An e-commerce business can mean a lot of things. You can be selling a single product, digital goods that people can download, or many products under many categories. Whatever it is, you need a website where people can visit and browse what you offer.
The website can have a blog, some tips and strategies, how-to articles, and so much more. But this is not enough. You need a sales funnel so you can attract leads. The problem with a website is that it attracts everybody, even those who have no intention to buy.
With a sales funnel, you can target specific people who are already interested in the product you are selling, and then take them to your website to make a purchase. If they do not complete the purchase now, you at least have their contact information, and you can automate your marketing campaign until you convince them to buy.
To be able to build a sales funnel, you must have a ClickFunnels account. This is the platform where you will build your landing page and automated email marketing activities, and it is also the platform that will host your webpage.
But how do you create a sales funnel if you are operating an e-commerce website?
Part 1: The Stages of the e-Commerce Sales Funnel
There are several stages about a sales funnel for e-commerce, if you want to grow and drive sales, or improve your conversion rate, you have to understand these different stages so you can prepare the things you need.
Stage 1: Awareness
In this stage, what you are trying to do is to get your name out there. People must know that you are here, that you have a product to sell, and that this product will solve people’s problems, or add value to their lives.
During this stage, you need to identify a problem and tell people that you can solve that problem. In some cases, people do not even know they have a problem until you tell them. A good example of this is a kitchen product, like an automatic potato peeler.
Many people use a knife to peel a potato, but if you present that as a problem, you can move on to showing that your potato peeler can:
- Make peeling faster
- Prevent injuries
- Peel thin layers so as not to waste the potato
During this stage, you must use a good SEO strategy or advertise your landing page to make it visible to people online. You can also use videos on your landing page if you want so you can explain your product better, or demonstrate what it does.
Stage 2: Interest
The second stage is the interest stage where the potential customer wants to hear more. It is also during this stage where a lead can take a small action, but not yet make a purchase. If you have an email subscription list, the customer may subscribe to it because he wants to learn more from you.
This is the time when you can make an offer to the site visitor to engage with you. You can offer a free download like an eBook, or you can ask them to like your Facebook page, follow you on Instagram or other social media channels.
The interest stage is also the time to take your potential customer to your website. As you know, the customer can stay or leave on your website depending on his experience. Make sure that you your website is loading fast, and that the content is done professionally.
Take note of the following things to keep your potential customer interested:
- Make a simple site navigation
- Use social media on your website
- Make sure your offers are visible
For site navigation, the website must be easy to browse. Use filters and menus with sub-menus so your customer can browse products easily. Use banners in areas that customers can easily see, so they are aware that you are offering discounts, coupons, promotions, low-cost or free shipping, or free stuff that they can get right now.
Stage 3: Decision
The third stage on the funnel is the time when a customer will ask himself, “What should I do?”
Now, the customer is not just browsing products; he has to decide if he will buy them or look for other products similar to what you are selling. This is an important stage, and by now, you should be positioning yourself in convincing the customer that you are different, and that you are offering something of value.
Inside your customer’s mind is a weighing scale that measures the pros and cons, the benefits and risk, or the features of your product against value for money.
Do include the following things on your sales funnel at this stage to convince your customer:
- Testimonials
- Social proof
- Clear product descriptions
- Offers
Put testimonials of people who left good feedback about your product. If you can put photos of real people in there, do it. You can also use a review app or star rating to show that your product has high review ratings from your customers. This is social proof that people have bought it and are satisfied with it.
You must not neglect your product description. A product description should not be limited to the width or size dimensions. The words you use must touch the heart of your potential buyer.
Here is an example of a bad product description for a baby crib:
- Size: 1 meter by 2 meters
- Height: 1 foot off the ground
- Shipping time: three days
- Materials: cotton and wood
This is bad because it sounds technical. A better version is like this:
“Ensure that your baby sleeps well at night and is fully rested every morning. With our baby crib, your little angel would sleep on a mattress made with the highest grade of 100% cotton, making him feel comfortable and prevent the development of rashes. Made of fine, hardwood, and sized at 1×2 meters, the crib will last long until the baby has outgrown it and he is ready to move to a bed.”
The second one is better because it touches the heart of the reader. It makes him feel that you made a product that cares for the baby. Couple this with a good offer like free shipping or a discount and the site visitor is likely to decide to buy it.
Stage 4: Action
This is the final stage in the sales funnel where the customer is now going to add that product to his shopping cart. One major problem of e-commerce businesses is abandoned carts. There are many reasons why this can happen.
To prevent this from happening, make sure you check out and understand the tips below:
- Easy checkout
- Lots of payment options
- Easy payment options
- Secure site
The customer must be able to experience an easy checkout. It is important that the checkout process is a maximum of two pages. If you can squeeze the payment, shipping information, and credit card information on one page, do it.
Offer lots of payment options. Not all customers are comfortable giving you their credit card numbers. You can offer e-wallets like PayPal to make them feel more comfortable. Make sure that you have trust badges showing that your site is secure.
If you can offer instalment payment options, especially for high-priced items, do it. Customers would love to be able to get the item and pay the cost on a monthly basis.
Part 2: Build the Sales Funnel with ClickFunnels
Now that you have prepared the required materials for the different stages of the funnel, it is time to build one. For e-commerce, you will be squeezing all the information on PART I on a landing page your end goal is to either get their email address or to have them go and visit your website.
Would you like a full tutorial on building a sales funnel? Read my tutorial by clicking here.
Step 1:
Start by logging in to your Click Funnels account. By the time you are on your dashboard, just click on Build Funnel.
Step 2:
Wait for the pop-up to show and then choose your goal. In this case, we will be choosing SELL YOUR PRODUCT. Usually, you want to do this if you have a single product that you want to market. However, you can also use this for your e-commerce store, and then post several photos of the things you are selling.
Step 3:
The third step is to choose if you want a sales funnel, a product launch, or a membership. Membership is for e-courses or subscription-based services. Product launch is great for single new products that are just recently released. We will choose Sales Funnel.
After that, just give your sales funnel a name and click BUILD FUNNEL.
Step 4:
The next thing to do is to choose a template. There are hundreds to choose from, so browse each one and then click SELECT TEMPLATE after you have decided.
The next thing to do is to wait as ClickFunnels builds your landing page. Then click on EDIT PAGE.
Step 4:
The last step is to edit the content of the landing page. As you can see, there are many buttons here that allow you to add columns, add sections, add rows, and add elements like headers, images, and pop-ups. Explore this part of ClickFunnels, and then change the content to fit your business.
Make sure that you add sections so you can put the photos and texts that you prepared on PART I. The last thing to do is to preview your sales funnel on different platforms like desktop, mobile, or tablet, then save it. Both of these are on the upper right of the landing page editor.
Summary
Building a sales funnel for your e-commerce is challenging, but it will get your more targeted leads and higher sales if done right. To help you make effective funnels, use ClickFunnels because it has a drag-and-drop feature, plus it comes with marketing automation to help you launch a successful marketing campaign.