Sales funnel stages.
When you think about the customer journey, sadly, it isn’t as simple as they hear about you and then they buy. There are a few steps in the funnel – and, with a bit of thought, it doesn’t need to be a bumpy journey.
While individual sales funnels can vary, some general funnel stages work in most customer journeys:
1. Awareness.
Before a customer can buy from you, they must become aware of your business and the products, solutions, or services that you offer.
Awareness features at the top of the sales funnel, as it’s the first “contact point” between business and customer. Here, it’s all about piquing interest rather than immediately selling. You might garner awareness on your social media – either through online advertisements or posts, your website, or even in-person advertisements or flyers.
2. Interest.
Coming in second is the interest stage of the sales funnel, where potential buyers may actively seek or request more information about your products or services. That means they’ve identified a problem and are interested in exploring how you might offer a solution.
However, interest, again, doesn’t mean they’re customers yet. They still need to move along the sales funnel.
3. Consideration/evaluation.
Once your potential customers have been made aware of your product and have shown interest, we enter the consideration stage. At this point in the sales funnel, your potential customers are evaluating possible options that solve their needs.
Essentially, this is all about making an informed decision on a future purchase, so building trust here is essential. Product demos, white papers and studies, expert guides and reviews or comparisons can all be worthwhile tools.
4. Decision/action.
Once a customer is ready to make the purchase, they’ll have reached the decision and action stage of the sales funnel. At this point, they have done adequate research and decided whether to purchase (or not purchase) your product or service. Here, they’re a step away from becoming an actual customer. However, they may still be deciding, researching and comparing until the last moment.
Once they’ve made a decision, a customer will be ready to convert or walk away. This is the point where, if you win their business, you need to fulfil the customer’s expectations and provide the positive experience they are anticipating after all their consideration and research.
Remember, to move from decision to action, a customer may require nurturing, as they may not choose to purchase immediately.
5. Re-engagement.
The sales funnel doesn’t end once a customer has been converted – you want a customer for life, not for a one-off purchase where you rush them through the sales funnel as quickly as possible.
The re-engagement step is designed to enhance customer lifetime value. With repeat support, problem-solving products, and sufficient trust, a strong customer relationship means they may never need to approach the top of the funnel again.