Ah yes, sales funnels. One of the most misunderstood and under-optimized parts of marketing when it comes to ecommerce.
That’s why we’ve crafted this handy-dandy article that will walk you through exactly what a sales funnel is in relation to your Shopify store, and how to optimize it to grow your business.
What the heck are Shopify sales funnels?
Put simply, a sales funnel is the process that you have in place to get leads, turn those leads into customers, and get those customers to buy more from you.
For your Shopify store, that means all the steps that your store’s visitors go through before they select that big ole ‘confirm’ button during checkout, like clicking a Facebook ad, reading a blog post, or searching for products on your store.
But it doesn’t end there, it also means the experience they have with you after making a purchase, from follow-up emails to using the product, leaving a review, or referring their friends to your store.
Anytime someone interacts with your brand, they are somewhere in the sales funnel. So, it’s pretty darn important to understand what each stage of that funnel looks like, and how you can make it better – to keep ‘em coming back for more.
Leak Proofing your Shopify funnel
Build better pages
When someone lands on your website, they’ll decide within a few seconds if they’re going to stay or not. Don’t worry, you can’t keep everyone’s attention, but there are things you can do to improve your chances. Make sure every page tells visitors right away exactly what you’re offering and why it’s right for them. Ensure it’s easy for visitors to navigate through your store with intuitive menus and buttons, enticing headings and product visuals, working links, and conversion-focused pages.
Leverage social proof
Social proof is a powerful tool to encourage visitors to convert. Show evidence that other people have purchased from you and found value in the products you offer. You can do this by including testimonials or reviews from real customers, showcasing trending or popular items, or by featuring an authority bar on your homepage.
Create scarcity + urgency
When visitors feel like a product they are considering is in high demand and low supply, they’re much more inclined to make a purchase even if they were hesitant. This can be done by sharing ‘low stock’ level badges on products, using countdown timers, highlighting the number of people visiting the store, or with pop-ups that say someone just made a purchase.
Use cross sells + upsells
Making a post-purchase offer or upsell is a great way to increase your average order value because the user is already committed to purchasing from you. Look at adding a Shopify plugin to your store that makes personalized recommendations to customers based on their page views and purchase history to bump up sales.
Streamline the checkout
If you’re seeing a lot of visitors drop off at the cart or checkout page, there may be something wrong with your site, or an obstacle that visitors aren’t expecting. In this case, try to reduce the number of steps that are required for users to checkout, provide more detail earlier on so they aren’t blindsided by shipping costs, delivery windows, or add-ons, and test the checkout page to make sure it’s working.
Still having issues? Consider Shopify Web Consulting
If you’re overwhelmed or struggling with any aspect of your Shopify experience, or you’d love to start using Shopify to elevate your online game, why not consult with the experts?
At Good Commerce, we live and breathe Shopify – some of us are even obsessed (see for yourself). Our team is up-to-date on the latest platform options, design trends and plugins, and we’re well-versed in optimizing sales funnels. We’ll address your unique online issues and give you tailored support.
Photo by MART PRODUCTION