E-commerce sales funnel is an interpretation of a user’s path from the moment they come on your E-commerce website till the point they convert i.e., complete the desired action. Every business has a unique sales funnel depending on the structure of the E-commerce website but the essentials of the E-commerce sales funnel will always remain the same. Every stage of the E-commerce funnel is designed in such a way that the prospect is moved closer towards the conversion point and a successfully completed purchase. 

Why Do You Need E-commerce Sales Funnel?

The sales funnel accurately presents the expected movement of a buyer who came to the site through a referral link, advertising channel, mailing list or search and took a certain action. When the conversion funnel is well-optimized, it helps in moving out of the practically breaking even situation and start making profits. Below, is a common example of an E-commerce sales funnel. 

At the top of the funnel, people just walk past your store and only half of them decide to go in and view the products and offers you have. About one-third of them put something in the shopping cart and only around one-fifth of them will complete the purchase. 

Stages of E-commerce Sales Funnel

A usual E-commerce sales funnel has four steps and on each of them, the consumer makes decisions based on their view of your product, brand and competitors. 

Awareness: In the first stage, the consumer is becoming familiar with the brand and its offerings. This critical stage requires useful content and high-quality advertising. Dynamic content can help in enhancing conversion rates with visual influence. People choose from multiple offers and you should be able to convince them that your solution is the best. 

Engagement: The targeted traffic is now driven to your website through your regular and paid channels but you need to keep a check that your audience doesn’t escape. You need to keep the customers engaged and interested in your offers by providing educational and entertainment value. They are already browsing the website and considering buying something, your goal is to move them down to the funnel and fulfil the next step. 

Desire: Help the customer in forming a desire for the certain offer they are already interested in. State the particular benefits of your product or service apart from all the features. The marketing message and not-so-obvious benefits should be focused on the end consumer. The user should be convinced that your products are the best and push them to add products to their cart. 

Action: Make the user click on the buy now button and complete the transaction. Evaluate the whole checkout process and what can make a person refuse to buy the product. This can be anything like high shipping costs, lack of alternative payment methods and more. 

Best Strategies That Help Convert Better at Every Stage of the Funnel

1. Outline a Customer Journey: The purchase journey can be mapped with Google Analytics and you can find out what people are doing when they visit the pages on your website. Which domains bring the most traffic? On average, how many touchpoints does the consumer make before making a purchase? With the help of Facebook ads, you can also communicate your value proposition and users can quickly understand what the business is all about. 
2. Pair Funnel Stages with Conversion Triggers: In the four stages mentioned above, you can list the things you want to show at each stage and page on your site. Special Facebook discounts and sales promotion work across the stages of the E-commerce sales funnel. You can also get the user's attention in the first phase by offering welcome discounts. You can also direct the visitors to a relevant blog post and if the content is being responded to, the user will click on the ad and visit the site. 
3. Analyze the Moment When User Turns into a Customer: In E-commerce businesses, when a visitor submits his contact information, he/she becomes a lead and this is where a good lead generation strategy is needed. In the phase of consideration, Email should be an important channel in generating leads. Email marketing and social proof together can take the user to the next step. A tempting offer along with lead magnets, promotion, sales, contests and more will increase your sales.

Final Words

The E-commerce sales funnel can be discouraging but with the right data, you can enhance the user experience and eventually sales. It is necessary to optimize E-commerce sales funnel along with your pages and content for each stage of the conversion and track the KPIs that are most important to your funnel. You can even collect more data with behavior reports, A/B tests and posts. Implement the above-mentioned strategies step by step and you will surely reach the set goals. 

About Digital Crafters

Digital Crafters is a leading E-commerce website development company providing the best-in-class E-commerce development services to its clients along with technical consultation and development plans for specific requirements. Our E-commerce development services make use of the latest technologies and constant support and maintenance to assure excellent services. 

Write to us at info@digitalcrafters.tech for a free consultation.