What is a Sales Funnel and How to Maximize it
A ‘sales funnel’ is the design of the processes a customer must go through to make a purchase. The sales funnel begins with first attracting the attention of the customer and then concludes when a sale is made.
The effectiveness of a sales funnel depends entirely on its ability to attract attention, close sales, and increase conversion rates. The five stage of a sales funnel are ‘exposure’, ‘discovery’, ‘consideration’, ‘conversion’, and ‘retention’. By learning about these five stages, one can successfully maximize its potential.
‘Exposure’ is the point at which a business must attract its customer which may or may not include inbound and outbound marketing techniques. Digital marketing ads and social media marketing are two highly effective methods of maximizing exposure in the sales funnel. More businesses are also using YouTube video marketing and blogging to tap into the attentions of potential customers.
‘Discovery’ is the process of familiarization a customer takes prior to purchase, learning more about your brand. If you’ve done enough to maximize exposure, discovery takes things from there, qualifying the customer’s interest in not only buying your product but also your brand. Throughout discovery, you may wish to collect key pieces of information from the customer such as their email. Via email, you may be able to entice a customer further with first-time discounts, ‘free shipping’ coupons, and more.
‘Consideration’ is the brief moment before a visitor decides whether to purchase. If your shopper does not find the information they are looking for in consideration, they are highly likely to leave. At this stage, they are likely to compare you with your competitors, including in pricing, quality of product, shipping terms, and more. The best way to protect yourself through consideration is to ensure shipping costs and terms are favorable, customer reviews are adequately displayed on the product page, coupons or discounts are present, and/or a money-back guarantee is included.
‘Conversion’ is where the customer becomes your customer, closing a sale and providing you with their purchase. The higher the conversion rate, the better. That said, they are not necessarily the ‘end goal’ of a sales funnel. Though so much is focused on closing the sale, the actual ordering of the product is one of the less important components to the sales funnel. All that is confirmed via conversion is that the prior three stages of the sales funnel were appropriately maximized.
‘Retention’ is the ultimate end-goal of a sales funnel. That is, one wants the customer to be happy with their product, satisfied with the shopping experience, and likely to return or recommend your store. Customers do not want to feel like a number – they want to feel valued. Thus, be sure products are delivered on time, in perfect quality, and that any money-back or replacement guarantees are in place. At times, it might be appropriate to provide the customer with a survey to detail positives and negatives about your service, which could reveal key areas to improve on.
As eCommerce specialists and digital marketing experts, Unlimited Exposure would love to help in maximizing the opportunities in your sales funnel. For any eCommerce website owner interested in optimizing, increasing revenues, and more, contact a representative today for more information.
