A sales funnel strategy is crucial for every business. This is so because the sales funnel is an indispensable tool for leading potential customers through the process of becoming your customers. A sales funnel is a virtual pipeline that guides users through a sales process with the end goal of making a sale and getting the user to take the desired action.
A well-thought-out sales funnel strategy can make all the difference when converting visitors into paying customers. The right sales funnel will not only make your conversion rate soar but also get you more ROI from your marketing spend. If you’re ready to start using sales funnels to grow your business and drive more leads, read on. This ultimate guide covers everything you need to know about sales funnels and how they can be used most effectively in your business.
Table of Contents
What is a Sales Funnel Marketing Strategy?
A sales funnel marketing strategy is a method of acquiring customers that uses a sales funnel to elicit the desired action from a prospect. The funnel takes the prospect through a series of steps that start with an introduction to the company and end with a purchase from the company.
You are probably familiar with the concept of the one-time sale. This means you sell someone a product or service once and never see them again. This is a good way to make money in the short term, but you will quickly run out of it if you don’t keep bringing in new customers. A sales funnel strategy allows you to turn one-time sales into repeat sales.
The sales funnel marketing strategy can be used for various products and services.
How the Sales Funnel Work
The sales funnel is designed to guide potential customers from the very first interaction with your brand to a sale and then to customer loyalty. When someone enters the funnel, they have already expressed an interest in your product or service by visiting your website or downloading your eBook. With a sales funnel strategy, you can turn that initial interest into a sale.
The sales funnel also helps you build relationships with your customers and keep them returning for more. All you need to do is create a funnel that works. The first stage of the sales funnel is the top of the funnel (TOFU). At this point, a customer first becomes aware of your business and begins the buying process.
The next stage is the middle of the funnel (MOFU). At this point, a customer decides to buy from you and enters into the sales process. The last stage of the funnel is the bottom of the funnel (BOFU). At this stage, a customer is ready to purchase from you.
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Benefits of a Sales Funnel
Strong funnel ROI
More than 90% of online shoppers will abandon their cart without a clear idea of why they did so. This means that even if you get the traffic, you won’t get the sales. A sales funnel strategy will help you avoid that and increase your ROI by giving you a clear path to conversion and documenting it.
Trackable and Measurable
All great marketing efforts should start with a good plan. A sales funnel strategy allows you to track each part of the funnel and see where the weak points are. This way, you’ll know what’s working and what isn’t, and you’ll be able to adjust as needed.
Stronger brand identity
A sales funnel strategy helps define your brand and build a stronger identity. By mapping out your funnel, you’ll know exactly who you’re marketing to and what you’re telling them.
How to Build a Sales Funnel for your Business
The first step in building a sales funnel strategy for your business is determining what kind of funnel you want. This will depend on your business model and how you want to acquire customers. Once you’ve determined the type of funnel you want, you need to select the various steps to make up that funnel.
Let’s look at a few examples:
The cold call sales funnel
This is a sales funnel strategy you use when you don’t know any of your customers and want to attract new ones immediately. The first step in this funnel is to set up some way to get in touch with people who might be interested in your product or service. This might be through advertising online, putting up signs, or some other way of getting your phone number or information out to the public.
The next step is to get people to call you. This can be difficult at first, but you can use a few tactics to make sure as many people as possible call you. For instance, offer some sort of guarantee. Is your native jollof rice meal the best in Nigeria? Then, offer a money-back guarantee to customers.
If you want to make money, you must make sure that people trust you. Offering a money-back guarantee or some other sort of guarantee will help people feel comfortable buying your product or service because they know they can return it if they are unhappy.
The third step is to have friendly, helpful customer care service. If you want people to buy from you, you have to sound trustworthy and helpful. This means having a friendly person on the other end of the line who is ready to answer any questions your potential customers may have. Give people something to gain from calling you.
The fourth step is to make sure that when people call you, you have some sort of offer that will benefit them. No one will call you if there’s nothing in it for them.
The warm call sales funnel
You can use this sales funnel strategy when you already have some regular customers and want to get new ones right away.
The first step in this funnel is to encourage your current customers to buy more from you. This means that you have to give them reasons to keep coming back, such as discounts and special offers.
The second step is to get new customers. This can be done in a few ways:
- Have contact information that people can call to order your product or service.
- Have an online store. You can have your website where people can buy your product or service, just like Jumia or Konga here in Nigeria. You will need to have a shopping cart set up to accept payments.
- Have an affiliate program. This means you give someone a cut of your profits if they refer customers to you and those customers buy something.
The cold email sales funnel
This is a sales funnel strategy you use when you don’t know any of your customers and want to attract new ones by sending them emails. The first step in setting up this funnel is to create an email campaign. You will likely want to send multiple emails to attract new customers, but the first should include a sales pitch.
The next step is to send those emails to your potential customers. This can be difficult if you don’t have their emails. And how do you get their emails? By offering something for free.
One common example is an email course that teaches people something useful – let’s say, “How to Beat Traffic in Lagos, Nigeria”. If you give away a free course, people will be more likely to give you their email address, so they don’t miss out on any more courses.
Read also: WHY YOUR BUSINESS SHOULD INVEST IN EMAIL MARKETING
What are the Stages of a Sales Funnel?
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Awareness
This is the first stage of the sales funnel, and at this same stage, your goal is to make prospective customers aware of your brand, products, and services. And you can do this through blog posts, social media posts, sponsored posts, or webinars, to name a few.
Your prospects at this stage are probably not considering buying anything from you, and rather, they want to learn what your business is all about, what products and services you offer, and what makes you different from your competitors. This is not the time to make direct offers to them.
Instead, focus on sharing useful ideas and information, advice, or solutions to a problem your ideal audience is facing. You can do this through content like blog posts, sponsored social media posts, videos, or webinars, to name a few.
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Discovery
At the discovery phase of your sales funnel strategy, prospective customers are now aware of your brand, products, and services, but they will like to know more about your value. And here comes the opportunity for you to share valuable content tailored to address their specific pain points.
The idea here is to keep them engaged with useful and interesting content to nudge them toward the next stage of the sales funnel.
Read also: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CONTENT MARKETING AND SOCIAL MEDIA FOR BUSINESS GROWTH
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Evaluation
At the evaluation stage, people are now taking a very deep interest in your product or service, but they are also looking at your competitors to see how your offerings measure up to theirs.
Your journey towards closing a sale is now nearer than before. And to finally close those sales, the following types of content will be of great help in influencing your prospects buying decisions:
- Discount/promo codes
- Live demos or tutorials
- Testimonials
- Pricing pages
- Case studies
- Product comparisons
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Engagement
The engagement stage of the sales funnel shows that your prospects are now interested in making a purchase but are yet to do so. They may have initiated the purchase by taking a survey, watching a product demo, or placing an item in their shopping cart.
In most instances, the delay in hitting the purchase button may be due to the need that your prospects want to ensure your product and services meet all their needs and are at a reasonable price point.
You can encourage them to make up their minds quickly by utilizing the following content types:
- Customer success stories
- Special product or service offers
- Bundled packages
- Follow-up email campaigns
Read also: 11 DOS AND DON’TS OF CONTENT MARKETING
- Purchase stage
This is the point where the exchange of value takes place. In other words, your prospects have now purchased your products or services. And to keep your customers motivated and attached to your brand for the long hull, use the following content types to engage and retain them.
- Customer referral programs
- Product usage guides
- Technical assistance services
- Inbound email campaigns
Conclusion
A sales funnel is a tried and true method for growing your business. It helps you attract more leads, nurture them through the sales process, and get them to become paying customers. It also helps you stay organized and streamline your sales process so you can focus on what matters. A sales funnel strategy can help transform your business and take your sales to the next level, so try implementing one today for your business. And you will be glad you did.
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About the Author
Ginikachi Chinekezi is a Digital Marketing professional with a niche focus on Content Writing and Strategy for business organizations using artificial intelligence tools. When not writing, he is providing computer systems support services to individuals and corporate clients.
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