Introduction: Sales funnel

A sales funnel is a series of actions or events that a user goes through before completing a product or service purchase.

A sales funnel is important for every business that is present on the web or has a digital customer acquisition and conversion process. The sheer clutter on the internet makes it imperative for companies to have a well-designed sales funnel that attracts, engages, and converts leads into recurring customers.

The stages of the sales funnel are represented by the acronym AIDA – Awareness, Interest, Decision, Action. In image form, the sales funnel could look like this:

Image source: https://www.crazyegg.com/blog/sales-funnel/

Sales Funnel Steps or Stages

A typical sales funnel has three stages:

1. Top Of The Funnel (or TOFU)
2. Middle Of The Funnel (or MOFU)
3. Bottom Of The Funnel (or BOFU)

This can be represented graphically as follows:

Image source: https://www.walnut.io/post/how-to-build-a-sales-funnel-for-b2b-saas

Shopify – the company

Shopify is a Canadian e-commerce company based in Ontario, Canada. Shopify is also the name of the company’s e-commerce platform for online stores.

Shopify offers online retailers a set of services that includes payments, marketing, shipping, and engagement tools. Over 1.5 million online stores use the Shopify platform for their e-commerce business.

Shopify Sales Funnel

The Shopify Sales Funnel presents the typical journey a customer takes to engage with a seller on the Shopify platform.

The Shopify sales funnel has emerged in recent years as one of the fastest ways for online retailers to acquire customers, boost average purchase value, and up-sell to every visitor who buys from the store. Global brands such as Heinz, Hasbro, and Red Bull use the Shopify platform thanks to its easy-to-use interface and straightforward integration with payments and shipping gateways.

The basic template of the Shopify sales funnel looks like this:

Image source: https://foundr.com/articles/marketing/creating-a-sales-funnel-for-shopify

This template helps an online retailer develop content that addresses four main points of the customer journey:

1. What will interest a prospect to enter the funnel & click through to the product page?
2. How will the prospect add the company’s product to their shopping cart?
3. How much of the product will the prospect buy?
4. What is the customer’s experience at the checkout?

How to build a Shopify Sales Funnel?

The following steps are a guide to building an effective sales funnel on Shopify:

1. Offer a marketable product.
   1. The retailer should offer a product that the market wants.
   2. Two questions to ask to check if there is a market for the product.
      1. Does the product solve a problem for the customer?
      2. Is the product the best solution for that problem?
2. Make the right customers aware of the store.
   1. This is the Awareness or first stage of the funnel (also known as Top Of The Funnel or TOFU)
   2. The prospect has identified their problem and is looking for a solution.
   3. At this stage, the store informs people of its presence in the market, builds leads, and creates an initial trust with prospects.
   4. The use of social and digital media at this stage is the most effective.
   5. Make sure the content is relevant to the prospect’s requirements.
3. Present the product as the right solution for the problem.
   1. This is the Consideration stage of the funnel (also called Middle Of The Funnel or MOFU)
   2. The prospect compares the product with competitor products.
   3. Product descriptions and images must be clear and easy to understand
   4. Positive reviews from confirmed customers can also help the prospect decide quickly.
4. Turn visitors into customers.
   1. This is the Conversion stage of the funnel (also called Bottom Of The Funnel or BOFU)
   2. The Call To Action should be very clear.
   3. It is important to track funnel leakages at this stage to reduce the “abandoned shopping carts rate”.
5. Retain and reward customers.
   1. These are the Loyalty and Advocacy stages (post-purchase)
   2. It is cheaper and easier to retain existing customers than to acquire new ones.
   3. When current customers promote or speak about the product to potential customers, the feedback is taken more seriously.
   4. Personalized offers, quick responses to queries or issues, and intelligent use of social media are important tools at this stage.

Shopify Sales Funnel Strategy

A retailer on the Shopify platform must ensure that:

1. The maximum leads are converted into customers.
2. The funnel leakage at each stage is minimized.
3. The conversion rate of leads to customers increases over time.

To do this, the retailer needs to follow a clear strategy that will allow it to design content relevant to each stage of the funnel, engage prospects smartly and effectively and reduce the hurdles that prospects could face.

The following steps are the main elements of an effective Shopify sales funnel strategy:

1. Design an effective “Store Front” and “Product Page”.
   1. These are the main elements of the Shopify sales funnel.
   2. The storefront attracts prospects to the product page
   3. The product page helps customers decide whether to buy the product or not.
   4. The product should be presented clearly on the page so that the customer knows exactly what they are buying.
2. Use social and digital channels to drive traffic.
   1. Social media such as Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram are useful channels to present useful content and engage customers at different touchpoints in a contextually relevant manner.
   2. Original content and search engine ranking efforts also help drive traffic to the retailer
3. Use user-generated content to influence potential customers.
   1. People tend to follow others in a particular setting or activity – this is called “social proof”.
   2. User-generated content such as positive reviews by current customers can go a long way in convincing prospects or potential customers about the usefulness of the product on offer.
   3. These actions reinforce the decision of the prospect and convince them that the decision was correct.
4. Ensure a high level of trust and support.
   1. Privacy concerns over customer data usage are very high, and people are hesitant to share their personal data online.
   2. It is therefore very important for an online retailer to build trust and reassure customers that their data will be secure.
   3. FAQs and customer support contact details also help create a smooth customer journey, which will further reinforce trust in the retailer.
5. Analyze the funnel constantly.
   1. The retailer should always be on the lookout for weaknesses in their sales funnel.
   2. Reports and dashboards help monitor the prospects’ journey through the funnel.
   3. They can help identify and fix areas of funnel leakage to ensure maximum movement through each stage of the funnel.
6. Implement quick solutions for problem areas.
   1. It is easy to identify leakages and problems in the Shopify sales funnel through its interactive dashboard and detailed reports.
   2. It is important to design and implement quick solutions for these issues.
   3. Removing or reducing any friction at all stages of the funnel is the best way to maximize the benefits of the funnel.
7. Have a well-designed landing page
   1. “Optimizing” the landing page is possibly the most important element of an effective strategy for a Shopify sales funnel.
   2. The landing page has the biggest impact on a store’s revenue because it can determine whether a prospect continues further or leaves the website.
   3. It is important to have the right content, relevant to the product being offered and the customer base to be attracted.
8. Minimize friction at the checkout stage
   1. “Shopping cart abandonment” is a reality for most online retailers.
   2. The final product basket page and checkout page are two important tools that will help retain and convert the prospect at the bottom of the funnel to a paying customer.
   3. The retailer should also determine if leakages at this stage are due to problems with the website or with the product/offer.

Shopify Sales Funnel Apps

The Shopify sales funnel helps online retailers use the Shopify platform to maximize the leads–to–customer conversion process. However, every retailer wants more customers to buy. Most online retailers are not able to devote time, investments, and resources to manage all the processes and content at each stage of the sales funnel.

Integrating apps into the Shopify sales funnel helps retailers optimize the time spent to acquire, engage and convert prospects into customers.

The apps listed below are the most popular in use for actions and process management at each stage of the Shopify sales funnel:

1. Shogun Landing Page builder
2. Zipify Page Builder and Editor
3. PageFly Fast Page Builder
4. Honeycomb Upsell Funnel
5. Raid Funnels Multi-Step Upsell
6. Text Funnel SMS Marketing
7. Metrilo Growth Platform
8. GemPages Page Builder and Funnel
9. Layout Hub Easy Page Builder
10. UFE Cross-Sell and Upsell Funnel

Conclusion

The average conversion rate for an e-commerce store is around 2%. A properly designed and fully optimized online retail experience can raise conversions to as much as 10%.

An efficient and flexible funnel is required to reach sales goals regularly and consistently. The Shopify Sales Funnel is not a rigid tool, but a flexible and dynamic guide to increasing conversion rates at every stage of the customer journey.

A startup or small/medium online retailer may not have enough time, resources, or manpower to manage all stages of the Spotify sales funnel. There are many apps available that can be used to guide prospects through all stages of the sales funnel. This will help the retailer improve the buying experience for his customers and boost revenue.