Like most people, you’ve probably heard of the term “business funnel” but don’t know what it means. What is a funnel in business, and how does this work in practice? Here’s everything you need to know about business funnels.
What Is a Funnel in Business?
What is a funnel in business? A business funnel is a strategic tool that many businesses use to increase sales. It is a description of an individual’s steps to becoming your customer. It is composed of three parts:
- The marketing that attracts prospects into your business is at the top of the funnel (e.g., the advertising on your physical storefront or your landing page on your website).
- The middle of the funnel includes all aspects of your sales process before the sale (e.g., people trying on clothes in your store or website visitors learning about the benefits of your products).
- The final purchase is at the bottom of the funnel (e.g., customers pay for clothes at checkout or customers enter their credit card information to complete a purchase).
A sales funnel is a way to show where an individual is at the end of their buying journey.
You need sales to funnel to convert potential customers and attract them to your brick-and-mortar business. Sales funnels should guide people through the sales process until they are ready and able to purchase your products or services.
Benefits Of Business Funnels
Marketing funnels are beneficial because they provide access to data that can help you pinpoint where customers are dropping off. This is useful because it allows you to change your funnel to keep more customers from escaping.
Let’s use the average SaaS company as our example. This is how their sales funnel might look:
- Prospect visited site
- Prospect signed up for a trial
- Prospect used the product
- Prospect upgraded to a paid subscription
People don’t have to use the product before paying for it, but it is a good idea to record it so you can analyze it to see if it’s causing any roadblocks.
If you’re losing conversions after the trial stage, it’s probably because your onboarding process is poor. Ensure people understand how to use your app and adjust your funnel so you’re only attracting your target customers.
Sales Funnel Stages
From the first time a prospect hears about your product until they decide to buy (or decide not to), they go through various stages of your sales process.
The customer experience through your funnel will vary from person to person, but the end goal is for each customer to evaluate their experience with your company.
The prospect will think about the problems they are facing and research to ensure that you’re the best company to solve those pain points. The sales funnel stages are:
- Awareness stage
- Interest stage
- Decision stage
- Action stage.
Marketing Funnel Stages
If you’ve heard of “marketing funnel” before, you probably know that it’s a term used to describe the path a prospect takes from first becoming aware of your brand to becoming a customer.
Marketing funnels can be extremely helpful in understanding the customer journey from awareness to conversion. By mapping out this journey, you can gain valuable insights into why some customers convert, and others do not. This information can then improve your marketing strategy and increase conversions.
Creating Content Stage In Sales Funnels
The biggest mistake marketing professionals can make is not aligning their content marketing with their sales process.
Many marketers don’t go far enough when it comes to content marketing. They either don’t repurpose their content enough, or they don’t research how to increase their visibility.
Their failure to engage at each sales pipeline stage prevents their progress. They need to have a process in place for each step of the sale.
So, I’ve decided to show you how you can create different types of content that suit different sales funnel stages.
Blogging (Awareness & Interest)
Blogs are a great way to create awareness of your business. It’s usually how most people find you, and it’s a great way to keep your audiences engaged and informed.
If you want to promote your business through your blog, you need to ensure your content is optimized for the right search terms. This will help it rank higher on search engines and bring in organic traffic. Remember that attracting customers to your company is essential for a marketing strategy that will turn readers into buyers.
You can also promote your blog posts by sharing them on your social media accounts or by paying to have them shared. Blogging is not just about increasing brand awareness and generating new traffic. It is also about driving conversions and boosting sales.
This means it’s unlikely you’ll make a sale from an email. You’ll need to push people to call or go on an appointment.
Lead Magnets (Interest)
To build an email list, you should provide valuable content to your readers. A guide course is an effective way to attract new subscribers. By offering help, you can demonstrate your expertise and build trust with potential customers.
Any educational content for your prospective client is helpful for the stage.
If you’re looking for ways to increase leads and conversions, consider adding call-to-actions within your lead magnets. You can encourage potential customers to check out your products or services, call your sales department, or take other desired actions.
Webinars (Decision & Action)
While often used as a lead generation tool, webinars focus more on the decision-making stage. They are often used to convince potential customers to buy your product.
People interested in attending your webinar will likely achieve certain goals or solve specific problems. This could include increasing traffic to their website, losing some weight, or finding their perfect match.
Your goal with the webinar is to educate them and provide value so that they can make an informed decision about whether or not your solution is right for them. You increase their chances of buying your solution by providing value and educating them.
Always end with a CTA. This could include asking your prospect to make a purchase, signing up for your free trial, or scheduling a free consultation.
Videos (Awareness, Interest)
Videos are more useful for the awareness, interest, and decision stages, although they can also work well for action and evaluation.
Did you know that YouTube videos are the second most popular search on the web? Optimizing your videos for relevant search terms can drive traffic back to your site.
Videos are one of the best ways to attract new customers to your company. You can also use them to show your customers how your product works. These tutorials can help keep current clients engaged and coming back for more.
Conclusion
What is a funnel in business? A business funnel is a powerful tool that can help your company succeed. You can increase your sales and grow your business by getting more leads at the top of the funnel and converting them into customers. So if you’re curious about what a funnel in business is and how it works, now you know!
