Despite being a popular tool to measure conversions, over two-thirds of all businesses have yet to measure their sales funnels. This means you have every chance to improve on their lack of initiative by implementing one for yourself and acting on it. So, what even is a sales funnel and what does it do?
Below, we answer these questions and more. This article details what a sales funnel is and what it can do for you. By the end, you should understand the sales funnel stages you need to both put in place and measure to get the best conversion of customers possible.
What Is a Sales Funnel?
Sales funnels are a method for describing the customer journey. It details this process from their first moment of awareness of your brand, all the way to them first buying something from you.
There are several stages in a funnel, each one defining a different step a customer takes. As some potential customers drop off at each stage it tends to create a “funnel” shape when graphed. Thus, the name.
As customers reach further in the funnel, though, they become more invested and committed to the goal of buying your product or service. As such, your goal is to encourage customers to move to the next stage and avoid scaring them away.
Sales funnels are very useful for defining exactly where a customer is between learning about your brand and buying your product. You can use this information to track where you need to focus your marketing to get the most bang for your buck and bring more people into the fold.
You can also use this information to predict future sales. You will know which customers are at what stage of the funnel and how many you expect to continue through.
How to Build a Sales Funnel
To create a sales funnel, you must perform a large amount of research. This can help you learn where individuals are along their journey. Using that information, you can define their position in the funnel.
The following steps are very important:
Gather data. You need to talk to your customers and understand their current relationship with you. Have they heard of your brand, have they bought from you, and do they intend to buy from you again?
Create a website. This website should track the number of people who access it, where they come from, and what they do once there. This will help you understand users’ behavior.
Offer your product or service. Your website should draw people straight to what you want to give them. It should also offer the ability to buy it from you so you can track whether they have done so.
Create a new customer campaign. Market yourself to new potential customers to make them aware of you. Then, when they click on any adverts or follow links, pull them to your website.
Create a returning customer campaign. When you finally capture customers, you want to continue communicating with them. Create an email drip campaign to bring them in once more or push them to your online communications platforms like social media.
Stages of a Sales Funnel
Below you can see some sales funnel stages as examples of what you should aim for with your implementation. You can often find sales funnel templates online if you want to create your own, though these may not always fit your needs.
1. Awareness
This is when a customer has first heard of you, but may not have all the information on what you do. They might have read your blog, seen an advert, or found you somewhere else on the Internet.
At this point, they might have a vague idea of what you offer, but no details. Many customers move fast to the “Interest” stage, below, but others are only vaguely aware of your brand when they first see your logo or product.
2. Interest
This is when the user is actively researching you and what you offer. They might be comparing your product to others, looking at prices, or reading reviews.
At this stage, you can often offer information to the user via a newsletter or a social media account.
3. Desire
This is when the potential customer believes they might want your product. They have seen what you offer and think it would improve their life to engage with it.
At this stage, you want to think about reaching out to offer them something they want. This might mean putting a deal on your website or it could be as simple as giving them a direct link to the product page to reduce friction in buying.
4. Action
The “Action” stage is when the customer finally takes the plunge. They visit your site and either buy what you are offering or sign up for the service you provide. Although, this is not the end of their journey…
5. Retention
This is when the customer has gotten over their first purchase. You want to keep them involved and ensure they stay aware you have more to offer.
At this stage, you want them to become evangelists for your brand, repeat customers, or both.
6. Re-Engagement
Bring your customers back to try out your offerings once again. This could be a later product or asking them to buy what you have as a gift for someone else. If you offer a service, this might even be trying to bring people back to your product after they leave.
Need Help Implementing Sales Funnel Stages?
With the above information well in hand, you should have a good idea of what a sales funnel is and how to put one into your customer conversion process. Still, there is much more to learn about digital marketing and how to bring more paying customers to your site. For that reason, our site contains many different articles on such topics.
So, for more details on sales funnel stages and other areas of marketing know-how, check out our blog. By doing so, you can get yourself a leg up in the world of promoting your organization moving forward.
