Funnels, funnel hacking, sales funnels – I am sure you have heard of these terms in recent times since they have become quite the rage and very on trend.
Do you even know what a sales funnel is? Or how it can help you in your business?
The simplest definition for what a sales funnel is would be this: It is the route on which someone, or many someone’s, travel through your website before purchasing your products or services.
Did you know that you have more influence than you may realise over this traffic and how it moves and ultimately whether it reaches the end of the funnel and a purchase is made?
Let us take a look at the various terms and factors when it comes to creating a funnel, monitoring the traffic and its behavior and how you can make sure that the traffic reaches the end of the funnel more often than not.
HOW DOES IT ALL WORK
Let us take an example that steps outside of the website arena. Think about a retail storefront. Think about yourself visiting this storefront and how it all plays out. You walk in and there are many racks various items for sale.
You have probably being greeted by a sales person by now. Then you start browsing and a few minutes later the sales assistant is assisting you and telling you about special offers available with the items you are looking at. You proceed to take the items and head to the cashier. You may get further deals offered to you and you purchase and then leave.
Due to the amazing service you have received, you return to the store a few weeks later and purchase some more items. This is a successful sales funnel within a brick and mortar business.
The same can be done for your website. Do you want to know how? Of course you do.
So let us proceed …
ALL ABOUT SALES FUNNELS AND YOU
There are four top terms to think about when creating your funnel. We will discuss them in some detail and will then move onto the benefits of a sales funnel.
So how does the customer even end up on the sales funnel in the first place?
That is easy, GOOGLE or even a social media link could get the party started.
The customer follows the link, they land on your website and are now considered a prospect. From here you want to convert them, first into a lead and then into a purchasing customer.
Most websites will entice the visitor or prospect with a few interesting blog articles, perhaps a really great product listing which they will browse and most importantly an option to sign up for your mailing list.
Now that they have filled in the email list form, you can start using your marketing skills to promote relevant products, articles and so forth to them. They are now a prospective lead.
Once they start receiving regular (read …. NOT SPAMMY) communication from you with news of special offers, voucher codes or new blogs that may interest them, they are more likely to visit your website more regularly too.
The best way to create a really effective sales funnel is to take these four things into consideration and the fact that each step requires different actions from you:
AWARENESS – This is the part where you grab the attention of the visitor to get them to your website and to start their journey through the sales funnel. This can come from a Google search, a friend referral or a social media link. Either way, this is the moment where you will get the person to land on your website and it is your chance to shine instantly.
INTEREST – When a prospect reaches the stage of having an interest in what you have to offer, they will start to do comparison shopping and researching your business and product further. It is important to not try and push the product or service on these prospects as that could potentially push them away. You kind of want to show them what you have, how it can benefit them and that you are there to assist with any questions and so forth (rather than …. YOU HAVE TO BUY THIS NOW!).
DECISION – This is the part of the funnel whereby the customer is ready to make their purchase. They have probably narrowed down their choices and now looking to seal the deal. This is your chance to really stand out and take your best offer out from under sleeve and present it. Things like FREE SHIPPING, gift wrapping for gifts, percentage off next purchase, free e-book, things like that which will entice a customer to purchase what you have to offer – and return for future purchases.
ACTION – This is the part of the funnel you want the client to end up in. The part where they eventually make the purchase. But … your work is not done yet. You want to look at how to retain this customer. You want this 1 purchase to turn into 5 and then into 10 and so on. Customer retention is key if you want to grow your business. Exceptional customer service is also key, if you want word of mouth to help more people enter your sales funnel in the future.
HOW TO CREATE A FUNNEL THAT CONVERTS
It is a complicated situation to get your sales funnel to work optimally. You need to have the right product or service and be able to have a smooth flow, without being pushy, when it comes to promoting and highlighting what you have to offer.
You need to take into consideration various types of visitors that may come upon your website and make their way through the funnel.
The best option is to actually outsource this kind of work to a web developer, or anyone specializing in the field of funnel creation. They have the expertise and can make the best choices using your guidance.
THAT’S A WRAP ….
In conclusion, having a sales funnel is definitely beneficial to someone wanting to grow their following, grow their business and have a loyal customer base.
A sales funnel can work for just about any kind of business, big, small, medium, and no matter what industry.
It may all seem a bit daunting or feel like it could be a lot of work to figure out and then nothing comes of it. However, you will be pleased to know that if you get in touch with one of our consultants at Creative Ground, you can get some advice on the best way forward with your sales funnel building journey.
