Table of Contents:
- Introduction
- What is the difference between marketing funnel and sales funnel?
- Marketing to Sales Funnel Stages
- Awareness
- Interest
- Evaluation
- Conversion
- Loyalty
- Â How do you create a marketing funnel?
- Conclusion
Introduction
Are you looking to maximize your return on investment (ROI) in marketing? Understanding and utilizing the five stages of the marketing funnel can help you do just that!
The Digital Marketing to sales funnel is a step-by-step process that includes advertising, blogging, social media, email campaigns, conversion rate optimization, SEO, retargeting, copywriting, SMS marketing, split-testing, and other digital marketing strategies. PROS is a digital marketing agency in San Diego
In the case of the digital marketing to sales funnel of ecommerce, there are different stages that people go through. At the bottom, there are those who drop out. They are at various stages of the funnel. At the top, the audience is aware of the business’s offerings. They’ve developed an interest in what the business is offering. Then, they are ready to purchase. Ultimately, they’ll purchase the product or service. They will be satisfied with the entire buying process.
Key Statistics:
- 570,000 websites were using at least one sales funnel building technology in 2021
- 68% of companies have not identified or attempted to measure their sales funnel
- For most industries, 3.1% – 5% is a good funnel conversion rate. (Source: Markinblog)
What marketing means?Â
Marketing is a broad function that includes a wide range of commercial activities, with sales being one of its core activities. Sales and marketing both use the same funnel. This complicates understanding the distinction between a marketing funnel and a sales funnel.
What is the difference between marketing funnel and sales funnel?
The steps that a customer takes from being a prospect to becoming a buyer are referred to as a funnel. Alternatively, it is the sequence of events that occur prior to a customer purchasing a product or service. So, what’s the difference between a sales funnel and a marketing funnel? How to create sales funnel?
Marketing Funnel
A marketing funnel allows customers to learn more about a brand. It’s also known for allowing businesses to visualize their buyer’s journey and develop a well-regulated sales support marketing strategy. There are two sections to the marketing funnel: lead generation and lead nurturing.
Sales Funnel
The marketing funnel focuses on presenting a brand to a variety of audiences. Its goal is to attract leads who can easily convert to buyers. They enter the sales funnel once such prospects are identified and show interest in the product or service. The prospect has now evolved into a sales prospect. The sales funnel is the process of moving a sales prospect from marketing to conversion.
Marketing to Sales Funnel Stages
In digital marketing, you need to find customers and lead them through the marketing to sales funnel stages. PROS is here to help you achieve your internet digital marketing goals. Our experts will guide you through the digital marketing funnel stage by stage and make you understand how it works.
Stage 1: Awareness
The first stage of the marketing to sales funnel is to generate awareness of a brand or product. This is the stage of attracting the audience’s attention. This stage is important for determining the business model. People start to learn more about a brand or product and start learning about its features and benefits. The marketing upper funnel is the most crucial stage for increasing product appeal and boosting ROI. The next phase of a marketing funnel is to qualify leads. In this step, the lead becomes a marketing-qualified lead.
Stage 2: Interest
After leads are generated, people progress to the interest stage, where they learn more about the company, its products, and any useful information and research it offers. Brands can use this opportunity to build relationships with the people in their lead database and introduce their positioning. Marketers can nurture leads with emails, more targeted content.
At the second stage of the marketing to sales funnel, the consumer is likely to be receptive to promotional content, so it’s vital to offer them value-added content. Research and customer satisfaction are essential in this stage. In a research-driven business, a salesperson’s job is to ensure that the customer is happy with the product or service. Often, a salesperson will take this role. However, in a marketing-led company, it’s the marketers who own the funnel.
Stage 3: Evaluation
The third stage is gaining the trust of the potential customer. As a result, customers must feel confident and trust the brand to make the purchase. This is the stage where they begin to trust the brand or product and make a purchase. The middle stage contains leads who are looking for solutions but are not yet committed to making a purchase. They have visited the website but have not yet purchased anything. They may be interested in a particular product, but don’t know where to start.
The third stage in the marketing to sales funnel is the one where the prospect has made an initial decision. At this stage, the buyer has already made an informed decision and is ready to take action. Depending on the type of product, this could be a single-page website or a complex website. The goal of the funnel is to convert visitors into clients. A well-designed funnel can lead to increased revenue. A well-designed sales funnel can help you drive more sales.
Stage 4: Conversion
The fourth stage is converting prospects into clients. This is the most important part of a marketing funnel. While a marketing funnel consists of many steps, each stage involves different types of people. In this stage, a lead has not made a commitment to purchase but has shown an interest in your products or services. This stage contains leads who have visited your website but haven’t purchased your products.
The fourth stage of the marketing to sales funnel is the conversion phase. This is where the prospective customer completes their purchase. If they’ve reached this stage, they have indicated an interest in the product or service. In other words, the customer has expressed an interest in what the business is offering. The marketing funnel is a process that will lead to a successful sale. The process is an iterative one, and the first step is to identify the problems that need to be solved.
79% of marketing leads are never converted to sales. (Source: MarketingSherpa)
Stage 5: Loyalty
At the middle stage, the lead is ready to purchase. After education and nurturing, the lead has made the decision to buy. In Lewis’s early model, the lead was already at this stage, but the modern-day model views it as a new beginning. In this stage, the lead may become a loyal customer or advocate. This is the last step in the marketing to sales funnel before a customer is fully converted. A marketing funnel can help improve the conversion rate of a business.
How do you create a marketing funnel?
Because awareness is the first stage in the marketing to sales funnel, your first step should be to create ads and content. The audience will move in the right direction by objective informational and trust-inducing content that will persuade them to visit your website. You can use formats like social media ads on marketing funnel Facebook and Instagram, PPC ads, blog posts, video production, etc.
- You need to create an offer that entices people to keep learning about your brand if you want to build a marketing funnel that virtually fills itself with high-quality prospects. The goal of your offer is to capture the interest of new visitors by providing useful information. Lead magnet offers include Ebooks, webinars, case studies qualitative research, etc.
- When your target audience clicks on your ad, they will be directed to your landing page. Its purpose is to host your offer, demonstrate your expertise, and assist people in getting a better understanding of your services so that they are ready to invest in your solution. The best landing pages include clear product descriptions, eye-catching visuals, and compelling CTAs.
Companies that create 30 or more landing pages get 7 times more leads than those that use fewer than 10. (Source HubSpot)
- Your email marketing sequence is a series of messages sent to people who sign up for your offer by providing contact information. To nurture prospects and move them towards the bottom of the sales funnel, the messages are sent in a series of four to seven emails over the course of about three weeks. Create an email sequence to remind your audience of your existence and continue to provide them with useful content until they’re ready to buy.
Conclusion
A marketing funnel promotes a product or service in order to persuade potential customers to purchase it. The sales funnel, on the other hand, deals with the leads from the marketing funnel and entices them to buy as often as possible.
In the marketing to sales funnel, the people who are at the top are the most interested. At the bottom, they are not ready to purchase but have an interest in the product or service. A marketing funnel helps track customer data. In the case of a product, it will enable the company to target specific groups of people. This is the most important stage in the funnel. The buyer will be motivated to purchase the product or service. When he is ready to buy, he will opt for the next step in the funnel.
If you want to improve your funnel, use various marketing analytics types to gather data, analyze it, and make data-driven changes to your advertising, social media marketing, email campaigns, etc. PROS uses cost-effective and result-oriented social media strategies to increase your visibility and engagement on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. Also, our experts deliver digital marketing services like SEO, PPC, email marketing, etc. to drive sales.
PROS is a digital marketing agency in San Diego, California. We have over 20 years of experience in web development,  and Digital marketing services. PROS has delivered digital marketing solutions for all types of industries including manufacturing, banking, finance, legal, healthcare, SaaS, e-commerce consumer goods, utilities, etc. Get More leads, More sales. More revenue. with digital marketing services and advertising solutions from PROS.Â
FAQ's
A marketing funnel is a visual representation of the customer journey from initial awareness to final conversion. It outlines the stages a potential customer goes through before making a purchase decision. It is crucial because it helps businesses understand their customers’ behaviors, identify potential drop-offs, and optimize marketing strategies to drive more conversions.
The five stages of a marketing funnel are:
- Awareness: This is the top of the funnel, where potential customers become aware of your brand, product, or service.
- Interest: In this stage, prospects show interest and engage with your content or website, indicating a deeper level of consideration.
- Consideration: At this point, potential customers are evaluating your offerings and comparing them to alternatives.
- Intent: In this stage, the prospect is ready to make a decision and shows strong purchase intent.
- Conversion: The final stage, where the prospect becomes a customer by making a purchase or taking the desired action.
To attract potential customers in the awareness stage, businesses can use various strategies such as:
- Content marketing: Creating valuable, informative, and engaging content to showcase expertise and build brand authority.
- Social media marketing: Leveraging social platforms to reach a broader audience and promote brand awareness.
- Search engine optimization (SEO): Optimizing website content to rank higher in search engine results and increase visibility.
To encourage interest and engagement, businesses can employ tactics like:
- Lead magnets: Offering valuable resources like e-books, guides, or free trials to capture prospects’ contact information.
- Email marketing: Sending personalized and relevant content to nurture relationships and maintain interest.
- Webinars or events: Hosting webinars or events to showcase products/services and answer prospects’ questions.
To persuade potential customers during the consideration stage, businesses can use tactics like:
- Case studies and testimonials: Presenting social proof and success stories to demonstrate the value of products or services.
- Comparison charts: Highlighting the unique selling points and advantages of offerings compared to competitors.
- Remarketing: Targeting prospects who have shown interest previously with relevant ads to re-engage them.
To encourage purchase intent and drive conversions, businesses can implement strategies such as:
- Limited-time offers or discounts: Creating a sense of urgency to prompt immediate action.
- Abandoned cart recovery: Sending reminders and incentives to users who abandoned their shopping carts.
- Streamlined checkout process: Ensuring a user-friendly and efficient checkout experience.
Deepak Wadhwani has over 20 years experience in software/wireless technologies. He has worked with Fortune 500 companies including Intuit, ESRI, Qualcomm, Sprint, Verizon, Vodafone, Nortel, Microsoft and Oracle in over 60 countries. Deepak has worked on Internet marketing projects in San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange Country, Denver, Nashville, Kansas City, New York, San Francisco and Huntsville. Deepak has been a founder of technology Startups for one of the first Cityguides, yellow pages online and web based enterprise solutions. He is an internet marketing and technology expert & co-founder for a San Diego Internet marketing company.
