Consumers Through the Sales Funnel

by Tyler Rice

Last updated July 1, 2017

The last post we discussed the different elements that go into the sales funnel cycle and how they relate to social media results. To review, those elements were:

1. Exposure

2. Influence

3. Engagement

4. Action/Conversation

5. Customer Retention

Now, I would like to give a specific example of how consumers in social media relate to each path in the sales funnel.

Person A

1. Notices a boosted Facebook post discussing how your company can provide valuable resources. (Exposure)

2. Sees a friend write a review of your company on social media. (Influence)

3. Likes your company’s Facebook page and sees a post raving about a new product. He clicks the link and follows it to your website. (Engagement)

4. Signs up for your newsletter after seeing an offer for a free coupon for a product he is interested in. (Action/Conversation, Soft Lead)

5. Fills out his contact information on the website to receive a free consultation. (Action/Conversation, Hard Lead)

6. Meets for the consultation and decides to buy your company’s services. (Action/Conversation, Hard Lead)

7. After using the services and following your company’s Twitter, he sees a helpful post and decides to retweet it. (Engagement)

This consumer went through all the cycles of the sales funnel and began to begin the process again at the engagement level. Just as any person can leave the sales funnel at any time, it is important to realize that customers can enter the sales funnel at any level.

Measuring the sales funnel will provide valuable information on when you are doing best and where you might be losing customers and how you can improve on that.