Sales funnels are the trails a person takes while becoming a purchaser of your business. There are four main steps to the sales funnel: Awareness, Interest, Decision, and Action. Let’s break down each step within the context of digital marketing. First, we will learn what every stage is and then discuss the great virtual marketing practices for each.

1. The Awareness Stage

The potential customer should learn about your business. They could discover your website via a Google search, a social media account, a social media ad, or a friend’s share of your site or page. This is the primary encounter they've had with your business and have turned out to be aware of your existence.

Sometimes it is a “love at first sight” scenario and they straight away determine to make a purchase however more often than not it is only the start of courtship. They are getting to know about your business and whether they need to continue in the relationship.

2. The Interest/Evaluation Stage

In the interest or evaluation stage, potential customers are discovering and evaluating options. They are digging deep into what your business gives and who you're as a company. They might also additionally subscribe to your newsletter and/or follow you on social media. They are determining how much confidence they've in you, your product or service, and what you offer.

3. The Decision Stage

This is the stage in which a decision is made. The potential customer has determined to make a buy however will they make it with you?

4. The Action Stage

This is the stage in which a sale is completed. Hopefully, it's been with your business!

Analyzing Your Digital Marketing Sales Funnel

If you aren't seeing the sales and conversions that you would really like it is beneficial to take a step back and examine the data.

Are you not seeing many visitors on your website? Perhaps a website refresh is needed or a focus on search engine marketing or search engine optimization (SEO or SEM).

Do you have paid advertisements happening but not many clicks on your website? Consider the landing page you've created and your call to action.

How many sales occur due to your email marketing? If the conversion is low, focus extra on the content you're sharing. Is it valuable and relevant to your audience?

Are your social media advertisements not producing the leads you want?  Maybe you need to fine-tune the targeting demographics or kind of content shared.