Even if you don’t exactly know what this form of marketing is, the chances are that you have seen and perhaps even undergone the stages of a marketing funnel several times. Marketing funnels are everywhere, and their implementation is an incredibly effective marketing strategy that can help brands expand and attract new website users. But before we dive into the techniques behind these funnels, let us first define the marketing funnel itself.
What’s a Marketing Funnel?
The marketing funnel is a process of converting leads into customers, as understood from a marketing (and sales) point of view. It is a way of breaking down the customer journey till they make a purchase.
I highly recommend you to work on the marketing funnel before starting a campaign to streamline the complete customer journey.
Why is it Important to Create a Marketing Funnel?
- It will bring more sales because a higher percentage of prospects make their way through the funnel.
- It will help you ensure that you are targeting the right set of people at the right time.
- Everything can be automated, so it saves process time and effort.
- You will get to know why your product or service isn’t right for all your audience. Therefore, it allows you to identify ways to serve their needs.
Best Practices to Improve Conversions in Different Stages of the Funnel
I’m going to take you stage-by-stage through the complete marketing funnel for you to have a good idea of how it works and learn more about the best practices you can follow in each stage.
Stage 1 – Awareness
The awareness stage is where your prospects interact with you for the first time and when they become aware of your business, products, or services you offer. It could be a result of various factors such as:
- A Google Search
- The Prospect saw your Content on Social Media
- An Offline Action
Your Objective: Increase Conversions in the Awareness Stage & Keep them Coming Back
The most common strategies to attract new prospects are:
1. Blogging
This is Internet Marketing 101. You can write about anything related to your product or business. You can also include subjects that are closely connected to your business. Publishing blog articles on your site helps your site be found in search engines. This way, when people search for solutions, they can go to your website instead of your competitors.
To find tips, referrals, and feedback, consumers today rely on their social networks. They expect a business to be there on Facebook for different questions and Twitter and look for tutorials on Pinterest and YouTube. They want a peek of your company on Instagram from behind the scenes. Such social evidence increases trust and helps improve conversions.
To push traffic to landing pages where you convert prospects by collecting their email addresses, you should use PPC campaigns.
Stage 2 – Interest & Consideration
Now you can have their attention if you have moved a prospect through the stage of awareness and into the stage of interest, and they have established that they have a requirement and are looking to find the best solutions.
Your Objective: To Increase Conversions in the Consideration Stage by Getting the Email Addresses of Prospective Clients.
The best way to engage your prospects is by offering them a lead magnet in exchange for their email address. Use the following strategies to engage the crowd:
1. Landing Page Optimization and Call-to-Action
Creating a landing page and adding a call-to-action button helps improve conversion rates for websites. The aim is to collect the contact details of your prospects or to close a deal.
2. Forms
Contact forms are easy but often overlooked. Just include an option to receive your email newsletter in your form or on the page. Many funnel examples end with a simple call-to-action to complete a form.
Stage 3: The Intent and Evaluation
All right, you’ve got your prospect’s attention. What now?
The next move is to inform them about your service or product. The customer understands that they will buy at this stage but is probably still considering more options than just yours. This is an opportunity for advertisers to make a compelling argument for why their product is the best choice for the buyer.
Your Objective: Increase Evaluation Stage Conversions & to Pre-Qualify a prospect.
1. Promotions by Email
Using simple email cadences, you can start educating prospects about your company and create trust. For example, give subscribers an automatic email with answers to the ten most commonly asked questions about your service.
2. CRM and Sales Integrations
You may use your CRM to identify which email campaigns a prospect should receive and helps in retargeting. It’s a tool that will tell you where prospects are in your sales funnel.
Stage 4 – Purchase
Here you are! In the marketing funnel, this is the last stage where a prospect will decide to purchase and become a client. A good experience will lead to referrals that fuel the top of the marketing funnel, and the loop starts again.
Your objective: Increase Purchase Process Conversions & Make a Sale
Here are some of the best practices one can follow:
1. eCommerce Promotion
You have to regularly and explicitly deliver the product for purchase. Don’t assume that customers can find their way to your checkout or figure out how to buy your stuff on their own. Make it easier for consumers to find your product or service and use live chat, give free shipping, etc., to customize your checkout page.
For the newest items or specials, contact subscribers – Schedule campaigns for email marketing during common holidays. Repeatedly, send prospects a reminder and an opportunity to use product placement and a direct call to action to buy your product. You’ll see improved sales right away with these basic techniques.
2. Promotions by Email
Many eCommerce sites integrate with email marketing providers so that both prospects and current clients can access email promotions. Try providing discount coupons to customers who have left their shopping cart without buying a specific product.
Stage 5 – Loyalty
Your objective: Increase Loyalty Stage conversions & Make a Sale Again.
It is much easier to sell to an existing client than to sell to a new one. You’ve invested a lot of energy, time, and money in gaining a customer, so don’t just leave them on their own now!
1. Newsletters
Try sending newsletters to increase customer loyalty. Newsletters allow you to send very targeted information to your customers to engage them more with your brand. If a customer finds your newsletter helpful, there are chances that they will pass it around to their friends and colleagues.
2. Referrals
Ask your clients if they know anyone who might benefit from your product. Try offering a discount on their next purchase if they refer a prospect who becomes a customer.
3. Cross-sells and Upsells
Entice the consumer during and after the sale to buy more costly products, bundles, or add-ons. You can do this in the checkout process or the follow-up email after the order.
Boost your Sales by Optimizing your Marketing Funnel
Now that you know more about all the opportunities in your sales funnel for conversion, what are you waiting for?
Focus on doing smaller conversions and walking your prospects through the sales funnel processes. Not only can you raise conversions, but you will probably build a much more loyal client base.
And if you are stuck at any point and need to optimize your marketing and sales funnel, you can always reach out to Voxturr.