Most of us know what a sales funnel is. It’s basically all of the marketing that is done to bring customers to you, so you can sell them your goods and services. What I’m going to talk about here is the digital piece of that sales funnel. What does it take to get your Website in front of your potential customer? What needs to happen once a potential client finds your website and how do you move them into your sales funnel?

Website Content:

First we need to look at the content on your home page. If you are not updating your website on a regular basis, translated to once a month at least, then your relevance with Google drops. Google wants to offer it’s clients, those people using their search engine, the most updated and relevant information on the web. That’s what keeps them competitive, and it also keeps you competitive. Here are some ideas for keeping your page updated:

• Monthly blog posts
• Testimonials
• Special offers, and coupons
• Regularly updated web content such as before and after photos
• Video

When people land on your Website, you want them to see content that positions you as the expert in the field, the go-to person. This is not a sales piece, it’s more educational because the more educated a potential customer is by the time you talk to them, the more likely you’ll be able to make a sale.

Distribution:

These are the proverbial breadcrumbs that lead people back to your website. And they are typically where most business owners fail in terms of keeping up with consistently posting and staying top of mind for clients. In any kind of marketing, whether it be traditional marketing or digital marketing the message to you is the same: Consistency is King. You have to consistently remind people that you are there to help them in whatever way your business provides services or products. So being consistent on social media sites is important. Here is where you want to get the word out:

• Social media such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pintrest etc. But know where your potential client resides. If you are doing business-to-business work, then Facebook may not be the place for you. You would do better to learn how to work LinkedIn best.
• Facebook boosting: Organic search is all but dead on this medium because they want you to spend money with them. So if you are just posting, and thinking it’s going to everyone who has liked your page, you would be wrong. It only goes to a maximum of 16% of people who have liked your page. Boosting your post is a better way to get the word out and luckily Facebook has made boosting very affordable.
• Advertising on Facebook, LinkedIn or Google: Google advertising has gotten a bit expensive, but Facebook and LinkedIn are still very affordable. And if you are in a very saturated market for your type of business, the Google ads may be worth your while.
• Getting your blogs onto other websites, news sources or picked up and used by other bloggers.
• Reciprocal links with other like-minded businesses.
• Reviews on Google, Angie’s List, Yelp or other related review sites. You may be diligently asking your clients for reviews, but if you are just getting them posted on your own website then you are missing out. Get your clients to post those reviews where they count the most, onto the review websites most used in your industry. So if you’re a painter, that may be Angie’s List, but if you’re a restaurant then TripAdvisor and Yelp are where you want to be. And everyone should push to get reviews on Google.

 

Capturing leads:

You can do all of the above, but if you have no way to capture those potential customer’s contact information, it will be a waste of time. People don’t usually buy something on first contact. You want their email address at the very least, to be able to keep educating them about your business. You can do this several ways:

• Landing pages: A stand alone Webpage distinct from your main website that has been designed for a single focused objective to capture sales leads.
• Lead Capture Forms on your home page

 

Using your leads:

Keep educating your customers to stay top of mind for when they are ready to buy. Drip, drip, drip educational information, special offers or coupons and other pertinent information onto your customers by using these digital vehicles.

• Newsletters
• Email special offers or coupons
• Send out news about your business, new services or products etc.
• Let people know when you’ve attended a charity event or were written up in your local newspaper or other public relations information.