Everything you need to know about the sales funnel

Successful digital marketing strategies always rely on a holistic approach. One of the most critical steps on the path to achieving ‘primary’ business objectives is the construction and implementation of a sales funnel. Properly organized communication systems with potential customers enable the entrepreneur to maximize their own benefits while minimizing all key input metrics: human-hours, investments, and other resources. You might be wondering how to structure an automated sales funnel and how to accurately define the follow-up stages that compose its steps. Answers to these and other questions can be found in the materials of this article.

Definition of Terms

The term “automated sales funnel” typically refers to a structured automation process aimed at establishing contact with a potential client. The sequence of interactions with the audience consists of such components as advertising campaigns, test sales launches, data collection and analysis, reassessing the actions taken, and further optimization. In this context, it’s important to understand that automating the sales algorithm can be accomplished through a variety of methodologies: promotions on social networks, constructing landing pages, sending email newsletters, and utilizing specialized services.

Simply put, an effective sales funnel can help you transform new visitors into permanent customers without significant effort and almost no oversight. By having this tool at your disposal, you can focus on modernizing your product lineup, elevating your business to a new level, and resolving pressing managerial issues, all without the fear that the overall sales volume will decline. Implementing this system yields various additional benefits, which include:

• A reduction in the rate of refusals when collaborating with both ‘warm’ and ‘cold’ clients;
• An increase in the sales conversion rate, as well as an increase in revenues from a single customer;
• A decrease in costs related to the campaign aimed at attracting new clients;
• An increase in the frequency of instances when new visitors become regular customers.

Over time, businesses have begun to open new departments to expand their core of loyal customers and multiply sales revenues. Such restructuring within a company is, of course, inevitable unless there are significant financial strains behind it. An automated funnel allows for a significant amount of money to be saved while also managing to attract a customer using a well-developed scenario that does not require human oversight.

It is important to note that the configuration of an automated sales funnel is only performed once. Subsequently, the parameters set can only be slightly adjusted. For this reason, studying each separate system step must be approached seriously, taking into account all the nuances.

In Which Areas is Automation an Indispensable Attribute?

Experience shows that the most effective sales funnel manifests itself in the following areas of business activity:

1. Information business: in an area where people earn from selling knowledge and training, providing content without an automated sales funnel can hardly be avoided;
2. Retail trade: expecting a good return from the standard promotion of a customer through the funnel is only valid if you are dealing with the sale of trending products that enjoy high demand among the audience at that time. For example, currently, such items include generators, power banks, smartphones, smartwatches, GPS navigators, which are always popular, alongside universal household goods;
3. E-commerce: if the range of an internet store is relatively limited, launching a funnel can be done in all categories. The main thing is for them to be ‘trendy’. However, in situations where the catalog is quite extensive, it is better to focus on the most ‘top’ positions;
4. Inter-business interactions: for automation to work in relation to corporate clients, you will need to put in some additional research (relevant targeting settings for the target audience, specifics of the product to be sold, corresponding interests of sellers and buyers, and so on);
5. Wholesale trading: for buyers who work with large batches, the key factor will always be price. Accordingly, when forming the stages of the funnel, it is necessary to focus on the financial side of the issue;
6. Service sector: an automated funnel will become the optimal option for companies offering exclusive services, which are utilized not impulsively, but rather require a conscious decision.

Why Does an Automated Sales Funnel Work?

The primary secret lies in the fact that the funnel is based on the principles of sales psychology. The well-known American marketer Elias Lewis mentioned that working with the client is a thin boundary between trade and psychology. Therefore, to convince the user to take a specific action, it is essential not only to provide rational arguments in favor of the product but also to adhere to certain psychological patterns of human behavior.

Continuing Lewis’ thought, it can be said that under conditions of a wide variety of the market and intense competition, a successful seller must adhere to the “Z” rule:

• Extract;
• Intrigue;
• Deliver.

Creating a Portrait of the Target Audience

When beginning to develop an automated sales funnel, the first thing to do is to start with composing a portrait of the target audience. For this, it’s important to obtain maximum information about the users:

• Which social networks they use;
• Taste preferences: what content they prefer, where they spend their time;
• What they are afraid of and what frustrates them, etc.

At first glance, it may seem that information about how the user spends their free time is of no use to your business. Such judgments are erroneous, since for a client to willingly transition to the status of a lead, they need to feel ‘at home’.

Gathering all the essential data can be done using the following instruments:

1. Online surveys: ask clients to fill out a pre-formed questionnaire;
2. Analyze the competitive environment: observe how your competitors operate to extract useful insights from their strategies;
3. Analyze referencing groups: conduct subject-specific studies into the intensity of potential clients’ orders.

Creating an Assortment Matrix

The matrix of goods reflects the range of positions within the catalog along with their descriptions and key characteristics. Nominal arrangements should be properly structured according to a specific scenario to assess whether the given promotion regulations are effective for the products. Additionally, customers perceive structured materials more easily when previously segmented according to thematic groups, such as “the most expensive goods,” “the cheapest goods,” “latest arrivals.”

Varieties of Automated Funnels

Traditionally, funnels are created around such events as:

• Conducting a single offline event;

The main goal: to gather as many potential clients as possible within the framework of a single event (training, conferences, master classes). In this way, you manage to establish contact with the audience and actively ‘warm up’ their interest and engagement in potential future collaborations. The gradual increase in sales from such a funnel is not to be expected; it has a long-term effect, working through increased brand awareness, the formation of a sense of attachment and loyalty to the trade brand.

• Launching new product lines;

Funnels are created around specific events, which take place with a certain regularity. Correspondingly, the sales growth following the implemented actions is observed only when a seasonal promotion is realized.

• Traffic funnels;

They are typically used for the promotion of inexpensive consumer goods. The action algorithm is as follows: advertising leads the client to the target page, they select a necessary product and place an order. In the case of post-Soviet space, such a funnel is less effective than in the West. This is conditioned by the fact that the culture of online shopping is just beginning to take shape on a broader scale.

• Consultative funnels;

Used in the field of consulting services and operate practically unconditionally. The high efficacy of a consulting funnel can be attributed to it being tailored to a previously composed request. Qualified specialists in the fields of law, medicine, or real estate sufficiently advertise their professional qualities while targeting clients independently.

• Webinars.

The essence of the funnel is as follows: a well-organized and successfully conducted free webinar is recorded on video. Then, with a certain periodicity, this recording is streamed as advertisement for this registration, which views increase the company’s revenue.

Features of Funnel Construction

A standard automated sales funnel consists of the following elements:

• Contextual (in search engines) and targeted (on social networks) advertising: can attract the target audience, increase the traffic to a pre-prepared target page.
• Lead magnet: a special offer for users that is presented to them in exchange for contact information, such as personal information.
• Examples: free delivery, promotional offers, discounts, bonuses, demo-versions of the program, free samples.
• Tripwires: a product whose cost typically does not exceed 10% of the price of the main line. For the user, this product is the most appealing in terms of offer. If the customer likes the product quality, they are likely to make the next purchase 90% of the time.
• Examples: discounts on products at half of the main cost, free access to valuable content, promotional activities for VIP services.
• Main product line: includes all those positions that you can offer to the client.
• Additional offers: bonus packages that the customer will receive upon further collaboration.

Actualizing the intended idea can be aided by such instruments as:

• Programmed bots;
• Custom advertisements;
• Constructor for landing pages;
• Templates for email newsletters;
• Colt-reking services;
• Payment systems;
• Video hosting and platforms for online communication, etc.

Specifics of Funnel Settings

To attract a buyer, it is necessary to pique their interest with a unique offering (see lead magnet). When you share useful materials with the potential customer, you exchange them for their contact information, new horizons open in front of you. Through email or SMS newsletters, it is possible to showcase products that are inexpensive but are of high quality, thus serving as a hook for further cooperation.

With thoughts like “wow, they are offering a cool product for the minimal charge, what else do they have?” the client will start exploring the product catalog and dive deeper into the main line products. Psychologically, a person is already tuned in to realizing the target act – the purchase. However, after the deal is concluded, neglecting the customer is not advisable. Periodically (read: unobtrusively), remind them about the company to maintain customer loyalty and awareness, resulting in high-level conversions.

A customer transitioning from a rookie status to a lead can be achieved under two fundamental conditions:

1. The client is satisfied with the quality of the services rendered. The tuning of the audience can be assessed through feedback mechanisms, reviews on social networks, and through corporate platforms;
2. The selling company does not transition into active encroachment, but if it does not push the consumer, it should bombard them with updates about new products. It’s better to establish a certain timeframe after concluding the deal and to declare a renewed strength, but not to flood them too much.

How to Create a Funnel?

To create a sales funnel, the following is generally used:

• Services for mass mailing such as Sendinblue, Mailchimp, Unisender, Sendsay, Convead and others;
• Analytical services for marketing like Roistat, SimilarWeb, Postoffice;
• Intelligent cart services for tracking central business ideas and fixating every step on the way to its realization. Recommended programs for developing mind maps include MindMeister, MindNode, WiseMapping. To not only outline but also track user actions, it is worthwhile to utilize such services as Funnelytics, Marketplan, Geru, and others;
• Push notifications, online chats, and other “instant” messaging. This can be done through Gleap, MSSG, Getgist, Tawk.to, HubSpot, and others.

Common Mistakes in Funnel Construction

Among the most widespread errors, it is worth noting:

• Illogical strategies: clients are immediately pushed toward purchasing the main product line without sufficient preparation or communication in the marketer’s “warm-up” language;
• Chaos in the process: initially, the focus is placed on additional offers, and only later are the main products discussed;
• Not considering optimization for the business funnel: it is essential to identify, and then eliminate, primary shortcomings in the communication with the audience;
• Encountering technical errors: for example, outdated text in SMS and email newsletters reoccur;
• Operating on assumptions and unverifiable facts: subsequently, they become unsustainable and do not resonate with client requests;
• Ignoring the segmentation of the audience: dispersing the same message to people from “diverse categories,” for example, those who visited the site for the first time and those who frequent it;
• Not providing a substantial reward for realized “target actions.”
• Promoting an outdated content: regardless of whether it is a ‘cold’ or ‘warm’ client, proposing them with information that has lost relevance is pointless—this is an unnecessary idea.

Conclusion

An automated sales funnel is a complex scenario of communication with a client, aimed at altering their status from a newcomer to a lead. The main axiom is that the funnel should only be configured once, but subsequent adjustments are allowed. Adjusting the order of actions within the automated processes can be facilitated by the help of specialized applications and services. The principal action should be carried out incrementally, distancing yourself from confirmed facts and founded objective conditions of circumstances.