In all websites that conduct some form of online transactions, the conversion funnel is the part where visitors turn into customers. It helps fulfill the purpose of your website. However, not every visitor commits to purchase or agrees to a contract. Some may drop out or abandon the product or service even after they add it to the cart. This is where sales funnel analysis comes in. You should analyze where and why users leave your website and optimize your conversion funnels accordingly to increase conversions.

Conversion Funnel

All business websites have at least one conversion funnel. It is the method used the most to get customers. Different businesses have different conversion funnels, based on how users navigate their website. 

People usually follow a sequence of steps to complete an action, such as subscribing to a newsletter, signing up for a service, or purchasing something. A conversion funnel illustrates this journey. The funnel shape indicates the gradual decrease in visitors who travel till the end of it.

Usually, conversion funnels have four phases. Although all conversion funnels are similar, their specific phases may change depending on your business requirements.

Phase 1: Awareness

The first phase of the conversion funnel is creating awareness about your business. You should align your efforts with customer habits, their preferred channels, and their responses to such efforts. This top-of-the-funnel (TOFU) activity has to inspire and educate. It can include various methods such as introducing your product/service via paid search, sending nurturing emails, offering free information or services in exchange for contact details, and using display banners. Track the channels through which you get the most visitors.

Phase 2: Interest

In this phase, customers start viewing your product or service as a potential solution to their requirements. They progress into the middle of the funnel (MOFU), where they are interested in researching more about your product/service. You can persuade them by providing material about their unique qualities and benefits and offering them free trials, tips, etc. Understand what caught their interest, by collecting data on their behaviors. Accordingly, make changes, such as tweaking design elements on the website or personalizing messages.

Phase 3: Desire

After enough research and consideration, customers feel the desire to purchase and decide to do so. They may have some pre-purchase reservations. Use your customer service team to gauge what causes the most concerns and alleviate them, by introducing product reviews and buyer testimonials. Also provide discounts, multiple methods of payment, and warranties.

Phase 4: Delight

After a new customer comes on board, provide them all that you promised. Ensure that they experience delight and that your product/service meets their requirements. Encourage satisfied customers to review it. Such reviews or recommendations will help you to convert more customers. Request them to answer customer surveys, which include questions, such as where they heard about the product/service and what attracted them the most.

You have to map out the various stages of the user journey apropos to your business. However, these are not hard and fast, and some visitors may skip a phase or two. Once you have clarity about the conversion funnel phases, categorize the data you receive at each level so that you have insights into the actions of casual visitors, prospects, customers, etc. Map the conversion triggers of all phases and identify the types of content you want to offer at each.

Funnel Analysis, Its Importance, and Its Benefits

In the first quarter of 2019, 2.72 percent of visitors made purchases from e-commerce websites worldwide. In the United States, online shopper conversion rates were 2.88 percent for the same period. This indicates that there is considerable room for improvement in convincing visitors to become customers. However, only if you learn exactly what happens during the buyer’s journey would you be able to do so.

Funnel analysis is the method of mapping and examining the sequence of events that lead website visitors towards positive action.

Analyzing the conversion funnel involves the following:

  • Classifying the funnel phases according to your business requirements.
  • Identifying users who go through those phases.
  • Determining the percentage of users who drop off at each phase.
  • Understanding the causes of drop-offs so that you can improve the phases.
  • Segmenting the users who became your customers and gaining insights from their journey.

Funnel analysis helps you understand how many visitors stopped midway and why. It can also help you adjust your strategies so that a majority of them continue until the end.

You can learn more about the attribution models that brought in the visitors and the points in the journey where they are dropping off. By analyzing the funnel, you can determine conversion and user drop-off rates and assess the effects your adjustments have on these rates.

This will be useful in encouraging new users to complete onboarding and urging active users to become paid subscribers and regular customers.

Causes for Customer Friction

The visitors to your website may experience friction points, prompting early exits or cart abandonment. The average cart abandonment rate is 69.57 percent. The following are some difficulties they face.

  • Uncertainty as to the next step in the conversion funnel phases because the information is not aligned with the buyer’s journey. Customers may not be proactive and search through your site to find what they want.
  • Unclear message as to how your product/service can help them.
  • No benefits, such as free shipping or cash on delivery, or clarity on them even if they exist.
  • Unconvincing calls to action (CTAs) at any phase.
  • Cumbersome action required methods, be it sign up, subscription, check out, or payment. Customers are put off by slow-loading pages that require innumerable details and have just one or two payment options.

Preventing Customer Friction

The following initiatives can help prevent or reduce drop-offs and increase conversions.

  • Provide all needed information, such as price, features, shipping and available support, on the product page itself.
  • Offer discounts or benefits when a visitor adds an item to the cart.
  • Exchange discounts or benefits for visitor email addresses so that you can contact and interact with them if they abandon items in the cart. Assure them that your website is trustworthy, by placing trust indicators and seals so that they feel confident enough to do so.
  • Provide multiple payment options. If you provide only one payment option, such as a credit card, many may leave without any purchases.
  • Benefits, especially those related to shipping, exert a significant influence on drop-offs. If you do not deliver to a customer’s address or charge them for delivery, you can expect a higher cart abandonment rate. Conversely, free shipping and shorter delivery times increase conversions.

A full-funnel analysis includes analyzing landing pages, sign-up forms, and trust elements. It also involves getting feedback and narrowing down choices, by using methods, such as usability and A/B tests. Check out this article for more insights on how to break through customer friction

Funnel Optimization to Increase Conversion

An optimized funnel is vital for increasing conversion. First, run a full-funnel analysis to determine the areas that need improvement. Fix the issues you identify as and when you find them. After every fix or adjustment, test its impact on conversions and drop-offs.

In general, your site should be easy to navigate and load easily. Avoid anything that causes confusion or makes people leave. Every phase has its own objective/action and pages mapped to it. Define the action clearly and ensure that nothing on the pages distracts customers from it.

Use clear CTAs with words that imply offers, including receive, enjoy and discover, rather than blatant demands, such as submit, learn more, or sign up. Thank the users who make even a small commitment, such as sharing their email address. Learn what they think, using polls, heatmaps and chats. Use what you learned to further optimize your conversion funnel.

Funnel Analysis is Key to Conversion Funnel Optimization

Funnel analysis is a powerful tool that helps you understand your conversion funnel, fix any lacunae in it, and optimize it for better performance. It is prudent to seek the advice and help of experienced industry professionals who are experts in marketing, analytics, and data to handle such an important task.