Many entrepreneurs assume that selling online is very simple. In their minds, all it takes is to create a website, launch an advertising campaign and wait for orders. The customer lands on the site, reads the offer and buys straight away. Unfortunately, reality is far more complex.
The vast majority of users do not make a purchasing decision during their first visit. Some people need a few days to compare offers, others analyse the available solutions for several weeks, and in the case of more expensive services or products the process can even take several months. The problem is that many companies do not have a well-thought-out process leading a potential customer from the first contact with the brand to the completion of the transaction. As a result, they lose a significant part of their potential revenue.
That is exactly why the concept of the sales funnel came into being. It is one of the most important elements of modern online marketing, which helps you understand customer behaviour and effectively lead customers through the successive stages of the buying process.
What is a sales funnel?
A sales funnel is a model showing the path a customer takes from the moment they first learn about a brand to the moment they make a purchase. The name is no accident. At the beginning of the process there is a very large group of people who are encountering the company for the first time. In the following stages some users drop out, some put off the decision until later, and only the most interested reach the end of the process and become customers.
The shape of the funnel illustrates this mechanism perfectly. The further the user moves through the buying process, the smaller the number of people becomes, but at the same time their readiness to make a decision grows.
Why don’t customers buy straight away?
Imagine a situation in which someone lands on your company’s website for the first time. They don’t know the brand, they know nothing about the quality of your services, they have had no previous contact with your offer and they don’t know other customers’ opinions. In such a situation a purchase is unlikely, especially when we are talking about services that require a greater financial commitment.
The customer needs time to gather information, compare the available solutions and make sure they are making the right decision. They look for evidence confirming the company’s credibility, analyse the team’s experience and check other users’ reviews. A well-designed sales funnel responds to all of these needs and gradually builds the trust necessary to complete the purchase.
Stage one – awareness
The first stage of the sales funnel is the moment when a potential customer learns about the company’s existence for the first time. Most often this happens through the Google search engine, blog articles, social media, online ads, referrals or materials published on YouTube.
At this stage the user usually isn’t yet looking for a specific company or product. Much more often they are trying to understand their problem and find possible solutions. That is exactly why educational activities play such an important role in building an effective sales funnel.
Sources of attracting customers’ attention
| Channel | Goal | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Gaining organic traffic | How-to articles | |
| Company blog | Building an expert image | Educational content |
| Social media | Increasing brand recognition | Posts and videos |
| Paid ads | Reaching the audience quickly | Google Ads, Meta Ads |
| Referrals | Building trust | Customer recommendations |
| YouTube | Education and presentation of knowledge | Tutorial videos |
Why does content marketing work?
Content marketing is effective because it lets you reach people who are right at the beginning of the sales funnel. For example, an entrepreneur may type phrases such as “how to get customers online”, “how to increase sales” or “how to create a website” into the search engine.
At this stage they aren’t yet looking for a service provider. They are looking for knowledge, inspiration and answers to the questions on their mind. If a company delivers valuable content, it has a chance to become the first source of information the user trusts. That is when the relationship begins to be built, one that may end in a sale in the future.
Stage two – interest
Once the user has understood their problem, they begin to actively look for solutions. They analyse the available options and compare companies, technologies, prices and customer reviews. This is the stage at which the potential customer starts to narrow down the list of possible suppliers.
At this point, elements that build a professional image of the company and increase its credibility are hugely important.
Website
A professional website is often the first place where a customer assesses a company. It should be clear, fast and contain all the most important information about the offer.
Case studies
Case studies show the real results achieved for customers. Thanks to them, a potential customer can see the concrete outcomes of working together and more easily imagine similar benefits for their own business.
Customer reviews
Positive recommendations reduce the risk associated with a purchase and help overcome the natural distrust of new suppliers.
Expert articles
Regularly published specialist content builds the brand’s authority and shows that the company has knowledge and experience in its industry.
Stage three – considering the purchase
This is one of the most important moments of the entire sales process. The customer is already interested in the offer, but is still analysing the available options. They wonder whether the company is credible, whether the price is appropriate for the quality, and whether a competitor might offer a better solution.
Many businesses lose customers at exactly this stage. Not because their offer is weak, but because they don’t provide enough arguments in favour of choosing their services or products.
How to build trust?
Building trust should be one of the main goals of the middle part of the sales funnel. The customer needs evidence confirming that working with the company will be safe and will deliver the expected results.
The following work best here:
- Google reviews and customer recommendations,
- a portfolio of completed projects,
- specific results achieved for customers,
- educational materials showing the team’s competence,
- certificates and industry awards.
The more credible social proof a potential customer receives, the greater the chance of moving on to the next stage of the buying process.
Stage four – decision
At the end of the funnel is the moment of making a decision. The customer is ready to act and expects a simple way to get in touch or buy. Unfortunately, many companies complicate this stage with ill-thought-out solutions.
The most common mistakes include elaborate contact forms, hidden contact details, the lack of a clear call to action and an unclear presentation of the offer. As a result, the user gives up despite their earlier interest.
It is at the end of the funnel that the easiest sales are often lost.
CTA – the most important element at the end of the funnel
CTA, or Call To Action, means a prompt to act. It is the element that shows the user the next step and helps them move on to completing the process.
Example CTAs might read:
- Book a free consultation,
- Order a quote,
- Contact us,
- Start working together,
- Add the product to the cart.
The customer shouldn’t have to wonder what to do next. The more obvious the next step, the greater the chance of conversion.
Why don’t most websites have a funnel?
One of the most common problems is designing the website from the company’s perspective instead of the customer’s. Entrepreneurs focus on presenting their own achievements, experience and services, while the user is looking for answers to completely different questions.
The customer wants to know whether the company will solve their problem, how much working together will cost and whether they can trust the brand. An effective sales funnel should respond to exactly these needs and lead the user through the successive stages of decision-making.
What does a sales funnel look like for services?
For service companies, the sales process often follows this pattern:
Blog article → Landing page → Contact form → Consultation → Offer → Signing the contract
Each of these stages has a specific function. The article attracts attention, the landing page presents the solution, the form enables contact, the consultation lets you get to know the customer’s needs, and the offer leads to the completion of the cooperation.
A sales funnel for an online store
In e-commerce the process looks slightly different, because purchasing decisions are usually made faster.
A typical online store sales funnel looks as follows:
Ad or Google → Product category → Product page → Cart → Payment → Purchase
In this case, user experience, the speed of the store and conversion rate optimisation are of great importance.
The sales funnel and SEO
SEO works very well at the beginning of the sales funnel. Thanks to valuable articles, a company can answer users’ questions, build trust and attract organic traffic from the Google search engine.
People who land on the website through educational content often aren’t ready to buy yet, but they can gradually move through the successive stages of the process. That is why effective SEO activities should be an integral part of every well-designed sales funnel.
The sales funnel and Google Ads
Google Ads most often supports the middle and final part of the funnel. Users typing phrases such as “SEO agency”, “website development” or “WooCommerce store” are usually much closer to making a purchasing decision.
This means that traffic acquired from advertising campaigns often has a higher conversion rate than traffic generated by informational content.
Sales funnel automation
Modern companies increasingly use automation to streamline the sales process. With the right tools, it is possible to react quickly to user actions and reduce the number of lost leads.
After a contact form is submitted, the following actions can be triggered automatically:
- sending a confirmation message to the customer,
- creating a task in the CRM system,
- notifying a salesperson about a new lead,
- a reminder about the need to make contact.
Such solutions increase the effectiveness of the sales process and allow you to manage customer relationships better.
The most common mistakes
In practice, many companies make similar mistakes that significantly reduce the effectiveness of the sales funnel.
No strategy
Marketing activities are carried out without a clearly defined plan, which makes it hard to achieve predictable results.
No educational content
The company doesn’t provide users with valuable information, and so builds neither trust nor an expert image.
No automation
Leads are lost or handled with a long delay, which reduces the chances of a sale.
No analytics
Without data it is hard to determine which activities bring the best results and where users leave the funnel.
Selling too fast
Trying to close a transaction before a relationship has been built often leads to losing potential customers.
How to create your own funnel?
It is worth starting to design an effective sales funnel with an analysis of customer behaviour. You need to answer a few key questions:
- Where do customers come from?
- What questions do they ask most often?
- What builds their trust?
- How do they get in touch with the company?
- What does the current sales process look like?
Only after gathering this information can you create a system that will effectively lead users from the first contact all the way to a purchase.
Sales funnel checklist
✓ traffic sources
✓ educational content
✓ landing page
✓ forms
✓ CRM
✓ analytics
✓ automations
✓ sales process
Summary
A sales funnel lets you organise the customer acquisition process and significantly increase the effectiveness of your marketing activities. Thanks to properly designed stages, the user is not left to their own devices but is guided step by step from the first contact with the brand to the completion of the purchase. In practice, a well-designed funnel very often delivers greater results than simply increasing advertising budgets, because it improves the use of the traffic already acquired and increases the conversion rate.
Do you want your business to win customers online more effectively? Check out our offer or get in touch with us, and we will help you achieve better results.
FAQ
Does every business need a sales funnel?
Yes. Every business has some kind of sales process, even if it wasn’t consciously designed. Developing a funnel, however, lets you increase its effectiveness.
Does a sales funnel only work online?
No. A sales funnel can be used successfully in both online marketing and traditional sales activities.
How many stages should a funnel have?
The number of stages depends on the industry, the type of product and the length of the customer’s buying process. In some cases three stages are enough, while in others many more will be necessary.
Does SEO help build a funnel?
Yes. SEO very effectively supports the early stages of the sales funnel, increasing brand awareness and attracting users interested in specific topics.