If you are familiar with Marketing, you have probably heard about the famous “sales funnel”, also known as a conversion funnel.
Whether this is the case or if you have never heard or read this concept, in the following lines we are going to tell you in more detail what it is, how it can help your company and how you can apply it to social networks. This way you will clear all your doubts.
What is a sales funnel
A sales funnel is a graphic representation – in the form of a funnel – that shows the different stages that potential customers of a business go through until they become real customers. That is, it is a metaphor to represent the sales phases of a product or service.
Therefore, as you can imagine, keeping this sales funnel in mind can be very useful and advantageous for the business of both large and small and medium-sized companies.
Phases of the sales funnel and how they can help your company
In general, the funnel is usually divided into five parts, and as the figure itself reflects, after each phase, the funnel narrows, reflecting the customers' purchasing process.
These are the main phases of the conversion funnel:
1. Phase of knowledge, attraction or brand awareness (awareness). In this first stage, potential clients seek to cover a need. The objective of companies is for potential customers to discover their product or service and to do so they seek to attract users. It is a stage of discovery.
2. Consideration or interest phase. In this second phase, customers begin to search for information and become interested. Companies must know the interest of users to provide them with differential value.
3. Decision phase. At this point in the process, the potential client begins to evaluate the alternatives available to them. Hence, it is important for the company to stand out with a value that differentiates it from the rest.
4. Conversion phase. In this phase, users choose a winning option and finally decide to buy, becoming real customers.
5. Loyalty or retention phase. Although on many occasions it is considered that the purchase has completed the process, there are still stages to complete. A company's post-purchase behavior can influence customer loyalty. This means that if a customer is satisfied with the service he can buy again.
6. Promotion or recommendation phase. Some professionals add a last phase that could also be linked to the fifth phase of loyalty. In this stage of the funnel, when a customer is satisfied with the entire purchasing process, they also recommend the product or service they have consumed to their friends, family or colleagues, a very valuable point for companies with which to get new customers. .
How to apply the conversion funnel in social networks
This concept can really be used in all those channels in which Marketing is applied, for example, in social networks.
-In the brand awareness phase, the objective is for users to discover the product or service that is sold through the networks. It is usually an initial stage in which we seek to gain new followers, interactions and, in general, let the public know the business. That is, the main objective in this phase is not sales, but reach.
-In the consideration phase the client already knows the brand and perhaps interacts with it on networks, but now you have to generate qualified leads. The objective is to strengthen the relationship by creating valuable content so that the consumer considers the brand's offer. To do this, you can create discounts, send messages to interested users, resolve questions…
-In the decision phase, remarketing strategies can be used, a form of advertising with which to create personalized ad campaigns for users who have previously visited a website.
-In the conversion phase, the user has already decided that they want to buy and will probably click on a brand ad that appears or on the website itself.
-In the loyalty phase we seek to maintain customers who have already purchased. For this purpose, customer service after the purchase is useful to answer questions or perhaps offer you promotions or discount codes for future purchases.
