Study the sales funnel allows you to evaluate the percentage of users who become real customers. Unfortunately, not all leads (business contacts) translate into real conversions: in fact, most of the time the opposite is true.
The funnel model can be applied to a large number of contexts, including websites that work to convert visitors into active customers. The marketing funnel allows you to achieve a stronger bond with your contacts and convert them into customers.
Its structure is generally funnel-shaped. This is because generally the contacts that enter initially are numerous, but those that reach the bottom are much fewer (for example 10%).
The process is developed through several phases, which go through changes in the knowledge of the potential client:
- Brand awareness
- The interest
- Consideration
- Preference
- The chose
- The purchase
Phase 1: Create attention
In the first phase, it is necessary to capture the interest of the potential customer and invite him to request more information about the products and services offered.
Potential clients at this stage maintain a “suspicious” attitude, so to speak. They don't know your company yet, they don't know if it's trustworthy, and maybe they don't even fully understand your needs. Therefore, the first step is to provide “baits” capable of capturing their attention and making them understand how we are reliable partners.
In this phase we can use many digital public relations tools and activities such as:
- Advertising on Google (Google Ads)
- Social media advertising (e.g. Facebook ads, Youtube ads, etc.)
- Guest Posting on Other Sites
- Link building activities to get in touch with the public of other portals
These strategies work well when the target audience is well targeted and in line with your business proposals.
Segmentation allows you to bring commercial messages directly to the attention of the potentially interested audience and increase the chances of closing sales.
For this reason, models are created, called buyer personas, that highlight the psychological and behavioral characteristics that the typical customer must possess, in order to calibrate their promotional actions on them.
Phase 2: Contact Acquisition
In the second phase we must channel the users' attention to a special page configured to get their contacts.
The landing pages They are created precisely to offer a benefit (a demonstration, a discount, an hour of free consultation) in exchange for subscribing to the newsletter or in any case for the transfer of their telephone numbers and/or emails. This information allows you to re-contact members to establish a relationship with them capable of conducting business negotiations.
The more information you have about your target audience, the more likely you are to make your lead acquisition pages more effective for your purpose.
Inbound marketing has The objective is to create content capable of responding to the needs of your audience. The creation of materials makes subjects request information about products spontaneously, without interrupting their navigation with invasive advertisements.
In this way, recipients are encouraged to spontaneously request information about them and to provide their contacts to obtain them.
For example, we can make informative articles, training videos, comprehensive e-books, podcasts, and other types of materials.
This phase is facilitated by the use of calls to action, calls to action found within the content (for example, as a highlighted box on the web page) to entice them to leave their contacts.
When contacts agree to provide their information in exchange for a benefit (for example, a product or a discount), they become potential customers, active business contacts, and are differentiated from ordinary contacts that the company comes into contact with.
The data obtained is stored in databases that can be managed through structured products such as CRM. In this way, it is possible to implement remarketing strategies to sustain attention to the brand over time and carry out periodic conversions.
Phase 3: Conversion
A good way to complete the transformation of the lead into a customer is to propose an offer that is very beneficial for the viewer. The offer must have leverage on which to act, for example, a limited duration in time or a limit on available copies.
In fact, exclusivity is a powerful incentive to subscribe before it runs out and the benefit is lost.
After the purchase, the customer checks whether his ambitions have been fulfilled. If this is the case, it is plausible that the consumer will engage in spreading the brand's messages in a positive way.
The contents, in any case, are chosen and applied in relation to the phase of the funnel in which you are.
At the top of the funnel, we use content that attracts website visits , such as blog articles, social media posts, press releases, guest posts for websites.
To transform visits into effective business contacts, more in-depth materials are used such as free ebooks, webinars, guides and videos, capable of capturing people's trust.
In this phase, users evaluate the company's ability to respond to their needs, so it is advisable to use content that is capable of demonstrating the company's abilities.
Once contact is established, we proceed with content that can stimulate sales , such as free trials, discount coupons and special offers.
These are meant to leverage viewers' perceived advantage to entice them to enter the final stage of the funnel. Regular email marketing activities allow you to maintain brand awareness in consumers' minds and support continued purchases over time.
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