When you’re a customer, you research, compare and evaluate before you decide to throw money. In other words, you don’t carelessly dive in without reassuring yourself that it’s worth it. This process is called the purchase funnel.
If you are a marketer, you need to have a proper understanding of the steps your leads go through. This can help you turn as many as possible into actual customers. So, if this is what you’re here for, this article gives you a brief overview of the purchase funnel.
Definition
As already obvious, the purchase funnel is a model that shows you the journey a customer takes from the first contact with your brand until the actual purchase. It is very important if you want to market your business. The reason is that it gives you a method to understand a customer’s behavior throughout the whole sales process.
-Basically, this model can help with:
-Evolving the sales process
-Planning marketing campaigns
-Designing the management of customer relationship
Highlighting certain areas that can help you improve your conversion rate
Usually, the stage number and the shape may vary depending on the customer and the product’s nature. Although it has many versions, the main stages are pretty much the same. There is a funnel shape that is used when monitoring the process, and it shows the potential customer loss at each stage. For instance, it can show how many people are aware of the brand, but may not actually purchase the product.
Explanation
Now that you know what the purchase funnel is and what it’s used for, it’s time to understand each stage involved in the process. These are the steps, starting with a large number of interested people and ending with, probably, a smaller number of actual customers:
1. Awareness
This is the stage when people find out about your company through marketing campaigns. Still, consumers may sometimes find you when conducting their own research.
2. Interest
Once people are aware that a company exists, they start conducting research in order to grow their interest in your offers. Brands should also build trust during this stage.
3. Consideration
This is the point when leads become very interested in your brand, but they are still not sure whether it’s a good idea or not. Tools such as free trials, email campaigns, and targeted content are great ideas to use during this stage.
4. Intent
The customer is almost sure about the purchase. They have shown you that they’re interested, and their shopping cart may already have an item. You must not let them get away, because this is your chance.
5. Evaluation
The customer is ready to commit and purchase, but they are doing one last comparison and checking everything before acting. Nurturing your customer is important during this stage.
6. Purchase
At last, your customer decided to commit. This is the success stage, and if the experience is positive, you will get referrals, who will then start at the top of the purchase funnel.
To conclude, the purchase funnel shows you the process your customers go through when buying from your brand. It’s important to know about it, as it can help you maximize the chances of progression towards the sale.