The sales funnel is an integral component of any digital marketing campaign. If you run an online business, you cannot survive without a sales funnel. If you do not have one, you will not profit at all.
Is it that crucial?
The main goal of having a sales funnel is so that you direct your visitors from one phase to another. And you want to do this all the way to the point of completing the purchase. In fact, there is no turning back if you have an effective sales funnel. Basically, if they stopped at any stage, there is always a way to drive them to continue. This is where retargeting or remarketing comes into play.
Get them through all the stages
Your visitors will generally go through the 4 different stages (known as AIDA) which are:
- Awareness – Your prospect finds out what you are offering. They will come to your site in various ways whether it is an ad on Google search or through their social media accounts.
- Interest – Your prospect starts to become a customer as they are looking for something to solve a problem. You usually use relevant content at this stage.
- Decision – This is the stage where your carrot is coming to fruition. Your prospect takes note of what you are offering like discounts or last-minute deals which will drive the purchase decision.
- Action – Once your prospect reaches this stage, the deal is almost done. But the purchase must be completed when the amount is transferred.
Is that all there is to the sales funnel?
The ideal situation is that you can sustain and retain your prospects after the first purchase. A powerful CRM will be extremely useful here. Keep them wanting more by sending them emails or messages. As long as you have their interests at heart, you won’t go wrong with this strategy.
A simple and unique model
This marketing model is charted as a journey. The customer comes to your site (from whichever platform you use). Once they are there, your sales funnel will push them towards the direction of a purchase. That is your ultimate aim. In fact, that should be your ONLY aim. What happens when they are there is that they are guided at every stage from being a lead to a prospect and then a customer (and if possible a returning customer).
