The Art of the Funnel
Art is the funnel as it were through which spirit is poured into life.
-Thomas Mann
Sales Funnels
-What are they and how do they work?
A sales funnel guides potential customers through the steps and information necessary to make a purchase. A proper sales funnel drastically increases sales and decreases costs through systems and efficiency.
There are four stages of customer experience which are addressed in the “AIDA(S)” model.
-Attention
-Interest
-Desire
-Action
-(Satisfaction)
Attention: In order to gain a customer, you must first get their attention. This can be done through a wide range of tools such as email, google ads, social media ads, blogs, or standing on the street corner flipping a sign. Some methods are more effective than others. Color, visuals, and written communications should be attention grabbing to your specific target audience.
Interest: Getting someone’s attention isn’t all that hard, but getting their interest is. Yelling at an attractive woman is easier than getting her to agree to a date. So now that you’ve caught their attention you only have a few seconds to capture their interest. Estimates suggest that we see about 5000 ads per day. We can provide interesting facts to educate your audience or provide some shocking information, or studies. Buzz words are an important part of this phase as these words invoke feelings. Words such as: relief, savings, trust, fix, imagine, feel, recommended, discount, and free, are just a few of the buzzwords that subconsciously draw us in.
Desire: show your audience not only the benefits they will receive from your product, but the feelings and emotions that come with it. In this phase we are trying to turn an interested patron into a purchasing customer, it’s time to close the sale. Here we differentiate our product from the rest. What are the added benefits of your product that make your brand the right fit. This is the stage where we show our product is the long term solution for their problem. Desire is increased through the principals of incentives, promotions, and scarcity.
Action: This step is a call to action. People need to be told where and how to make a purchase or take the next step. This includes phrases like: head to our website, e-commerce store, download our app, subscribe, follow, or opt in. Directions should be clear, to the point, and courteous.
Satisfaction: At The Founders Trading Co., we realize that the “AIDA” model is missing an essential step. Traditional thinking once suggested the sale was done once the customer completed the transaction. But as brand loyalty experts, we know that’s not the case. The best brands build customer loyalty. This means the customer should have a guarantee, responsive customer service, and further instructions/education if necessary. Things like customer service satisfaction surveys and transaction emails such as “order status updates” show customers that you care about the relationship. Additionally these post transaction communications present new opportunities to up-sell your brand with added services and products that your consumer is looking for.