy. Up here is just when they're in la-la land. Okay. So we have to walk them through basically this 5-step process to even to just get them to even want to purchase. You've got to remember this from a sale and marketing perspective. Okay, so this is huge. I'm going to now break down each step and how you can specifically target each step. This is going to be key. So number 1, you want to make sure in your marketing message that this is more curiosity. Okay, so this is more of like a hook. So on Instagram, it would be like, the number one thing that keeps you from losing weight. That's a hook. I'm curious, well, what the heck is that? Right? The number one top GLP-1 that doesn't make you lose muscle and still gets weight loss. Curious. Okay, stop, stop scrolling. That's a curious, like, that tells someone like, whoa, okay, wait, I'm curious what's going on here. Okay. This is going to where most people are going to be hanging out here. And so to do that, sometimes people will put like fun little like things. So like in the pelvic health space, we would take Barbie dolls and put them over top of each other and act like they were having, you know, uh, difficulty with intercourse because that's what we taught. We taught pain with intercourse. And so for us, uh, that was really important because it was get someone's attention. And when someone's scrolling, they're gonna be like, wow, I'm really curious about that, like what the heck. Well, that's going to get them to stop, and that's going to talk to those people that have no clue that you exist and that have no clue that they got a problem. And then when they're scrolling and they're looking at that Barbie doll with the Ken and Barbie, and they're like, wait a second, yeah, I do feel some pain down there. Well, that right there, they just— and maybe they thought it was normal because they're getting older Right? Well, you just pointed out now that now they just became aware that now they have a problem. You guys get what I'm putting down? Okay, next thing, they're problem aware. This is when the hook has to speak to the pain that they're in. Let's talk about perimenopause and menopause. What's like the number one thing people complain about? Night sweats. Let's just say that. Okay, the women know they have a problem when you profusely start sweating at night and you're like, oh my gosh, like, I've got to do— like, I've got to figure this out. Like, this is a problem. That means that they're problem aware. They're here. When I make my marketing to that, I need to speak to their pain. So their pain is, I can't sleep at night because I'm sweating profusively. That would be this right here. So when I'm making a Reel or a TikTok or a YouTube, I'm talking about the pain. The pain is I cannot sleep at night, so when I wake up, I'm grouchy, I'm tired, I can't work, I just feel like I'm in a horrible mood because I have not slept. That's the pain. So you've got to speak to the freaking pain. That's key. That's problem aware, okay? And what I do here a lot of times in this phase is I do free consults. So if you guys are like, well, I need to make sure that in the problem aware phase I want to speak to those people to see if I can help them. This is key in offering free. This is so important, I can't tell you enough. I'm a big proponent of free or full price. I'm not an in-between. 50% off is not gonna get me to take action no matter how hard someone tries. It's just not enough for me to move. And typically buyers are gonna feel the same way, okay? So just remember that, that if someone is having a problem, maybe your call to action is maybe a free download to help solve the night sweats. Or a little more aggressive one is a free consult, or hey, let's get on the phone. That's a little bit more forward-facing. People these days are a lot less likely to get on the phone with you because they truly believe that you're trying to sell them something, even if you aren't and you really are trying to help them. So if you lead people from a problem-aware state and you talk about their pain point, when you're marketing, which is all the pain that they're experiencing. Let me give you another one, like postpartum mom. Let's go to that one. Postpartum mom, her abs don't work. She's tired. She— her hormones are really off, so she doesn't feel like herself. She may have anxiety. She may have depression. She may feel like she doesn't want to move out of her bed. She may feel like every single person annoys the crap out of her. All that is the pain. I'm speaking to the pain. She doesn't want anyone touching her. Okay, like, and I would make a reel on every single one of those things that I just said. That's key. Now, my call to action, you may want to think about doing a lead magnet, which a lead magnet is just think about a free book. This is not the book I would recommend, but this is my planner, but just like a free book. Okay, where it's like, hey, you saw my video, if you want this thing and it could be digitally, so you send it to them digitally. You don't have to create a book like this. Okay. And then they get it in their email and it's super, super valuable. No fluff, no nonsense, just straight up value is key. Okay. And I would lead into that. Or if you're like, look, I just want to get people on the phone, I want to freaking talk to them, then you could do a free phone consultation. Know that you're going to have less people opt in for that. Compared to if you did a free ebook or some kind of book. That's key. Now, solution aware. Let's talk about that. This right here is the promise. What do you, what do you think I mean by that? What I mean by that is there's a solution. So let's go back to the postpartum mom. If we're providers, and we're trying to help the postpartum mom out. First thing is she has night sweats. Maybe the promise here is, hey, take these 5 supplements every single day, and within 3 months, with the promises that you will stop all your night sweats. Maybe the promise is, hey, you don't know how to— or your abs feel like they're not working because you had a C-section. Let's go ahead, and the promise here is we're gonna send you to therapy and you're gonna be able to learn how to actually reactivate your abdominals and decrease the scar tissue from your C-section scar. That's the promise, so that you are able to confidently hold that baby tight when you, you know, are out walking for long periods of time. That's the promise there. Okay. And they know that there is some kind of solution. And you have to say that basically you're the solution, but that's down here. But basically they need to know that there is a pathway, that there is an actual solution for this. Okay. Now, next thing, this, the product and service, This is when you need proof. You need lots of testimonials here. You need lots and lots of testimonials. Okay. In the day and age where AI exists, where there's so many coaches out there, I mean, you guys know, even probably just coming to this program, you're probably skeptical. Is this the right thing for me? Am I making the right decision? All that stuff. Well, there, your patients are thinking the same thing. Am I going to the right doctor? Do I understand? Am I in the right program with them? All that is what they're thinking. So you guys need significant amount of proof. I need video testimonials, I need written testimonials, I need screenshot testimonials. Doesn't have to be cute. Typically, the more that it's not cute and the more that it's just like straight up, like, this is what the email said to me, the better. Okay. Yes, you have to watch out for HIPAA. Do not put their name on it, but you can say, you know, a client, client one, client two. That's key. So this you want to show when you're posting on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook. You want to show proof of that screenshot. Take the patient's name out, but proof that you can actually help patients. That's key. Last thing, okay? Most aware. This right here is when you present your offer. You actually make them the offer. When they know that now they have a problem, they know that there's a solution, and then they say, wow, she's the best person for me, or he, she's the best person for me for this actual service or product that I'm trying to get, or this problem that I'm trying to get solved. That's key, okay? Now, with this, with offers, this is also really important. You need to have some urgency with this. So I create urgency with like price goes up. And by the way, it has to be real. Or if you're doing like a group coaching, 'cause I coach that as well, like how to do group classes or group coaching, Only 5 spots. Okay, that's legit. I mean, for real, only 5 spots. That's how you get someone to buy today and not wait till tomorrow. Maybe there's cohorts that you're doing. So, hey, you know, we're closing the doors because the cohort is ending. Okay, so maybe you're closing the doors. All this creates urgency here. Okay. With the proof, they need to see the— all they care about is the outcome. Outcome. So if you're making people not get night sweats, they want to see how many people you've gotten, people that don't have night sweats. If you're getting people's— like for MedSpa, if you're getting their faces to look better, Okay, they want to see a lot of before and afters. What can you do? What is the guarantee here? If you are an OT or PT and you're trying to decrease their pain, they want to see that they can— that you've worked with someone that hasn't had, had the pain and now you've gotten them out of pain. And not only have you gotten out of pain, you've actually been able to get them back to running without leakage or, or lifting the heaviest PR. They want to see that. Right? So that's really important. When it comes to solution, is the solution is, again, it's the result, the outcome, but is it a complete solution? So you wanna make sure that you have a complete solution. And this is why later I will teach you a method, because every single one of you guys needs to have a method to makes you unique, so that they say, "Yes, I'm gonna go with her," and then they start going down the funnel. Now, here's also what's interesting about this. Most of us tend to market to this lower part here. Just, remember I said this is 3%? Just to these people here, okay? Most of us tend to market to that, why? Because we're saying, "Oh, by the way," This is everything you're going to get in my program. And this is why I'm so good. And this is why I'm— you're going to be working with me. And this is why you should join my program and all the things. That's marketing right here, by the way. That means that they already know. They already know that they got a problem. They already know you a lot. And you're hitting only 3% of the market, by the way. Y'all, we can't do that. You won't survive. So we've got to hit more up here. We've got to hit this part. This is where 97% of your market hangs out. 97%. They have no clue they got a problem, that it's not normal, and they don't— they, um, they know they have pain, but they don't— they don't know that there's a solution at all. They don't know that you exist. So why is this important to you to listen to all this? It's important because when I do messaging, you have to talk about the problem and speak to the person. So I'm gonna give you an example of this. When I speak to the unaware and the problem-aware people, I speak to them like this. Most marketers will say, um, I help women of the ages of 20 to 45 stop leakage. I'm just giving you an example, okay guys? Versus this: I help moms that are absolutely horrified that go to the gym— when they go to the gym because they feel like they're about to pee themselves, and they, they are trying to lose weight and They're trying to be the best moms, they're trying to do school pickup, they're actually trying to eat healthy, support their entire family, work as a female entrepreneur, and, and they're trying to live their best life, but they are so terrified of the leakage when working out, so they just don't work out. Which avatar can you get a better visual of in your head? It's the second one. It's way more detailed of who specifically I am targeting, which I'll get into in a second. But you've got to know your messaging. This is so, so key. And so when I'm targeting, like for us at PelviBiz, it's like, well, let me give you a better example of that. I would say like for my clients, my clients are typically charging or targeting between the ages of 25 to 65 because most of us are cash-based. Okay, and they're targeting women more so than men. Okay, and so you guys need to say, not only am I targeting 25 to 65-year-old women, don't just say that, go deep in the message. Moms, moms that are one year out from giving birth, moms that are perimenopause, moms that are going through menopause, like, That narrows it down, it's very specific. Moms that are going through perimenopause that really wanna look cute, that love going to med spas, that love being at school pickup, that absolutely love participating in all the class activities, that cooks the dinner for the family and is able to hang out at their kids' soccer field on a Saturday and Sunday. Like I'm literally giving you the description. Oh, by the way, loves to wear Lululemon, has a Louis Vuitton purse, and has a mini golden doodle that they walk around shopping or hang out at beach towns. Like that is a full picture. And so when I am speaking to my audience, by the way, if your audience that you're trying to attract wears Lululemon or wears Dior or wears you know, another brand, you're— y'all, your marketing, you need to kind of dress like that. You need to put on like tighter fitting outfits and you need to look the part. Maybe the moms that you're targeting always have their like full face makeup on. Maybe you're targeting crunchy granola moms that are like, no, never wear makeup, and they have hats and, you know, the boots, the rain boots and whatever, like Again, however, whatever avatar— this is really, really important— I need you to pause and close your eyes and think, what would be my ideal client that I work with? Or who, who do they physically look like, emotionally be, be like? Like, what is that client? And that's who— when that— when you're speaking to people, then that's it. So I'm part of my messaging. What I'm saying is, moms that wear Lululemon, you're trying to go back to Burn Bootcamp, but you got leakage and you're afraid. Call me. Don't be that direct. But like, that's how— not the end part, but like, I'm calling the people out. That mom's going to be like, yep, I wear Lululemon. Wait, I'm trying to go to Burn Bootcamp. Wait, I don't want to pee in my pants. Oh my God. So I'm calling the people out. That's really important comparatively to a marketer that's just like kind of in the middle is like, hi, I help 25 to 65-year-old women stop their leakage. Do you get an emotion with that? No. Do you connect with that? No. I connect with the lady that's freaking trying to go to burn boot camp, but she's peeing herself, so she's scared and she freaking wants to lose weight. That's who I connect with. Okay? Or I connect with the person that, you know, you make a video of. Maybe you're laying in your bed and you're tossing and turning because they can't sleep because their hormones are all off, right? I'm connecting with that person because that is me. That's the perimenopause lady that's tried everything, tried every supplement. That's who I'm speaking to up here. Hey, you've tried every supplement and you can't sleep? Well, guess what? I got the number one hack for you. It's the Eight Sleep mattress. By the way, that is a good mattress, okay? It's helped me through perimenopause. Um, the Eight Sleep mattress, it cools your bed and automatically adjusts 35 times a night. Guess what? That's the product or service, the Eight Sleep. Okay. And now they know that I exist. And so then they could purchase it if I owned Eight Sleep mattresses. Okay. But that's just like a one example of that. So guys, remember, I'm going to make another video, but this video I want to end with, please put most of your messaging up here. This, this is the messaging I need you to talk about. Talk about the pain. Talk about the promise of how you deliver it. Strike curiosity. Strike people like, oh, that reaction, that stops people. A pelvis in the camera, that, that stops. They're curious. They're like, what the heck is that? Is that, is that the vagina? Is that the anus? Like, why is the lady holding this thing? Okay. Me standing here like this. Hi, I'm Kelly Alhooie, and today I'm going to teach you this. Look at the difference. Which one would you scroll past and which one would you not? This in your face. Hello. Or hi, this is me. You don't want to listen to me. No one wants to listen. So they're going to scroll right past you. So this is the key and the foundation of knowing who to specifically talk to up here, and then knowing that only 3% are ready to buy at all times. Other than that, you have to take them through the entire process and make sure that you get them to know that they have a problem, make them know that there's a solution to the problem, and then make them know that you are the person that they want to hang out with and work with. That's key. Bye, guys.
More from Kelly

The providers stuck the longest aren't broke, they're just waiting #coaching #mindset

The death of traditional pelvic PT clinics #physicaltherapy #businessgrowth #trends

Cash Based Practices | Hospital Job vs Private Practice and the Math Nobody Shows You

Stop letting fear run your physical therapy practice #cashbasedpt #mindset #shorts






