Sales funnel: a strategic model suitable for those looking to sell more - Trustpilot

 Sales funnel: a strategic model suitable for those looking to sell more

Does your company have a well-defined sales funnel that aligns with the customer's buying journey? Despite the importance of this strategic model to the success of digital marketing initiatives, many companies still do not realize the benefits of the conversion funnel for planning content and online sales, and therefore have not yet implemented it in their internal operations. Given this reality and the potential for great results from the details of the sales funnel. The check!

What is a sales funnel?

The sales funnel is a strategic model in which the stages of the purchase funnel are planned to plan the distribution of content according to the customer's level of awareness of their problem.

The goal is for the audience to gradually move from the initial stage, when it is affected by the content (webinar, advertisement, etc.), to the long-awaited conversion, that is, to the completion of the transaction. This model has three stages: the top, middle, and bottom of the funnel, each representing one or more stages of the buying journey. To understand the whole process, let's first take a look at how the shopping trip works.

Buyer's Journey Steps to Purchasing

There is some disagreement about the number of steps, but four levels of consumer awareness will be considered here: unaware of the problem, aware of the problem, aware of the solution, fully aware.

Not knowing the problem - At this level the user does not have or was not fully aware of the problem to be solved.

Recognizing the problem - When they realize that they have a problem, the user begins to look for solutions in search engines, digital social networks, video platforms, etc.

Achieving the solution - At the third level, the user already knows some solution to the problem and begins to explore alternatives.

Fully Aware - Upon reaching this level, the user compares the available options and conducts research to choose the best one that best suits his needs.

Sales funnel steps

Top of the funnel - this stage attracts the audience, who still does not understand the problem that needs to be solved, but may be interested in the proposal. This is the stage in which most people are involved.

The middle of the funnel - The goal of this step is to convert the people who first contacted your business into leads, you need to mature and qualify this audience so that it can move forward in the sales funnel. At this point, of course, people are down quite a bit compared to what's at the top of the funnel.

The bottom of the conversion funnel is the final step in the conversion funnel - to convert qualified leads into customers. Once again, the number of people affected has decreased, and now is the time to try to sell your product by showing how your company can address the problem.

How do you align your sales funnel, purchase funnel stages, and the ideal content type?

Now that we've covered the stages of the sales funnel and the purchase funnel, it's time to juggle them. Correct communication between them necessarily depends on knowledge about the potential customer, so before moving on, it is important to do a detailed research to assess who these audiences are, how their journey is going, what their needs are and what information they are looking for on the web to accept your decisions. Once this stage is complete, we can move on!

Check below which type of content is best suited for each of the steps mentioned.

Sales stage of the purchase path content to work

at the top of the funnel. You don't know about the problem. Provide content on general topics not directly related to the issue. Choose posts in different formats (blog posts, videos, etc.) for general questions from the audience.

middle of the funnel. awareness of the problem. It provides more specific content related to the user's issue and needs, but without any sales claims for the time being. Provide free infographics, chapters, and e-books by filling out the main data collection form.

end of repression. Awareness of the solution. Explain and, if possible, show how your product could solve the potential customer's problem. Consider offering product variations and suggestions, as well as social proof with testimonials from already winning customers.

What is the next step in the sales funnel?

Sales funnel implementation is a very continuous and dynamic process. Thousands of users are connected to different life profiles and moments every day and distributed to different levels of consciousness. Therefore, in order to serve your audience at every stage of the sales funnel and buying journey, it is important to do content planning, including compatible materials for all these stages. In this way, the company encourages a healthy inward and outward flow from the funnel.

The sales funnel ends when potential customers purchase and become customers. However, it is important to keep in mind that many people at different stages of the conversion funnel will be able to reach your posts, but not move on to the next stage. In these cases, the advice is to invest in remarketing as an alternative to returning an audience to a conversion funnel that has shown interest and hasn't made a purchase. You can offer special conditions, bonuses, and guarantees to try to turn the picture.