Why do you even need a sales funnel if you already have a Shopify account? Is there even a difference between the two?
Yes, here is a big difference between Shopify and a sales funnel. One or the other cannot do both. While Shopify is an excellent tool for creating an e-commerce website, a sales funnel is built to drive and home in on selling a specific product or service.
Let us explore these differences, and then help you decide what to use between the two. For sure, you cannot use one to fulfill the duties of both an e-commerce website and a sales-driven web page.
Differences in Function
Shopify is a tool or platform that lets you build a website. With Shopify, you can enjoy cool features like a pre-built online store theme, payment processing systems, analytics, reporting, unlimited product uploads, SSL, and so much more. While you can also get similar services from a sales funnel provider, the key difference is their function.
Shopify was built to showcase your products. It is like a bookshelf where the books you sell are displayed. The problem with Shopify is that it was never built to be a marketing tool. A customer may browse your product, read the information or details about it, and then end up not buying because there are so many products on display.
Shopify also has a blog, and you can load as many entries as you want, and then use the right keywords so the search engines would love you. You may get inbound traffic because of this, and then increase your site visitors on a monthly basis. The more site visitors you have, the more likely you will have sales. On average, the conversion rate of online stores is 3%, so it is fair to expect that for every 100 site visitors, three will make a purchase.
A sales funnel was not designed to be a bookshelf. It is a marketing tool that will answer all possible questions that your customer may have. It starts with a landing page, and on this landing page, you present a problem to your potential customer.
As the customer keeps on reading, he will begin to realize that he needs your product and that you have the solution to his problem. With a sales funnel, you can also have domain names, SSL, and a checkout page that will allow you to charge your consumers just one time, or charge them for a monthly subscription.
Differences in Navigation
Whenever you take a site visitor to Shopify, the first thing he sees is your website home page. Typically, the website has sliders or videos; then you have pop-ups of games or banners that will give either a discount or offer a promotion. Whatever happens, a customer has the option to go to the menu bar and click what he likes to see.
With a sales funnel, a site visitor cannot do this. You will take the visitor’s hand and guide him step by step. In a Shopify store, what you want is for a customer to like your product, and hope that he buys because you offer your goods for lower prices than your competitors.
In a sales funnel, you want as many people to go to your landing page, and then you will take them step by step on the following journey:
- Explain the problem in the landing page
- Provide the solution to this problem
- Show the customer the product pricing table
- Discuss the different benefits of the product or the plans
- Offer an opt-in to the email subscription of the customer is not yet ready to buy
- Offer an opt-in to the email subscription in exchange for a free digital product
- Send an email thanking the customer for subscribing
- Send email marketing campaigns to the customer
- Offer free eBooks or webinar so the customer can see your product in action
- Convince the customer to buy, then customer makes a purchase
- Try to upsell to the customer for more value for money
- Provide the customer with the product or the service
These steps are taken in that specific order. Some online marketers may change that, like removing the free offers for subscription, but the general order of activities is the same. Why is this necessary? In Shopify, what you are offering is a shopping experience. Think of your store as a shopping mall. People go there all the time, and they will buy if they see something that they like.
Now, think of a sales funnel as a life insurance or car insurance agent. This person will talk to you and present to you the problem of not having one. And then he will tell you how his product will solve this problem, and then show you your different options.
If you do not buy life insurance now, he will call you after a week. Maybe he will give you some free things from time to time, like a fee bag or notebook. There will come a time when you would decide that yes, maybe you need this life insurance, so you will call the agent and subscribe to an insurance package.
Differences in Features
Since the goals of Shopify and sales funnels are different, do not be surprised that they also have various features. Although the prices are at the same range, the kinds of internet or web programming tools and software you will get are also different. You may find some similarities, so let us take a look at these features.
Shopify Feature:
- Lots of themes from many developers
- Many payment processors
- Blog
- Sales analytics
- Mobile app
- Dropshipping apps and partner
Sales Funnel Features:
- A/B split testing
- Facebook ads
- Landing pages
- Opt-in pages
- One-time checkout our subscription
- Download of digital goods
- Webinar uploads / webinar site creation for exclusive access to members
- Lots of integrations
- Pre-made funnels
- Affiliate management platform
- Funnel duplication
- Lots of themes
As you can see, the similar features are the payment gateways and the themes. Both are requirements to be able to do business. But apart from these two, you will notice that a sales funnel does not have an app store. Instead, you can only integrate it with your already existing website.
Summary
Shopify is built for the online seller of physical goods. The themes of Shopify are built to showcase your products, and this is why there are so many slots on the themes where you can upload photos. A sales funnel, on the other hand, is made to sell, and not just sell passively, but actively and with passion.
A sales funnel is just one web page. But this web page is packed with useful information and benefits about a single product or service. You use this sale funnel to demonstrate how your product solves a problem, or how you can make a person’s life easier.
In a sales funnel, there is nothing to explore. In the end, the customer faces a decision to whether to buy or ignore your offer. Shopify, however, can be accessed again and again, and it does provide a customer with a lot of distractions like blogs, other products, banners, and so many more.