A sales funnel looks at the consumer’s buying journey from a corporate perspective. A sales funnel is based on the idea that a company needs to attract many interested individuals, before narrowing them down until sales happen with some. This cut off is inevitable, although effective funnels convert higher numbers of target audience into buyers.
Businesses continuously experiment with their funnel to make it more effective as not every cookie harvested in the online environment constitutes a valid sales proxy. Groupon (offering coupons to shoppers and travelers) relies a great lot on their referral program and user rewards. Interested clients are referred to Groupon by a friend. Friends get a bonus discount per referral.
Clear calls-to-action presented in the online environment, that encourage visitors to act (e.g. newsletter sign-ups, free downloads, or consultation requests), or development of dedicated landing pages for specific offers, campaigns or sub-segments (where a single call-to-action is strongly promoted) eliminate distractions and streamline visitor’s attention and help the sales funnel succeed. Use persuasive copywriting and attractive visuals to encourage visitors to take the desired action. Sales promotion never hurts in making visitors act either. Incentives such free trials, premium delivery, discounts, exclusive content, access to webinars or events help capture the attention of potential leads and entice them to provide their contact information, which can be further use to establish a relationship.
For instance, Grammarly (an infamous grammar checker and writing improvement tool) spent reportedly over 100 million USD on digital advertising in 2022. Grammarly’s frequently used platform is YouTube, where they mix ads and contextual targeting to improve brand awareness. Interested individuals may register and test Grammarly by following a clear call-to-action. Grammarly periodically offers free trials of premium features to move users from freemium plans. To access additional functionalities, clients need to enter their payment card details.
Partnering with industry influencers or complementary businesses is usually a way to expand the reach. Collaborate on content, co-host webinars, or offer joint promotions to tap into influencer’s audience and generate qualified leads. However, make sure that influencer’s values are aligned with yours and have a potential to create more rather than less trust and credibility. The 2019 influencer collaboration between the Instagram glamour star Jemma Lucy and Skinny Caffe weight-loss program was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (UK’s regulator of advertising), when it became public that Jemma was pregnant.
Building rapport and trust has been a tricky discipline in the online environment in any case. A lot of traffic is generated through automated bots and accounts are not genuine. A connection with a lead needs to be established by actively listening, asking relevant questions, and showing empathy. Follow-up emails, calls, or (virtual) meetings may provide a lead with additional information, address their questions and concerns, and result in a transaction later. For example, online florist Bloom & Wild offers multiple contact options: chat, Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger and a contact form, while publishing the average waiting time for live chat to provide customers with contextual information for their informed choice.
Once the lead has demonstrated strong interest and is ready to make a purchasing decision, guide them through the final steps of the sales process. Present your proposal, negotiate terms, and address any remaining concerns. Close the sale by obtaining a commitment or agreement from the lead. After closing the sale, follow up with the customer and provide additional customer services, when necessary, as opportunities for upselling, cross-selling, or referrals may arise. Retailers such as IKEA or Target show online their furniture staged in real-life settings, where the central product is complemented by other products from their range. Pinterest-alike inspiration boards are presented to offer a complete set of matching items.
Being online means becoming omnichannel-, content- and data-driven. Combining data from multiple sources – CRM and marketing automation software in particular – while matching the targeted customer profile to the information available about a lead. Naturally, only platforms, channels, and media where target audience is active, are to be utilized.
Long gone are days where marketing was primarily about creativity. Successful marketing communications evolves primarily around data analytics. Data needs to be tracked and analyzed continuously. Monitoring online traffic, conversion rates, email open rates, click-through rates, and other key metrics is a way forward.
Résumé
Jak sbírat a rozvíjet prvotní zákaznické kontakty v prodejním trychtýři v online prostředí?
Prodejní trychtýř je pohledem podniků na řízení zákaznického chování v nákupním rozhodovacím procesu. Množství prvotních kontaktů se v trychtýři zužuje na potenciální zákazníky, přičemž s některými z nich je na závěr řízeného procesu uzavřen transakční vztah. Prodejní taktiky jsou založeny převážně na schopnosti navázat angažovaný vztah s potenciálními zákazníky. V online prostředí platí dvojnásob, že schopnost přetavení prvotních kontaktů do prodejů odlišuje úspěšné od neúspěšných.
