A conversion funnel refers to the path that your prospects take, ultimately resulting in a conversion. The percentage of prospects who convert into final customers is much smaller as compared to the percentage of leads generated, resulting in the funnel shape. A conversion funnel has four different stages. Prospects that cross all four stages convert into long-term customers. With a marketing automation platform, you can create a conversion funnel that is extremely effective in engaging your prospects and getting them to complete the sale. Read on to know how you can use marketing automation to create a conversion funnel:
1. Awareness – The first stage in the conversion funnel is awareness. The awareness stage focuses on all activities aimed at making prospective customers aware of your brand. This step is extremely important as this is when you can identify your target audience and present your products and services to the people who have the possibility of converting. A marketing automation platform offers several features that can be used to create awareness about your brand. Email marketing campaigns are one of the most effective features of a marketing automation platform which can be used to create awareness about a brand. Once you have identified your target audience, you can create a drip-email campaign using marketing automation, gradually sending content which is relevant and engaging. A marketing automation platform can also help you in creating an attractive landing page with a form. People who visit your landing page and fill up your form with their email IDs/phone numbers become your prospective leads. Additionally, you can use marketing automation to create whitepapers, offers designed to obtain customer information as well as online ads to spread awareness.
2. Consideration – Once you have created awareness about your brand, the next step is to generate interest in your products and services and make your prospects consider buying the same. The best way to make your leads consider your offerings is via an email marketing campaign which nurtures these leads. With a marketing automation platform, you can create an email campaign which is personalized for segmented groups of prospects. Based on the actions that your leads take, you can send them emails with compelling messages and interesting offers, thus getting them to engage more with you. Individually tailored offers and messages spark interest amongst your prospects and motivate them to take the action you want them to take. Additionally, marketing automation also gives you the opportunity to A/B test your campaigns, ensuring highest conversion and engagement rates.
3. Decision – The most important stage of the conversion funnel is the decision stage. This is the stage your entire funnel has been building up to as this is when your leads decide to take the action you want them to take. In other words, during the decision stage, your marketing-qualified leads (MQLs) start converting into sales-qualified leads (SQLs). While the final decision lies with your prospect, a marketing automation platform can tilt the scales in your favour. With marketing automation, you can track abandoned carts and customize emails with offers and incentives to get the leads to complete the sale. For example, for cart abandonment, you can send an email with a special exclusive discount of 10% on making the purchase within the next 24 hours. This will give the user an incentive to complete the sale. The trick here is to send the right content at the right time. For leads who are still browsing your products/services and contemplating on making the purchase, you can send them free trials and webinars. For prospects who need that extra push to complete the sale, you can send offers and discounts.
4. Retention – Just completing a sale isn’t enough. Retaining an existing customer is much more cost-efficient as compared to acquiring a new customer. Once the customer makes the purchase, you as a brand should ensure that you live up to their expectations and retain the customer in the long run. With marketing automation, you can design an effective ‘thank you’ email with helpful tips on how to use the product or service, which is automatically sent once a customer comes on-board. Also, a marketing automation platform can track a prospect’s browsing history, purchase patterns etc and predict other items they might be interested in. Such product and service suggestions create cross-selling and upselling opportunities. Finally, you can also provide your customers with exclusive offers on items that are relevant for them, thereby boosting customer satisfaction.
Building a conversion funnel will help you track your prospective customer’s actions and guide them to take the action you want them to take. If you have a marketing automation platform, this entire process is simplified, and you get an extra edge over your competitors.