The sales funnel is one of the fundamental strategies for any sales professional. digital marketing. It consists of a structured process that guides potential customers from their first contact with the brand to the final desired action. In the context of digital marketing, the sales funnel becomes even more important as it allows you to increase leads and boost online sales. In this article we explore what a sales funnel is in digital marketing and we also present 5 tips on how to use this tool to benefit your online business.
What is a sales funnel?
The sales funnel is nothing more than a visual representation of the customer journey from the moment the consumer discovers your brand to the final stage of conversion or purchase. It is called “funnel” due to its shape, and at the top there is a large number of potential leads which are filtered throughout the process. Individuals who reach the bottom of the funnel, that is, those who reach the last stage, are considered the most qualified to purchase your product or service. This process encompasses 6 steps distributed throughout the funnel:
Top of the funnel:
1. Consciousness
At this stage, consumers are in the first phase of discovery, therefore, despite searching for information about a need or problem, they still are not aware of your brand. This is the broadest area where, although there may be a large number of visitors to your website, they may not become leads.
Middle of the funnel
2. Interest
Here the consumer has already recognized the existence of a problem or opportunity and, therefore, begins to explore their options. Now your brand becomes a possible solution, but the search for information continues and no option is discarded, comparing different product or service alternatives.
3. Consideration
During this stage the consumer actively considers your brand. Here your offer is the target of direct comparison with others available on the market, that is, the individual evaluates the advantages and disadvantages of the various options so that they can later “rankear” on your mental list.
4. Intention
At this stage the leads show signs of purchase intention. In this sense, it is likely that they are interacting more with your content, for example by subscribing to newsletters, requesting quotes or requesting demonstrations.
Bottom of the funnel
5. Decision
Finally, at the bottom of the funnel, consumers are about to make the purchase. To this end, they carry out a final reevaluation of prices and reviews to ensure they are making the right decision.
6. Action
Finally, in the last stage of the sales funnel, leads convert in consumers of the brand and complete their purchasing process with the desired action, whether purchasing a product, signing up for a service, scheduling a demonstration, etc.
Now that you have an idea of how the consumer journey works, we present you 5 tips to maximize your sales funnel and adapt your digital marketing strategy:
1. Know your target audience
Before building your sales funnel, it is essential to know your target audience. In addition to gathering sociodemographic data, it is important to understand what the main challenges and problems of these individuals. This will allow you to create content and offers that make sense to them at each stage of the funnel.
2. Create relevant content for each stage of the funnel
Creating good content is always rewarded, especially online as the content available daily is abundant. It is essential that for each stage of the consumer journey, care is taken to produce persuasive and quality content that allows you to stand out from the competition.
3. Automate and personalize your approach
There are a series of automation tools marketing tool that you can use to target leads based on demographic, behavioral or engagement. For this we recommend HubSpot which, in addition, allows you to create automated workflows for cultivating leads. If you want to develop newsletters, you can use the Mailchimp for email marketing automation and contact list segmentation.
4. Optimize the experience across all touchpoints
Make sure your sales funnel journey is successful across all channels and devices. Spend time on improve the consumer experience, from your website and landing pages to your social networks and email. This is essential to maintaining a positive customer experience and ensuring that leads advance through the funnel.
5. Constantly monitor and adjust
Regularly evaluate the performance of your sales funnel through metrics analysis such as conversion rate, abandonment rate and average time on website. Then use these insights to adjust and optimize the consumer experience and your digital marketing campaigns.
Conclusion on the digital marketing sales funnel
In conclusion, a well-constructed and effective sales funnel is crucial to the success of any digital marketing strategy. By understanding how each stage of the funnel works and knowing your target audience in depth, you will be able to optimize and personalize the customer experience. To do this, you must use marketing automation tools and provide valuable content at each stage of the funnel, in order to maximize your business performance and achieve success.