Sales funnel - what is it and how do you build it properly?

Advertisements, personalised marketing or attractive promotions are just a few of the techniques that retailers must use to encourage customers to buy from their website. E-commerce is developing very fast, which forces entrepreneurs to take new measures. The sales funnel - what is it, how do you build it and what is it really for?

What is a sales funnel?

The sales funnel is also called the marketing funnel. The term refers to the entire sales process that a customer has to go through. The first stage is to draw attention to a particular product and the final stage is to purchase it. Companies selling their goods online aim to build the funnel in a way that increases sales. This means that each successive stage must be carefully designed and effective.

Why are these activities referred to as sales funnels? The name derives from the shape of a funnel, which is used to pour liquids in the kitchen. The tool is widest at the top and narrowest at the bottom, making it resemble an inverted pyramid in form. The first stage of the funnel is therefore the widest one, i.e. raising the consumer's awareness of the brand or a particular product. This is followed by successive, increasingly narrower steps that finally lead to a sale, the narrowest part of the metaphorical funnel. The funnel actually serves to sift through all the consumers in order to select only customers from them.

How should the sales funnel be structured?

How do you build a sales funnel to include all the necessary elements of the sales process? First of all, you need to know that every strategy of this type consists of the following three components (and sometimes they are even divided into more):

• ToFu - Top of the Funnel, the part at the widest part of the funnel. At this stage of its activities, the company seeks to reach the largest possible audience and creates recognition and trust in its own actions. It tries to build its position in the market as a company worthy of attention and offering a high-quality service. It can do this through, among other things, creative and valuable content posted on social media channels, as well as attention to positioning;
• MoFu - Middle of the Funnel. At this stage, the salesperson already addresses the customer directly with a CTA (call to action). He presents the product to the customer, explains its benefits and triggers the need to buy. This includes a detailed description of the product or service on offer, quality photos and relevant advertising slogans. At this stage, the customer should become interested enough in the product to buy it;
• BoFu - Bottom of the Funnel, or the lowest part of the sales funnel. It serves to ensure that the customer does not end the relationship with the shop after one purchase. Its purpose is to build a relationship between the retailer and the consumer via e-mail, among other things. It is worth sending your customers individual discount codes, information about new products or inviting them to visit you again. The final stage of the funnel is an effort to retain the consumer and ensure that they are satisfied with the service.

How do you create a sales funnel?

In order to create an effective marketing system, you need to maintain all the stages of the sales funnel. It is advisable to start with the smallest activities, which can be expanded later to include other aspects. When setting up your online shop with products or services, it is worth taking care of the website first. This should include inviting product pages and category descriptions. This is all in order to present the product to future customers in the best possible way and also to influence search engine positioning.

Then you can move on to activities aimed at spreading your brand and building trust with your audience. It is not worth swapping this order, because even the best-advertised online shop will not convince consumers when they do not find high-quality images or product descriptions. Internet users need to find a shop that is well prepared both technically and in terms of content.

In modern marketing, one of the most important aspects of companies' activities is that conducted on social media. This is where there is a good chance to build your regular audience base and a close-knit community that will engage with your company. Content should fit in with current trends and, on top of this, encourage audiences to comment or share posts with others.

It is also worth considering promotional activities that will make the shop even more recognisable to potential consumers. An ideal example is to organise a competition in which you can win a service or product from the shop. Usually hundreds or even thousands of people take part in such social media games, which makes many new consumers learn about the company and start to take an interest in its goods.

The final stage of the funnel, i.e. maintaining the relationship with the customer, can be manifested, for example, by running an interesting newsletter. It is worth sending consumers (but not too often) e-mails with interesting facts about products, competitions, discount codes and so on. It is also worth asking them for their opinion on a product or giving them a personalised code, e.g. as a birthday present.

The positioning of the website and the building of credibility are definitely influenced by having a blog with advice posts. It is worth bookmarking your webshop for articles thematically related to your business. In this way, you can establish yourself as an industry expert. In addition, these texts are excellent for providing links to specific products or categories in the shop.

A funnel strategy is always worth enriching with paid advertisements, which reach many brand new people. However, it is worth giving particular thought to where such adverts should be placed and ideally this should be handled by a marketing campaign specialist. A badly placed promotion can only be a loss. By constantly analysing their target group, entrepreneurs have a better chance of an effective sales funnel.

What is a sales funnel used for?

The ideal sales funnel is to ensure that the entrepreneur is selling the highest possible level of products. Being aware of all the processes that make up the various stages of the funnel helps the entrepreneur to plan his or her activities. This is important at every stage of the business - both at the beginning and during intensive growth.

Sales funnel in B2B vs. B2C - how are they different?

The e-commerce sales funnel can be divided into two types - B2B and B2C. The first abbreviation stands for business to business, so the relationship is between two businesses. The second, on the other hand, develops as business to consumer, so an individual customer is involved in the relationship. What differences are there in the funnel methods in this connection?

The B2C sales funnel is the one you will find a diagram of above. It involves drawing an individual customer's attention to a product, then convincing them to buy it and maintaining the relationship. In a B2B sales funnel, there is an interaction between two businesses. Thus, it is not about getting one customer interested, but about convincing the decision-makers in a company about their services or products.

While in B2C, a customer can order a product in the comfort of their own home with a few clicks, the process of finalising a transaction in B2B is more complicated. It is not uncommon for company representatives to have to meet each other in person and sign the contract by hand. Of course, it does not always work this way and it is possible to do quite a few things online as well. However, it is important to bear in mind that the funnel in B2B may require more commitment in order for a sale to be finalised.

Why is the sales funnel so important in marketing?

The example of the sales funnel is proof of the important role marketing plays in product sales. This method allows for noticeable increases in product sales and, in addition, helps to organise activities in the company. Because the funnel divides the product promotion process into individual stages, each stage can be much more refined and entrusted to the right people.

In addition, the funnel makes it much easier to control how the various product promotion processes are working. After carrying out successive marketing actions, you can report on the activities and see what is actually working best for the customers of a particular company.

Correct use of the sales funnel - what to remember?

Every entrepreneur must remember that even the best-constructed sales funnel does not start working immediately. An engaging strategy takes time to convince customers, but the steps are definitely worth taking. The ToFu part, in particular, takes time to build company recognition and start attracting them to the shop.

It is also not worth overdoing the intensity of promotional activities, especially when it comes to the sales funnel in email marketing. Consumers do not like spam and being bombarded with intrusive messages. Content should be less frequent, but more engaging and attractive to the recipient. As an entrepreneur, you should not skimp on funnel activities. It is worth hiring people who specialise in branding. In addition, a content agency or proven copywriters with SEO experience will be useful for creating high-quality content.

How to implement a sales funnel in a company?

The creation of sales funnels must be preceded by an in-depth analysis of past customer behaviour on the website, as well as detailed action planning. It is worth starting by analysing your offer and considering whether it is complete and inviting.

Next, you need to check when users are most likely to leave the website. Does this already happen at the product browsing stage, or perhaps only after the shopping basket has been filled? Based on this observation, you will know what to pay particular attention to when improving the sales process.

In the end, it is worth working with specialists who are familiar with user activities on the Internet and who will ensure that there is a definite increase in interest in your offer. After the stage of building new strategies and improving the site, you will need to move on to checking the effectiveness of these actions. How do you do this?

What tools are useful in controlling the sales process?

Monitoring sales is a key issue in finding out whether the funnel is benefiting. Companies use special tools to monitor and report on the results. Based on the data from the following months, you can draw conclusions and improve the processes in your business all the time.

The sales funnel in an online shop can be monitored, for example, via the popular Google Analytics tool. It is easy to use and helps, among other things, to profile the audience of a website.

By now you should know how to create a sales funnel. Remember, you are doing all this to attract new leads, improve your offer and sell more. Every detail is important.