From getting traffic onto your website to finally getting customers is an arduous journey for any business owner. Customers need to have interest and faith in your product/service, and trust in your company, and only then can you encourage them to act which consequently translates into sales. In marketing language, this journey is called a conversion funnel.
The better you build your conversion funnel, the more qualified leads you get, resulting in increased sales. So, let us understand what exactly comprises a conversion funnel and how can we build one.
What is a conversion funnel and how can we build one?
According to Hubspot, A conversion/sales funnel is a term used to describe the various stages of the buyer’s journey, that potential customers go through before they take the desired action (i.e., convert). The funnel starts with a customer’s initial awareness of your product, followed by an interest in it. This progresses into a desire where prospects look show interest in your product/brand and evaluate whether it meets their needs and eventually complete a purchase.
What are the three stages of a conversion funnel?
A traditional conversion funnel has 3 stages. To create an effective conversion funnel, you must focus on achieving specific goals at each stage.
Stage 1 – Top of the funnel (TOFU)
This is the awareness phase where customers learn about their problems and your existence. Since your potential customers enter the TOFU when they learn about your brand, the only goal at this stage is to create brand awareness and build trust with valuable content. Focus on creating as much exposure, influence, and engagement as possible through your website, advertisements, emails, and/or social media.
Stage 2 – Middle of the funnel (MOFU)
This is the consideration phase where your leads consider whether to engage with your brand. Thus, your goal here is to strengthen the relationship with your leads so they move on to the final stage i.e. conversion. To draw in your leads, focus on relevant content creation, follow-up campaigns, and targeted offers. A few ways to capture your lead’s email address are via lead magnets, newsletter signups, downloadable guides, e-books, templates, or free trials.
Stage 3 – Bottom of the funnel (BOFU)
This is the final conversion or decision-making phase. Since this is right before a prospect purchases, your goal is to help them convert by making it easy to purchase. Motivational offers, offering a trial, competitive pricing, nurturing campaigns like reminders for abandoned carts, and retargeting work best here.
Tips to build a profitable conversion funnel
1. Know your audience
Keep a wide reach and target as many leads as possible and discover where your best customers come from. Build up your buyer’s persona and decide on what medium suits the best to target them. Examples are social media, paid ads, or emails.
2. Create Lead-Capturing Landing Pages
Create landing pages that are relevant to your customer’s interests. Your landing page should either promote your product/service or give information about the company. Run A/B tests and improve the content, UI/UX, images, and CTAs based on what is resonating best.
3. Use Google Analytics
Understand how users are interacting with your product/service based on data from your website. Details related to the amount of time users spend on your website and at what point they either abandon their cart or make a purchase can be instrumental.
4. Drive Traffic to Your Landing Pages
Consider using Pay Per Click (PCC) Ads on social media like Facebook or search engines to drive Be active on social media by creating engaging posts, and contests, or even using the ‘shop’ feature in some apps. Research shows that answering a customer’s query on social media prompts 48% of consumers to convert in some way. Ensure your social presence is evident on your landing pages.
5. Focus on Content Marketing
Create informative, educational content such as emails, blogs, and case studies, to attract and retain customers. Supporting content such as shipping & returns policies, mission statements, and team pages should be well drafted.
6. Capture your prospect’s email by developing lead magnets
Create various noticeable lead magnets, such as landing pages for free trials, checklists, or e-books, that give information about your company or products. Make it easy for people to provide their information.
7. Reviews, Testimonials & Customer Stories
Gather honest feedback and reviews from your customers and share them with the world by integrating them into your website or social media. You can also create your own surveys to gather additional feedback.
8. Use Strong CTAs
CTA for your website, email, and social media should be extremely clear and straight to the point. It should encourage your audience to take the desired action. Some examples of effective CTAs are Sign Up, Sign Up for Free, Subscribe, Get Started, Learn More, and Try for Free.
9. Reduce Friction on Checkouts & Forms
According to research, about 69.23% of online consumers put something in their carts and leave without purchasing. Ensure your checkout process is user-friendly and smooth. When capturing information, only ask what you need to improve the conversion rate on forms.
How to avoid funnel drop-offs?
- Keep your leads engaged by nurturing them via emails, social media, retargeting, etc.
- Clearly articulate the value and benefits.
- Create direct and effective CTAs
Building your conversion funnel is not a one-time project, rather it is a process that you would want to keep optimizing to be more effective.
Building a conversion funnel will help you make significant improvements in your efficiency and effectiveness in converting prospects into your customers.
