How to build fantastic conversion funnels
“How’s your funnel?” may be a strange question to be asked, but many marketers have been incredibly focused on (and quite obsessed by) the idea of marketing funnels for a while now.
New businesses have been formed and even an entire industry created around this one idea of marketing funnels, with Russell Brunson’s ClickFunnels being one of the most well-known (and heavily promoted via affiliates) platforms in the space.
Despite their popularity, many people have a few questions about conversion funnels:
- What is a conversion funnel?
- Is it THE right solution for my company?
- How can I create a conversion funnel that converts?
Keep reading to get the answers!
What is a conversion funnel?
The basic idea of a conversion funnel is to move a prospect through a deliberate, pre-planned process.
Usually, this will start with them becoming aware of you and finish with them buying from you.
Because marketers like to give things new names, you may hear some companies referring to funnels as ‘pipelines’ – other than the name, these are the exact same thing in practice.
Is a conversion funnel right for you?
Although we’re huge proponents of conversion funnels, they will not be the answer to every company and for every situation.
A typical conversion funnel is often linear – step 1, step 2 etc.
However, in this digital, constantly connected era, many people won’t enter a funnel at the first stage but end up coming in at a much later stage of the funnel.
To make matters even more confusing, they may miss some stages completely, jump between different stages, or alternate between them!
An example of this can be seen on a Facebook ad. A prospect may go from awareness and consideration to purchase within a few seconds. (That’s a pretty fast-moving funnel!)
As can be seen, funnels can still work in these situations, but you need to be aware of the changing landscape of online marketing to ensure you create an evergreen conversion funnel.
How to build a fantastic conversion funnel
A good conversion funnel begins and ends with clarity. As Tony Robbins says, “Clarity is power.”
Unfortunately, many businesses do not have clarity and end up creating conversion funnels that do not work as well as hoped for (if they even work at all!).
To create an effective conversion funnel, you will need to have clarity about:
- Your ideal prospect
- Their pain points
- Their challenges and struggles
- The benefits of your product/service
- Potential objections a prospect may have about your product/service
- The lifetime value of a customer
You then (counterintuitively) begin at the end, working your way backwards through each stage until you reach the first stage (awareness).
By working backwards in this way, you can reverse engineer a successful outcome (i.e. a sale). This ‘backwards first’ approach ensures you keep your eye on the desired result, helping you avoid potential distractions as you create your funnel.
Funnel stacking
Of course, you are not limited to using just one funnel. One funnel can easily lead into another funnel (this is referred to as 'funnel stacking’).
Funnel stacking can convert a one-time buyer into an ongoing/multiple buyer, helping you to make more sales while providing even more value and benefits to your customer.
At Creative Clicks, we’re big fans of using multiple funnels (that’s why we called this article ‘How to build fantastic conversion funnels’, rather than ‘How to build a fantastic conversion funnel’).
Need help with your conversion funnel?
While conversion funnels can be a fantastic addition to your marketing strategy, they are not a miracle cure. No funnel can compensate for a bad product, service, or business model.
Assuming you have a good product or service, an effective conversion funnel could help you make more sales, greater profit, and increase the lifetime value of your customers.
Sounds good, right?!
The challenge
One of the main challenges companies face is in developing their conversion funnels. It can be hard to know where to start, where to end…and even what comes in the middle!
If this is how you feel, do not worry – you are NOT alone!
As a 360 digital marketing company, we have seen a LOT of conversion funnels over the years. Some have been great, others not-so-great, and many really very poor.
We can help you build a GREAT conversion funnel!
Our team of specialists have transformed poorly performing funnels into exceptionally successful ones that generate many more sales with much more engagement throughout each stage.
Whether you have a pre-existing funnel and would like it transformed into a more effective one, or you need a funnel created from scratch, we can help.
It is incredibly easy to talk with us about your next conversion funnel. Get in touch today to find out how to get exceptional results from your digital ad spend.
