An eCommerce sales funnel visually represents the customer journey. Prospects enter the top funnel as they learn about your company and go down until they become returning customers. Some pass the funnel fast, converting from a lead to brand advocates before you know it. Others navigate through the funnel slowly — it might take months from the moment they enter it until they reach the checkout phase. The good news is that eCommerce sales funnel optimization can help effectively move both the fast runners and slow-starters.
A typical eCommerce sales funnel has four stages: awareness, consideration, decision, and retention. But even though the basic anatomy of the pipeline is the same, each business has its unique sales funnel, which maps out the buyer’s journey and identifies what needs to be done at each stage. Learn how proper eCommerce sales funnel optimization can help you turn prospects into buying customers and, ultimately, into loyal fans.
Awareness Stage
When consumers enter the eCommerce funnel, they are at the awareness stage of the funnel. They have just heard about your business and want to learn more about you and what you’re offering. But, at this point, they still don’t know if you have a product or service they could like or a solution to a problem. So, it is crucial to make a good first impression while letting them know what your business is about and positioning your brand favorably. Try implementing the following tactics in your eCommerce sales funnel optimization:
1. Leverage social media platforms
Social media platforms are a great place to get new leads. You can use them to reach new people organically and with paid ads. For instance, you can use Facebook ads to communicate your value proposition, helping users understand your company’s mission and the benefits you can provide them. Another strategy to boost awareness is to use product categories to explain to customers what they can find in your online store, another method to raise awareness of your business. Additionally, you can promote special offers and quality content to get the users’ attention.
2. Create winning blog content
Creating top-notch content is one of the best awareness-boosting strategies. Customers will subscribe if your blog seems interesting and even share the blog posts they like. This can help you position yourself as a leader, which will help you drive leads to your online store and nurture leads down the marketing funnel.
Consideration Stage
At this point, consumers know your brand and what you are selling. They are already thinking about purchasing your product. You are now a step closer to converting the funnel prospect, but you have to give it an extra push in your eCommerce sales funnel optimization and show people tailored product descriptions, testimonials, and other appealing content. Here are some of the top tactics to consider to turn the visitors into customers:
3. Leverage social proof
When real customers compliment your product, your business becomes more credible in the eyes of the consumers that are at the consideration stage. You can present social media comments, Google reviews, third-party directory reviews, or on-site testimonials. Showcase positive social proof on each product page. Don’t forget to also respond to negative user feedback and resolve any issues to build an excellent reputation.
4. Product page optimization
For a successful conversion rate optimization, you need great product pages. Use high-quality images and ensure they are optimized and they load quickly. Add outstanding product descriptions that are appealing and relatable. Use action words and be sure to let people know how the product can help resolve their pain point. Display essential information such as dimensions, colors, and shipping costs, and end the description with a captivating CTA.
5. Use curated emails to promote products
Customers are ready to learn more about your products at the consideration stage. Instead of opting for hard-selling, consider promoting the products using curated emails. Adding persuasion elements such as social proof and scarcity can make these emails even more successful. Curated emails can also be beneficial for getting to know your subscribers and segmenting your email list better for your subsequent campaigns.
Decision Stage
When a consumer is at the decision stage, you’ve picked up their interest, and they are now at your online store. You just need to convince them to take action. Maybe they have added an item to their wishlist or shopping cart and need one final nudge to go through with the transaction. The key here is to prevent potential breaks and push them subtly to go through with the checkout process. In addition, check out the best practices for optimizing the decision stage:
6. Utilize on-site messages
It’s crucial to curate personalized campaigns that target different types of customers. Using on-site messages can help you engage potential customers and give them a subtle push in the right direction.
7. Give a subtle push to potential customers at checkout
When the visitor is at the checkout page, you’re facing the most critical question – will you succeed and turn the visitor into a customer, or will you let them slip away? For the former, you need a well-crafted and optimized page with several options for payment and a well-crafted CTA. Free shipping is another great incentive to help people decide and complete the order.
8. Send emails based on customers’ behaviors
When on your eCommerce site, visitors leave marks. Using cookies to track the links they click, the pages they visit, and the products they add to their shopping cart can give you valuable insight that you can use to personalize the user experience, send behavior-based emails, and attain a higher average conversion rate.
Retention Stage
You’ve done proper eCommerce sales funnel optimization so far, moved the prospect through the decision stage and turned them into customers. But, the journey doesn’t end here. Now the goal is to make them return and make another purchase. This is important because returning customers are 9 times more inclined to convert compared to first-time customers and have higher customer lifetime value. But, to succeed in that, you need an effective customer retention strategy:
9. Set up a loyalty program
With a loyalty program, you can prompt customers to make them return for more. Promote the program after the customer completes a transaction. It’s the ideal time to get their attention and show them appreciation. You can also introduce the visitors to your program as they enter your conversion funnel to create a feeling of belonging.
10. Create a “thank you” page
A well-crafted “thank you” page can go a long way. Depending on your conversion goals, you can optimize the page to nurture your leads, ask for referrals, conduct a survey, advertise your loyalty program, and more.
11. Use referral marketing
Referral incentives present a great way to prompt a customer to return to your online store and bring in a friend who will also become a customer. For a successful referral strategy, you should offer an attractive incentive to the referrer and the referee. For example, consider special discount codes, free samples, store credit, or limited-time coupon codes.
12. Keep your customers engaged
The engaged customer is a happy customer and email marketing is a great way to keep customers engaged. By targeting existing customers, you can show them how much you appreciate them while continually interacting with them. Sharing insights about your business and celebrating milestones are just some great strategies for engaging your returning customers.
Final Thoughts On Improving Your eCommerce Sales Funnel Optimization
All prospective customers of your eCommerce business will go through these four stages in the buyer’s journey, although at a different pace. It’s crucial to obtain deeper insight into how the potential customers are moving through the eCommerce conversion funnel. Traditional tracking tools such as Google Analytics can help you track the right metrics that will help you optimize each stage and achieve higher eCommerce conversion rates. Implementing the strategies we’ve outlined here can help you plan your perfect eCommerce sales funnel to optimize the customer experience, generate new leads, retain current clients, and enhance brand recognition.
If you’re looking for experts to help you stop wasting dollars and get better results, work with an experienced conversion rate optimization agency. Start by talking with a senior CRO Strategist for free today.
