• By michelle
• In Marketing Strategy

The Art of the Sales Funnel

“Sales funnel.”

Sounds simple, right? If you attended a business class, you probably became familiar with that little cone image. (Or maybe you fell asleep during that business class because let’s face it: discussing sales funnels can be boring.)

But a smart sales funnel design on your website is crucial.

It’s more than just a call to action (CTA). The trick is to keep your prospective customers entertained and compelled the entire time, from the landing page to the “confirm purchase” button. Your website has to be designed with care to ensure that it maximizes sales. If you feel like your website content has spiraled out of control, revisit the streamlined art of the Sales Funnel.

Generate Awareness

The Sales Funnel is a concept that reveals the various stages between marketing and a sale. For instance, the first step in the Sales Funnel is “feeding the funnel” or generating awareness for your product. In the case of websites, it can also involve ensuring that potential customers land at your site. This can be achieved by improving SEO techniques and increasing the ranking of the website in various search engines. Paid ads can also be another component of this first step.

Generate Leads

The next step in the Sales Funnel approach is to guarantee that a visitor stays interested in the products being offered. This requires compelling and entertaining copy in language that engages the target audience. The layout of the website, the visuals used, as well as the general style and tone of the website have to be in tune with your target customer. For instance, a product for teens should communicate with them in their language. Additionally, the content should provide relevant information in an easy to read format.

Retain Interest

In order to retain interest, the website should offer a few broad choices that the consumers can easily locate. “Few” is the key word here: offering too many choices can confuse a customer and, after wading through web pages, they may just leave the website. By making it easy for the consumer to identify what they want, it will be easier to move them closer to a sale.

Close The Sale

In order to actually complete a sale, the website should make it simple for the customer to complete the transaction. The sales page should avoid upsells and enticing offers as this prevents the customer from completing the transaction.

Instead, the offers and bargains can be made available in other sections of the website such as the main product page. An icon on the main product page for bargain hunters or a pop-up with upsell information when the customer is looking for additional information on a product is more useful than in the cart.

Continue Analysis

When using the Sales Funnel approach for designing a website, it is easier to track and analyze customer behavior. For instance, if a large share of the visitors look for additional product information but do not move on to make a purchase; the content in the product details page can be changed. On the other hand, if visitors do not move beyond the home page, then you need to take a close look at the content and format of the home page to see what can be modified.

Get back to the basic art of the sales funnel in your website, and you’re guaranteed an increase in conversions!

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