How the Sales Conversion Funnel Can be Limited by Bottlenecks

Online Sales Conversion Funnel

In order for your company to get the most out of social media marketing, you’ll have to identify where along the customer conversion funnel (CCF) your customers may be dropping out.  Just one bottleneck in the funnel can severely limit your revenues as well as customer return business. 

Bottlenecks in your CCF can cause the following problems:

1) Reduces the effectiveness of advertising campaigns

2) Prevents potential customers from fully understanding the benefits of your products

3) Frustrates users and prevents them from being able to purchase an item

4) Keeps customers from returning

5) Discourages users from promoting your products

What is the Customer Conversion Funnel (CCF)?

The CCF is the path a consumer takes from being aware that the service or product and/or service exists, to finding out more information about the product/service, to finally buying the product.  The e-commerce conversion funnel also includes the two further steps, which are loyalty and advocacy.  Social Media can enhance each step of the way

Revenue Loyalty Formula

A Mathematical Viewpoint

Many view revenue as a simple equation, Revenue = Sales Price * Quantity Sold.  This simplistic view overlooks the intricacies of the entire model.  This basic formula can then be broken down into the segments of the pipeline itself.  Viewing the second equation below, Price*Quantity is a function of the percent interested in your products, those who understand your products, and those who are not frustrated by your checkout process. From there, you should look at customer loyalty as a multiplier and their advocacy, usually done by those loyal to your brand increases. This exponentially as they are able to push outreach organically

Telltale signs of Bottlenecks in your Conversion Funnel

1) There is a market need for the products and services that you provide, but no one is coming into your e-commerce store. Potential Problem: poor community development on social media

2) People enter your online store, but few add anything to their shopping cart. Potential problem: you may not be giving your customers enough information about your products for them to feel that they understand your product and then are comfortable enough to complete the purchase.

3) Those who add items to their basket fail to complete the purchase. Potential problem: there are too many steps to complete the purchase or the process is confusing

4) Those who do buy your products don’t repeat their purchase. Potential problem: a gap between expectations of the product and what they received

5) Repeat purchasers fail to bring in more customers.Potential problem: no community feeling generated within your online brand as well as no incentive for them to advocate for your brand.

Methods of Removing Bottlenecks from your Conversion Funnel through Social Media

1) Brand awareness for your online store starts with social media. Here, you’ll want to create a community feeling around your product.  You’ll also want to determine which social networks your customers use most frequently and what is the best way of getting into contact with them. Reach out to your audience and provide them with content that is related to the products you sell or services that you provide. Interesting or informative content should make up at least 80% of the content that you produce.  This will help grow your brand’s public awareness without seeming too sales-y.  The worst thing that you could do is start with advertisements out of the gate.  This approach would repel your potential customers

2) Your customers’ consideration to purchase is enhanced by the amount of information that you provide on your website.  Remember that your customers will not be able to touch, smell, feel, or try on any of your online products.  They are completely limited to the amount of information you provide them.  Knowing this, you should make sure that your provide them with all of the information that they could possibly need to make the purchasing decision – things like high quality images, numerous and credible product reviews, quality ratings, etc.

3) The checkout conversion rate is affected by the usability of your site’s checkout process.  Make sure that this process contains as few steps as possible, does not require users to re-input information, and is completely linear, so that users do not have to repeat steps or go back

4) Loyalty starts with reaching out to your current customers, those who have purchased from you before.  You must contact them to understand if they are satisfied with their purchase and if their purchase matched or exceeded their expectations.  Following up will give you an opportunity to up-sell or cross-sell items that they may also need.  Also, if the products that you sell have a natural expiration date or will normally be completely used and worn out at a certain point, be sure to understand when that point is and contact your customers with a suggestion of re-purchasing that item or a similar item.

5) Customer advocacy increases when you facilitate it.  Encourage your satisfied customers to share their feelings on social media and share part of the profits that they generate with them.  Your best customers can quickly turn into your best advocates, helping you to increase your revenues.

Tools to help along the way.

WordPress

WordPress – the easiest content management system for  creating a blog is WordPress.  A blog should be one of your core advocacy outlets, allowing you to form the exact message that you want to go to your clients.  The best thing about it is that it’s absolutely free. Download it here: https://wordpress.org/

Google Analytics

Google Analytics – Google Analytics is a powerful tool that helps you, among other things, track your customers’ movements on your site.  You’ll be able to see where they come from and set up a check out funnel to google.  Google analytics will also allow you to track your conversions that come through paid advertising on Google.   Access Google Analytics here: http://www.google.com/analytics/

Get Social

GetSocial – I would recommend that you use GetSocial’s Social Sharing & Analytics tools.  GetSocial’s Social Sharing & Analytical tools allow you to track both social sharing, through social networks, and dark sharing, which is the type of sharing through the copying and pasting of URLs.  From there, you can see the true ROI of social media as their software tracks how many leads, visits, page views, and conversions each social and dark share creates.  GetSocial gives a lot more detailed information than Google Analytics, giving you the shares and leads breakdown per page, and when combined with your user database, you can pinpoint exactly who is sharing, creating leads, and converting. If you have WordPress or Shopify, it’s even easier as they offer a no-code installation for most of their apps. Check them out here: https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-share-buttons-analytics-by-getsocial