When designing your marketing funnel, you need to understand your audience and how your website can convert them into paying customers. The top of your funnel represents your most potential customers, while the bottom represents your least profitable prospects. Targeting prospects at the bottom of the funnel will maximize your sales volume and convert them into paying customers as quickly as possible. The following are three important stages of the marketing funnel:
In the interest stage of your sales funnel, your prospects are still considering their options and doing some research. They may be comparing two or three companies, and a sales-y approach is unlikely to convince them. Content at this stage should be informative and demonstrate your expertise and help prospects make a decision. Finally, your sales funnel ends at the decision stage, where your prospects are ready to make a purchase decision. During this stage, your customer may still be considering two or three options before purchasing your product or service, but you should be able to influence their decision.
The marketing funnel is a fundamental part of building a successful online business. It guides potential customers through the buying process. The goal of this process is to create an automated, measurable system to guide your business’ marketing efforts. Many people rarely research a business before buying a product or service, so it is critical to design a sales funnel that will take prospective customers through the entire process. Once your marketing funnel is in place, you can automate and free up the time of your team to focus on new opportunities.
A marketing funnel should align with your overall marketing strategy and provide value to your customers. Think of it like a marriage: if you can get your customer to buy your product or service, you’ll likely have a successful business. When designed correctly, the funnel should be a seamless experience for both parties. In other words, your marketing funnel should lead your prospective customers down the path to becoming paying customers. So, don’t neglect the bottom line by being too slick!
The AIDA model outlines a customer’s journey, starting with awareness and progressing through interest and then turning to action. This funnel is a circular, perpetual, and compounding model that many marketers use. Developed in 1898 by Elias St. Elmo Lewis, it describes the journey of a potential customer from a brand’s website to a customer’s actual purchase. You’re trying to generate interest and turn a potential customer into a customer.
Tracking the sources of your content is an important part of improving your marketing funnel. By measuring the engagement rate of your content, you can replicate the success and learn how to increase the conversion rate of those who visit your website. As you create more content and refine your marketing funnel, you’ll have a better understanding of your audience and what works and doesn’t work. And if you’re already getting great engagement rates, why not make it even more effective?
In the awareness phase, prospects are familiar with your brand. Focus on the value of your offer and provide specific details that will build a relationship between you and your prospective customers. Whether your target audience is looking for a restaurant, a plumber, or a swimming pool installation company, branded content can engage them and make them want to engage with you in the future. The consideration phase is the most important phase of the funnel as it involves establishing a deeper connection with your potential customers.
The next step is to turn the marketing funnel into a practical tool. Once you’ve created your marketing funnel, think about the tactics you’ll use, channels you’ll use, and content that will make the most impact. Blog posts and PPC ads attract leads, email marketing nurtures them, and events that will ultimately make them a purchase. You may even want to use eCommerce marketing for different stages of your marketing funnel. This will make it much easier for your business.
If you’re unsure of what your sales funnel should look like, try Lucidchart. This intelligent diagramming tool empowers teams to clarify complexity and align insights, enabling them to build their future faster. Lucidchart is the leading online Visio alternative, and is used by over 180 million people. There are several other similar cloud-based applications to Visio, so Lucidchart is a good choice if you’d like to use one.