If you’re mad about your marketing analytics, you probably have heard about “funnels”. This article will help you out if you are curious about it! Here is what you need to know about marketing funnels.
Sales Funnel 
Online Shopping
This article explains what is a funnel, how a funnel works and why you should use a funnel.
You might find the phrases “conversion funnels” or “marketing funnels” intimidating. But the reality isn’t as such. The whole concept is actually very simple and very fascinating. You are probably already acquainted with a marketing funnel if you are in the business of selling your services and products on the internet.
But you should know that you have to utilize the funnel properly to get maximum results in your online endeavors.
What is a Conversion Funnel?
Suppose you can map out the way a person views your website and then buys one of your products and services. The marketing funnel is what you use to visualize the activities of your potential customers. The word “funnel” is used here to depict the process through which you can indirectly guide your customer to your desired conversion point. Overall, the steps a potential customer has to take before he/she finally purchases a service from your website are collectively called a funnel.
Why Is It Called A Funnel?
Let’s think about the steps a visitor on your site has to go through for a moment. At first, the customer lands on your site. He then goes through the website and searches for what he’s looking for. After that, he views the product, adds it to the cart, and then he finally purchases it. This is the purchase funnel.
Funnel process in 4 steps:
- Customer finds your site
- Customer will search for a product or service
- Customer finds the product, views it and adds it to the cart
- Customer purchases the product
The mechanism is compared to a funnel because not every single person who visits your site actually buys something from you. For example, you have thousands of visitors on your site. Among them, only a few people (the most interested viewers) end up buying your products and services. That is, the number of people among the viewers who become actual buyers gradually gets narrower, just like a funnel!
Why Should You Use a Funnel?
A funnel report is going to do you wonders if you are an online marketer and you need to monitor the actions of your potential customers. You can easily find out traces of how and where you are seemingly losing customers.
In any e-commerce or online shopping site, only seventy percent of the visitors end up in the shopping area. Even fewer people advance to the next step and place an order. Finally, when it comes to buying a product or service, a meager 5 percent of people end up purchasing your product. So, you can identify the reasons for losing sales with the help of a funnel.
How does a Funnel Work?
If you are wondering about the stages in a generic marketing funnel, there are six. Let’s take you through all the stages of the funnel!
1. Awareness
This is the first and foremost stage. The stage includes all the consumer research and marketing campaigns your online store goes through. The entire stage leads the generation process.
The stage also includes the different events, webinars, trade shows, blogs, and social media activities of your shop. People who could be your potential customers come into this stage through your campaigns.
2. Interest
Once you are done with generating leads, it’s now time to nurture those leads you got. In this valuable stage of the funnel, your potential customers get to know about your company and the services you offer. This is the part that enriches the customer relationships. This means that this is the stage where you can interact with your targeted groups.
3. Consideration
This one is a crucial step in the funnel. The stage ends with the conversion of the customers into prospective customers. If you’re a marketer, you will need to be sending more info about your services, bonuses, and offers to your targeted groups of customers. The process of offering free trials falls into this step of the funnel.
4. Intent
This is where things get interesting. Your so-called prospective customers need to show how keen they are on actually purchasing your services and products. You can initialize this with a survey directed to the customers after you have provided a demo product. Online marketers use their magic in this stage to prove how theirs is the best.
5. Evaluation
During this stage of the funnel, the potential buyers are into their final decision-making process, the infamous “Should I really get this or not?” Your sales and marketing departments have to work their parts and make the buyer see that what you offer is the one he needs to get.
6. Purchase
This is it! This is what you’ve been waiting for! You’ve guessed it right! This is where your prospective customer finally turns into a buyer. The transactions are taken care of. If your customer is satisfied and gets the full-on positive experience, you will see yourself getting a lot more customers with their referral.
Re-engaging
The whole process is repeated on and on. If you are running an e-commerce business, repeat-buyers are very much-needed. You need to put these buyers back into the funnel. You need to make sure customers keep coming back to you and stick to your business.
Customer retention is crucial when it comes to online stores. That’s because you aren’t spending your bucks to get these customers to become interested in your business. You might need to send them invites so they can sign up for your newsletter. Consider sending them promotions or coupons to encourage them to keep coming back.
Final Words
Gaining customers through a funnel and eventually making a profit from their purchase is why conversion funnels are so important. To get the maximum profits, you need to make proper utilization of the funnel. So what are you waiting for? Make sure to include the above mentioned steps to succeed.
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