Understanding the Stages of the Sales Funnel

The sales funnel is a journey that potential customers take from the moment they become aware of your product or service to the moment they make a purchase (or don't). It is divided into several stages, each of which requires different strategies to influence customers. The most common sales funnel has four key steps that can be remembered with the acronym AIDA: Awareness, Interest, Decision, and Action. At the top of the funnel (TOFU) is where potential customers learn about your brand and interact with it for the first time.

This is known as the “level of knowledge” stage, and it is where people first become aware of your product or service. They may find out about you through your advertising, social media, and even word of mouth. Once potential customers get to know your brand, they'll evaluate it based on their level of interest. At this point, they move from the knowledge phase to the interest phase.

You can use email marketing to share educational content about your offer and encourage them to move further down the funnel. In the decision phase, you'll want to offer anything that might lead them to make a purchasing decision. This could include a product demo, an extended free trial, or a special discount. In the action phase, you'll get new customers or discover why potential customers aren't interested in buying.

For new customers, focus on education, engagement, and product retention. For potential customers who haven't made any purchases, create a series of emails to contact them every few months. With careful analysis, a marketing funnel lets you know what your company should do to influence consumers at certain stages. To effectively manage each stage of the sales funnel, you'll need solutions such as CRM, customer surveys, email marketing, online meetings, and business process optimization. Sellsy is an all-in-one software that helps you prospect and track your customers at all stages of the sales funnel.

Jing allows you to share short videos of your online activity and is ideal for adding them to your marketing funnel phase. A sales funnel helps you understand what potential customers are thinking and doing at every stage of the buying process. With it, you can identify where you're losing potential customers and plan strategies to keep them engaged. Ultimately, understanding the stages of the sales funnel will help you maximize conversions and grow your business.