Making sense of how strangers turn into loyal customers is one of the most difficult parts of maintaining a business. You need to identify the key aspects that make a person shift from one stage to the next. The metaphor of a funnel is one of the better ways to describe how this process works. By demystifying the sales process, it’s possible to convert more customers while targeting the right customers.
Why Funnel Your Leads?
The sales process starts with strangers and ends with loyal customers. By understanding what you’ve done to make those customers, you can replicate your success while expanding your profits. The largest amount of individuals should be at the top of the funnel. The population of this funnel decreases slowly through the various sales processes until you are left with a customer.
Understanding the Process by Example
The first thing a highly effective sales funnel should do is to create a solid draw for potential customers. This can be achieved by targeting the right people utilizing the right marketing streams. In a 2014 survey conducted by Social Media Examiner, 83 percent of companies stressed this as their most important concern.
Communicating on the channels customers are most likely to use to find your business allows you to start this process. You can then begin the process of nurturing your leads. In the lead nurturing step, leads travel down the marketing sales funnel. They learn more information about your company and products, look for more information, and finally convert into a customer. Based on their experiences, they may progress to a loyal customer that does your marketing for you by recommending your product to their friends and family. Companies that go through this nurturing process have been shown to generate 50 percent more revenue while reducing their cost of generating leads by 33 percent.
The last step is to refine this funnel from start to finish. Your customers should increase without greatly increasing the amount of marketing coverage that you currently have. Any additions to your marketing should be guided and fruitful. This makes funneling an ideal strategy for your business.
Sources:
463 Marketing Stats That Will Motivate You, LinkedIn
3 Inbound Marketing Statistics and How Your Business Can Benefit, LinkedIn
