Marketing funnels are essential for any ecommerce business. By understanding the typical customer journey, you can optimize your digital marketing strategies to increase conversions and retention rates. But the thing with marketing funnels is that they are not always successful. In fact, many businesses struggle to get their conversion funnel marketing right.
If any business is struggling with inconsistent marketing efforts to get its funnel right, or if they are seeing sub-par results despite the time and work invested, it may be time to consider an overhaul of the entire funnel.
However, a complete revamp is easier said than done. You can’t just go in and change things without a plan. Without proper consideration, any overhaul risks causing more damage than good.
To help navigate this situation, we’ve compiled a list of some key items brands should check off when revamping their sales funnel. By following these tips, you can be sure that your changes will be effective and improve conversions.
1. Identify Problem Areas (Where Losses Happen)
It is essential first to identify where customer losses are happening in the funnel. Without this data, it would be difficult to know what needs to be changed.
Start by looking at your website analytics. This will give you an idea of where customers are dropping off and what pages are causing the most friction. You can also use heat mapping tools to see where visitors are clicking and how far they scroll down the page.
For instance, if you’re successful in capturing leads but failing to convert them into customers, you’ll want to analyze why they are choosing your competition over you. Are there any objections they have that you’re not addressing in your marketing?
This will help you determine what changes need to be made for the customer to move down the funnel rather than abandon it entirely.
2. Take a Deep Look At Your Ideal Customer Profile
Many businesses make the mistake of throwing out the entire marketing funnel if it isn’t working. However, before you do that, we suggest taking a deep look at your ideal customer profile. In many cases, businesses don’t really understand their customers, and worse, they aren’t spending money where their customers spend their time.
To get a better understanding of who your ideal customer is, consider conducting market research such as surveys, interviews, and focus groups. This will give you valuable insights that you can use to improve your marketing funnel.
For instance, if you find that your target customer is spending most of their time on social media, you’ll want to focus your efforts there. Or, if you discover that your ideal customer is motivated by discounts and coupons, you can use that information to create an offer they can’t refuse.
3. Focus on the Pain Points
Pain points or the biggest issues are what make customers leave your funnel. In order to keep them moving down the sales funnel, you need to focus on addressing their pain points.
One way to do this is by creating content that addresses their specific pain points. This could be in the form of blog posts, video tutorials, or infographics. By providing valuable information that addresses their needs, you can keep them engaged and move them further down the funnel.
This can lead to a ripple effect of solutions and an improved customer experience.
4. Breakdown the Entire Funnel And Study Each Segment Individually
A marketing funnel can be considered a stack of dominoes. When one falls, the rest follows. To properly assess what needs to be changed in your funnel, you need to take a step back and look at the entire system.
Start by breaking down each segment of your funnel and studying it individually. This will help you identify which areas need to be improved and which are working well. Once you’ve identified the problem areas, you can start to brainstorm solutions.
Failing to do so can result in you making changes that don’t really address the underlying issue. In the long run, this could lead to even more problems down the road.
5. Optimize One Stage At A Time
The entire system might not be at fault, and that’s why it is essential to evaluate each stage of the funnel before making any changes. Once you’ve pinpointed the areas that need improvement, focus on optimizing one stage at a time.
This will help you track your results and determine which changes are actually having an impact. Trying to optimize the entire funnel at once can be overwhelming, and it can be difficult to see which changes are making a difference.
6. Take Another Look At Your Audience Insights
Finding the actual problem in your marketing funnel can be as simple as revisiting your audience insights. When you make changes to your channels and tactics without understanding your audience and their journey, you’re more likely to waste time and money.
Instead, take a look at the journey of your target audience. Identify outside factors and the value your brand adds to their lives. Then, make changes accordingly.
It is the best way to keep your audience engaged and improve your chances of success.
7. Use Audience Segmentation
One of the most important aspects of a successful marketing funnel is audience segmentation. You need to be able to segment your audience based on their specific needs and preferences, such as demographics and psychographics.
This will allow you to create targeted content that resonates with them and speaks to their specific pain points. As a result, they’ll be more likely to engage with your brand and move further down the funnel.
For instance, if you’re selling a new skincare product, you would want to segment your audience by skin type. This way, you can create targeted content that’s more likely to convert.
8. Track Changes In Your Audience
Time changes everything, and that includes your target audience. As time goes on, their needs and preferences will change too.
Sometimes, these changes can be subtle and result in a downward trend in your marketing funnel. In other cases, the changes can be drastic and cause a complete shift in your target audience.
In either case, it’s important to track changes in your audience and make adjustments to your marketing funnel accordingly. This will help ensure that your funnel is always relevant and up-to-date.
9. Understand Your Attribution Model
If you see a negative trend in your marketing funnel, it’s important to understand your attribution model. You need to know how your funnel is attributing the valued touch points within the customer journey.
A deep understanding of your attribution model is important in order to understand why customers are converting and how. Leverage analytics from social and ad platforms to get a better understanding of your attribution model. If necessary, remodel your attribution model to fit the current trends.
10. Invest in Tools And Content
Most businesses try to save money by skimping content and tools. However, this can actually end up costing you more in the long run.
To succeed with customer engagement, you need to invest in the right tools and content. This will allow you to create targeted and personalized journeys that resonate with your audience.
It’s also important to continuously create new content to keep your audience engaged. If you don’t have the time or resources to do this yourself, consider hiring a content marketing agency.
11. Cross-Sell And Upsell
Many businesses don’t realize the potential they have to cross-sell and upsell their products. If you have a product that complements another product, make sure to promote it accordingly.
For example, if you’re selling skincare products, you could cross-sell makeup or hair care products. Or, if you’re selling sunglasses, you could upsell sunglasses with a higher-quality lens.
By cross-selling and upselling, you can increase the value of each customer and improve your chances of success.
For businesses that have departments that operate separately, this can be a great opportunity to cross-sell or upsell products. You can also use this opportunity to drive renewals from lapsed customers.
The bottom line is that successful conversion funnel marketing requires continuous effort. By following these best practices, you can create a funnel that’s more likely to convert. If you need help, consider working with a marketing agency. They can help you create targeted content, invest in the right tools, and track your progress.