Generating More Sales with Strategic Funnels: A Guide for Small Businesses
Generating More Sales with Strategic Funnels: A Guide for Small Businesses
A sales funnel outlines your customer’s purchasing journey from the beginning to the end. Small businesses looking to ramp up sales find that developing a strategic sales funnel is the perfect way to reach their goals.
A strategic funnel allows you to create an engaging customer journey and optimize your funnel for maximum impact. We will explore the benefits and best strategies for sales funnels for your small business.
Benefits of Strategic Sales Funnels
Creating a strategic funnel for your small business will allow you to:
- Divide the sales process into segments and examine each part of a customer’s journey, allowing opportunities for personalization and creativity. This process guarantees that your ideal customer will get what they need to lead them through the sales process.
- Guiding your customers through a strategic sales funnel will help you track metrics for your key performance indicators (KPIs) to demonstrate the effectiveness of your marketing strategies.
- Optimize the customer journey by identifying the least and most effective steps in your sales process.
- The sales funnel process offers insight into which metrics and KPIs you should track to measure long term success.
- Businesses can customize funnels for campaigns, specific goals, and different audiences.
Identifying the right strategies for your funnel
An effective small business sales funnel requires knowing your ideal customer and predicting their behavior. Establishing that ideal customer makes creating the correct type of funnel easier.
Three common types of funnels include:
- Acquisition funnels capture new customers at the awareness and intent stages of the buying journey.
- Engagement funnels focus on creating relationships with existing customers.
- Conversion funnels strive to convert leads into clients.
Because sales funnels are so customizable, you can tailor yours to fit your ideal customer. Additionally, your small business can combine funnels or use different funnels for different types of buyers.
Some ideas to better identify the right strategy for your small business are:
- Start by analyzing some of your top competitors’ strategies.
- Identify your customers’ top priorities and purchasing behaviors
- Conduct a survey or poll with your existing clients
- Examine data from past marketing campaigns
Developing a Sales Funnel that Engages Your Ideal Customer
Researching and analyzing demographics, data, and overall customer preferences can help you create a strategic funnel that attracts your target audience.
Important trends for 2023 include:
- 56% of customers trust a small business website over Google My Business. Ensure that your landing pages and website foster trust.
- The average customer journey can require 20 to 500 touchpoints. Be sure your sales funnel offers multiple engagements with your desired customers. This includes leading them from awareness to the point of purchase and a plan to retain customers.
- 72% of consumers will only engage with personalized messages. Make room for customized emails or even mailers with a personal touch in each phase of the sales journey.
- Review scores between 3.5 - 3.7 hold the highest conversion rates for businesses. Determine where reviews can fit into your customer journey and sales funnel to build trust and prompt new sales.
- 57% of customers spend their time above the fold on published material. Ensure your CTA (Call to Action) is clear, above the fold in marketing materials, and repeated throughout the sales journey.
Don’t be afraid to experiment with new ways to attract and retain customers. You might even use A/B testing, such as two different Google Ads, to determine which is the most effective.
Creating a strategic sales funnel will take research, data, and optimization. Spending time building a thoughtful sales funnel for your small business will help you reach new customers and retain current ideal customers to boost overall sales.
Works Cited:
https://keap.com/product/sales-funnel
https://sparkppc.com/blog/small-business-sales-funnel/
https://www.ventureharbour.com/marketing-stats/#:~:text=%231%3A%20The%20average%20consumer%20journey,between%2020%20and%20500%2B%20touchpoints
https://www.outreach.io/resources/blog/sales-funnel-metrics?utm_creative=644321975025&keyword=&matchtype=&network=g&device=c&campaignid=19602539702&utm_adgroup=142760615182&targetid=aud-339374248985:dsa-75507367363&utm_source=AdWords&utm_medium=PaidSearch&utm_campaign=A_Nonbrand_DSA_US_MCV&utm_agid=142760615182&utm_term=&creative=644321975025&device=c&gad=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw29ymBhAKEiwAHJbJ8v5DMo3qex_hKepJb9Cq8krhfM8LsmOmomhJvmojy_kaPSHbrbnJLxoCwEkQAvD_BwE
https://www.clickfunnels.com/blog/types-of-sales-funnels/
https://slidemodel.com/sales-funnel-guide/
https://clickup.com/templates/steps-to-create-sales-funnel-t-32j5z78#:~:text=ClickUp's%20Steps%20to%20Create%20Sales%20Funnel%20Template%20is%20designed%20to,step%20in%20the%20sales%20funnel
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Jen Jordan brings a wealth of life and leadership experiences to her writing. After 10 years creating a variety of content for a nonprofit, Jen decided to establish her own writing business. She specializes in creating high quality blog and website content for small businesses. When she's not writing, Jen is a competitive triathlete with a goal of completing a triathlon in all 50 states.