This is one of the fundamental concepts studied in the Master in Digital Marketing taught by the European University in the face-to-face modality in Madrid. This specialized training complements, through the study of real cases and practices in companies, the knowledge acquired in degrees such as the Degree in Advertising in Madrid , the Degree in Marketing in Madrid and its online version .
What is a sales funnel
Imagine a clothing brand with overseas chinese in europe data hundreds of thousands of followers on social media, but not enough sales to cover expenses. How is that possible? The answer lies in the sales funnel.
A sales funnel is a representation of the path a customer follows from first contact with a product or service to making a purchase . It is visualized as a funnel because at each stage, the number of opportunities decreases, as not everyone who enters the top of the funnel will become a customer at the end.
The main goal of this visual representation is to optimize each stage of the process to maximize lead conversion.
How to make a sales funnel: phases
Knowing the stages of the sales funnel allows you to detect flaws in the sales process and test new strategies to improve conversion. Knowing where you fail will tell you where to direct your efforts. Below, we describe the different stages of the sales funnel and the techniques you can apply in each of them.
Awareness: At this stage, potential customers become aware of the existence of a product or service. This can be achieved through direct advertising in traditional media (press, TV, radio) or on social networks (Google Ads, Meta Ads, etc.) or through positioning in search engines such as Google, either through paid ads (SEM) or organically (SEO).
Interest: Once a potential customer is aware of the product or service, they may search for more information or show an intention to purchase, by adding products to the cart or requesting a quote. This is where the website design comes into play , which should be easily navigable and attractive, the blog content , with relevant information and customer testimonials or success stories, and contact forms to access offers or restricted content. With the information obtained through this first contact, remarketing actions can be planned , such as sending an email reminding about the products added to the shopping cart or showing display ads on other sites and applications.
Conversion: Finally, the potential customer makes the decision and makes the purchase. To facilitate the transition to this phase, techniques such as phone calls , personalized demos or free trial periods can be applied .
Loyalty and referral: After the purchase, the goal is to maintain customer satisfaction to encourage repeat purchases. Satisfied customers can also become brand advocates, recommending products or services to others and attracting potential new customers. This can be achieved with loyalty programs (clubs and rewards cards), exclusive customer offers and events , good after-sales service , or by maintaining communication through newsletters and other marketing communications .
What is a sales funnel for?
The sales funnel serves to optimize the conversion process of potential customers. Here are some of its main functions and benefits:
Identifying opportunities for improvement: This allows companies to identify at which stages of the process they are losing potential customers. With this information, they can adjust their strategies to improve conversion at those specific stages.
Segmentation and Personalization: Helps you segment customers and prospects based on their position in the funnel, allowing you to customize marketing and sales strategies for each group.
Efficiency in resource management: helps allocate resources more efficiently, focusing marketing and sales efforts on the areas that have the greatest impact on conversion.
Improving customer experience: By better understanding the purchasing journey, businesses can improve the experience at every stage of the funnel.
Sales Forecasting: Makes sales forecasting easier by providing data on the number of leads at each stage and conversion rates. This helps businesses estimate future revenue and plan accordingly.
Marketing and sales alignment: Improve collaboration between marketing and sales teams as both can work with a shared understanding of the process and goals.
Who can make a sales funnel
Any business that offers products or services must consider its sales funnel. Sales funnel management is often a shared responsibility between various roles and departments within the business.
Marketing teams
Marketing teams oversee the overall sales funnel strategy and execute campaigns to attract and qualify leads at different stages. They create and manage sales content and analyze various metrics to monitor performance at different stages of the funnel.
Sales teams
Sometimes it can be difficult to understand the differences between sales and marketing , but in this case they can be clearly seen.
The sales department's responsibilities include contacting and qualifying potential customers, accompanying them on their journey through the different stages of the funnel until conversion. The sales team is therefore responsible for ensuring that the funnel processes are followed correctly and that sales goals are met.
The digital world offers numerous marketing and advertising career opportunities . If you want to train in a specific area, the marketing and communication bootcamps at Universidad Europea offer you intensive 14-week training to specialize.