Sales Funnels 101 – What You Need to Know as a Small Business Owner
When you start a small business one of the first things that comes to mind is “How am I going to sell this thing I’ve created?” And when you start going down the rabbit hole of basic marketing, it quickly becomes a sea of questions:
What’s a sales funnel?
Or a customer journey?
What are KPIs? SEO? Conversions?
Click rates or open rates?
Are there 5 Marketing principles? Or 3? Or 10?
Are there basic types of marketing strategies? Or is everyone just throwing things at the wall and hoping something sticks?
It can get overwhelming quickly. I’ve been there.
So as part of a new series, I’ll take us back to the basics. Let's dive into Sales Funnels, Marketing Metrics, Google SEO, 7 key marketing principles, and the cornerstone basic marketing strategies.
Let’s take your small business from fumbling along to confidently striding toward your goals.
What Is a Sales Funnel?
Simply put, a Sales Funnel is a framework used to describe the customer’s ideal relationship to your product. It takes them from start (not a customer) to finish (a customer). You’ll also often hear it called the “Customer Journey.”
Just like a kitchen funnel, a sales funnel starts with a large number of potential customers at the top and narrows to the smallest number at the bottom. The goal of a funnel is to cast a wide net to catch a wide variety of people’s interest. Then it narrows down to your ideal customers purchasing your product.
The big thing to remember is that in each funnel step, the goal is not to make the customer buy your product. The goal is to move the customer from one step in the funnel to the next. Yes, the end goal is to have them buy your product. But you risk seeming too “sales-y” and pushy if you push your products from day 1.
Main Funnel Types:
There are typically 3 to 7 steps to a sales funnel – though some funnels break the steps down further.
The simplest version is the 3-Step Funnel:
Top of Funnel – catch attention and drive curiosity about your product
Middle of Funnel – increase interest or desire in your product
Bottom of Funnel – prompt action to purchase the product
This is the most basic funnel and is the framework of all the other more detailed funnels. Essentially the funnel is broken into 3 parts: the top, the middle, and the bottom:
The top of the funnel is the widest and is designed to catch people’s interest. You want to increase their curiosity and peak their interest in your product.
The middle of the funnel is where you strategically showcase your product to increase interest and desire for the product. This could be by highlighting a problem your ideal client has and then showcasing how your product solves that problem.
The bottom of the funnel is where the potential customer turns into an actual customer. They’ve moved through the other steps in the funnel and desire your product enough to purchase it now.
These three descriptions of the Top, Middle, and Bottom of the Funnel will be the framework for the other funnel options.
The mid-range is the 5-Step Funnel:
Awareness - catch attention and drive curiosity about your product
Interest - increase curiosity to specific interest
Desire - fan the flames of interest into outright desire
Action - turn desire into action – “buy now”
Repeat or Referrals - convert a once-buyer into a repeat-buyer or outspoken fan
This option breaks the 3 main stages down into more focused sections by breaking down the top of the funnel into Awareness and Interest, leaving the middle of the funnel as one step, and breaking down the bottom of the funnel into Action and Repeats/Referrals.
Breaking down the funnel into more steps makes it easier to focus your marketing materials on one particular task instead of trying to do multiple things at the same time.
The most broken down is the 7-Step Funnel:
Awareness - catch attention and drive curiosity about your product
Interest - increase curiosity to specific interest
Consideration - change interest into thoughtful consideration
Intent - convert consideration into intent to purchase
Purchase - turn intent into action – “buy now”
Loyalty (re-purchase) - convert a once-buyer into a repeat-buyer
Advocacy - shift a repeat-buyer into an outspoken fan
Just like with the 5-Step Funnel, this option breaks the 3 stages down but this time it takes it a step further. The top of the funnel is broken into Awareness and Interest, the middle of the funnel is broken into Consideration and Intent, and the bottom of the funnel is broken into Purchase, Loyalty/re-purchase, and Advocacy.
Types of Copy to Use in Your Funnel
What does this look like when you’re planning your marketing strategy? What types of marketing materials do you use in each category?
You want to personalize your marketing strategy to your business, to your ideal customer, and to where the customer is within the sales funnel. Let’s use the 5-step funnel as the easiest example to break down:
Awareness
Your goal:
To get your product and company in front of as many qualified leads - as many of your target audience as you can.
Key focus:
Attract interest by using language that your target audience already uses and address specific pain points they have that they want relieved.
The goal is for them to feel like “This is made for me!” or “I want to be like this.”
Good types of copy used here:
Social media posts
Ads
Webpages
SEO optimized blogs
Interest
Your goal:
To encourage their interest by using compelling language that hits the heart of what they desire and how your product could help them get it.
Key focus:
Don’t push too hard in your selling of the products or services themselves.
Instead, encourage interest by showing you’re helpful and that you care about their needs.
This is where you start to build that connection between your company and the customer, not only the product or service.
Good types of copy used here:
Free trial suggestions
Opt-ins or freebies
Blog content
Welcome email sequences
Desire
Your goal:
To fan the flame of their desire for what your product will help them achieve
Key focus:
Use more evocative language and dig into their fears, dreams, and specific failures.
Use persuasive techniques and show them how and why your product or service is the best to help them to their dreams.
Good types of copy used here:
Showcases of positive reviews or stats
Nurturing email sequences
Emails or ads with short-term promotions or discounts
Action
Your goal:
To direct them to take action
Key focus:
Focus on active voice and action-focused language in your copy so they know where to go and what to do next
Good types of copy used here:
Landing pages
Product descriptions
Embedded copy in the checkout process
Call to action buttons (these are little forms of copy but can pack a punch!)
Abandoned cart emails
Repeat Business and/or Referrals
Your goal:
To remind them how much they love the product enough to buy it again or share it with their friends
Key focus:
Use crafted copy to remind customers why they loved using your product or service to convert a once-buyer into a repeat-buyer or someone into a fan who tells their friends
Good types of copy used here:
Referral program offers
Post-purchase reminder emails/thank you’s
Requests for reviews
Repeat purchase discounts
Additional nurture email sequences
Each stage of the funnel has a different goal in mind and that drives what type of copy and other marketing materials you’ll want to use.
What Are the Benefits to a Small Business Owner?
Sales Funnels can be a great way to strategize your business. Many small businesses hear the standard “get on social media, advertise your products, and you’ll make sales.” But successful small businesses know that advertising without intention won’t get you where you want to be.
Instead, think about your ideal customer (yes, it always comes back to this). Think about their journey from start to finish like you were in their shoes. And then curate their experience based on how you want your business to be represented.
What does that look like?
Imagine you are your ideal customer. Where are they when they first hear about your business? Are they online or in person? If online, are they on a social media site or Google? Are they actively searching for an answer or are they passively scrolling through social media?
Ok, now they’ve seen you. What emotion do you want them to have when they interact with your content? Do you want them to feel inspired? Do you want them to feel seen or empathized with?
They now feel good about your product. What would make them change from a passive viewer to an active engager in your content? What goal or dream do they have that your product will help them achieve? And why would they want to act now vs later?
They took the plunge and love your product. Are you a one-and-done product? Then how do you encourage them to share their experience with others who might also benefit? Do you have a product that can be used repeatedly? Then how do you encourage them to continue to engage with your business and think of you when it's the next time to buy?
This is the beauty of the sales funnel. It provides a clear framework so you aren’t starting at zero. And it keeps you focused on the customer experience as a way to guide your business rather than just sales number goals.
Looking for Help?
Looking to have someone take some of the in-the-weeds copywriting off your hands? I provide intentional copywriting in a loud world with strategy-first copywriting services. Schedule a free 30-minute call and let’s chat!