When you walk into a store like Target to buy something specific like a new blender, it is almost impossible to walk out with only that blender. Did you ever wonder why you have to walk all the way to the back of the store for the item you need? Why do they put all the candy right by the checkout lines? Companies like Target spend hundreds of thousands of dollars researching consumer buying habits. They then use this info to position their merchandise in their stores accordingly. They know that there is a much higher chance you will grab a candy bar if they put it by the checkout. This is known as a Sales Funnel.
[This post is part of a series. See the first post called, Using Facebook Ads Wrong?]
What is a Sales Funnel?
A Sales Funnel is the process that businesses use to lead their customers to a buying decision. We discussed the consumer decision buying process in one of the first posts in this series called “You Are Using Facebook Ads Wrong“. It is important for us to make sure we have a Sales Funnel in place when a potential client visits our website. Most photographer websites are very rarely updated and consist of stagnant content. Using a sales funnel allows us to help guide the potential client to key information on our site, that we know will increase our chances of landing them. In addition, using a sales funnel allows us to track our customers progress through our site, using the facebook pixel. We will get into this more in a minute.
What does an Online Sales Funnel consist of?
Essentially, a Sales Funnel is made up of a Squeeze page, a Sales page, and a Thank You page. The Squeeze page is meant to Build Value and encourage the potential client to fill out your simple webform in order to receive something that they would value. (i.e. A Free Wedding Planning Guide) The Sales page is meant to build even more value and further communicate why the potential client needs your product or service. The Thank You page then delivers what you promised on the Squeeze page and/or on your facebook ad. Capturing the potential client’s email address is super important. It will allow you to follow up with them regardless of if they made it to the Thank You page or not.
Utilizing a Sales Funnel With Facebook Ads
Using a sales funnel allows you to maximize your ROI when using facebook ads by installing the pixel on each page. (We cover installing your facebook pixel in our second post in this series called “Photographer’s Guide to Facebook Ads“) You can then use the custom event code of your choice to measure conversions, depending on the goal you choose. (The event codes are found in the same place you find your Pixel See image below) The event code only gets added to your Thank You page. If the goal of your funnel is to attract new leads, then you would select the “Lead” event code and add it to your Thank You Page. This allows facebook to know that you are trying to attract new leads. When someone goes to your Squeeze page and clicks to go to your Sales page, they would then fill out the webform before being sent to the Thank You page. The pixel will track them each step of the way. Only those that make it to the Thank You page would count as a conversion. When you run an ad on facebook, you are normally going to have a link that sends them to your website, right? The problem with sending this traffic to your website’s home page, instead of a funnel, is that there is no way to measure your ROI. When you use a funnel with the event code, you can then see how much its costing you per impression, per click, per conversion and a whole lot more. This allows you to see if your ad is converting with the best ROI.
Conclusion
Hopefully you are seeing how using a sales funnel can impact your business. The true power of a sales funnel can only be seen once you truly know your ideal client. (We talk about discovering your ideal client in the first post in this series called Using Facebook Ads Wrong?) The copy, images, and videos you use to draw them in should be carefully crafted to allow maximum impact. This can be done in many ways. One of the most effective ways we have found is to use the Problem/Solution approach. Figure out what hesitations your ideal client would normally have and then formulate your ads and landing pages to overcome those objections before they even realize they have them.
There are many different ways to build sales funnels right into your website. We use and love ClickFunnels. If you want to learn more about how using a sales funnel can help change your business by increasing your conversions rates, Click Here. Turn the normal window shoppers into paying clients!