It is the steps that bring potential buyers one step closer to making a purchase. It is called a funnel because it starts broad by attracting as many people as possible and begins to narrow down until those who will buy your product are remaining. A well-planned sales funnel can map out the actions you need to take to increase sales and reach your goals.
Every business has a sales funnel, even if it hasn’t been clearly identified. And every customer has passed through a sales funnel. It starts with the person discovering your brand, learning more about it, and finally taking a bite out of it. There is no specific timeline for the decision making of potential customers, the decision to buy certain products is made within minutes, and others may take months.
For example, a person might be browsing social media and come across an ad for shoes, they will click the ad and find out that the shoes and price are a good match, and they will make the purchase instantly. This type of sales funnel is straightforward, we just had to show the ad to the right person and bring them to the online shop.
Each product or service will require different strategies to be taken within the sales funnel. A more complex strategy will include, email marketing, sales calls, in person presentations, SEO, SEM, SMM, and the list goes on. Therefore depending on your business, you will need to hire experts to understand which actions to include in your sales funnel strategy.
Why do you need a sales funnel?
Remember that while it may take minutes for certain prospects to make a purchase, it can take months for others. Each person and business will be different. Some businesses can benefit from email marketing alone, while others will need a more complex approach. Having an effective sales funnel will lead to the following:
- Focused sales and marketing strategies:
- You will no longer rely on “scattergun” approach to sales.
- You will have focused and carefully planned step by step actions within the funnel.
- Understanding and mapping out your strategy will put you a mile ahead of the competition.
- Increase Sales:
- You will learn which actions lead to more sales and start to focus on them.
- You will prevent any mistakes from happening since you have a detailed plan of how you will bring in customers.
- A well-planned funnel can earn you more revenue per customer. For example, you can add an option to your funnel that will ask the customer to choose add-ons related to their purchase, thus increasing sales.
- Increase profit:
- By understanding which methods gain more customers, you will begin to make better decisions regarding your marketing techniques.
- For example: if you discover that it costs $10 to gain a customer from Google and $9 to gain a customer from Instagram, you will focus on gaining customers from Instagram.
- You can also test different strategies within the sales funnel, and if you discover that one brings more customers, you will focus on that one.
- By understanding which methods gain more customers, you will begin to make better decisions regarding your marketing techniques.
Stages of a sales funnel explained, and how we can assist you:
A sales funnel has three stages:
- TOFU: Top of funnel, includes awareness and discovery
- MOFU: Middle of funnel, includes researching solutions
- BOFU: Bottom of funnel, includes making a purchase
TOFU (Awareness and Discovery):
In the first stage of your sales funnel, we will make the world know your name, and attract as many people as possible. We will create content that will make you visible and promote it in the proper places where potential leads might be. Some of the techniques we use include,
- Social media advertising (SMM).
- Google advertising (SEM)
- Search engine optimization (SEO)
- Social media management.
- Business to business marketing.
- Any means of advertising that we see fit.
Once we have a potential customer on our platform we will use a “magnet” to prompt them to take the first step in the funnel. This could be in the form of a pop-up, a personal message, an invitation to a free trial, or anything else we see suitable that will help us get our hands on their contact details. Next, we move to the middle of the funnel (MOFU) where we get in touch with the potential customer.
MOFU (Consideration and Researching Solutions):
In this stage, we follow up with the lead, build trust, and learn more about their needs. We will ask them questions that will help us provide them with the solution they are looking for, and offer them an excellent deal. Furthermore, we can direct them to content that demonstrates how the product or service will meet their needs.
Some of this content will include:
- Detailed guides.
- Scientific studies.
- Proof of how the product has helped other people.
- Any other way of proving to the prospect that this is the product or service they need.
BOFU (Purchase Decision):
In the final stage of the funnel, the prospect is ready to purchase. Our role is to ensure a flawless transaction and to help them finalize their buying decision. The customer should also feel special and receive exceptional service.
- We will negotiate the best offer.
- Offer a bonus product.
- Make it so irresistible that the customer will want to choose your business.
Conclusion
A sales funnel offers many benefits to those who use it. It displays the marketing processes and allows businesses to utilize every step of marketing. Having a focused plan will enhance sales and increase profit.
Hopefully, you now have a better understanding of what a sales funnel is, and feel free to contact us for more information. Our team works harder, faster, and smarter than anyone else in the industry.