There are many reasons for applying marketing funnel for your ecommerce. It works similarly to a guide, where you can drive actions through stages on the customer journey and understand where the leads and customers are in this process.
To put it simply, knowing and making the right efforts are as essential as using a funnel for water and not watching your money spiral down the sink.
There are many kinds of funnels, with different interpretations suggesting consumers progress through three, four, five, or even more stages during their shopping journey.
But I’ve gotta admit, thinking about ecommerce, I’ve seen this four-stage marketing funnel work in most cases. It’s all about these 4 stages: awareness, consideration, conversion, and loyalty. It’s like a marketing’s best-kept secret!
Diving in the funnel stages
What about we dive into it at each funnel stage in the best My Marketing Dose way? (screenshot time)
Awareness, Consideration, Conversion and Loyalty. Each stage in this funnel has a goal which can be defined as attract (TopFU), inform (MoFU), convert (MoFU), and engage (BoFU).
Am I getting too formal? Sometimes my brain overcomes, sorry.
Here goes a good metaphoric history to understand how it works:
“Jimmy went to a nightclub, he is dancing and observing his potential dates (Jimmy is hunting tonight). He noticed Molly, who caught his attention with her turtle dance. Jimmy gets aware of her.
Molly decides to show-off more dance skills by doing the flamingo (which happens to be a very known dance move in nightclubs. Sorry, I don’t go out often). By moving her feets up like a savage bird in the wild, Jimmy considers hitting on Molly (of course, she appealed).
After being this impacted, the only reasonable thing Jimmy could do was to ask for Molly’s number, converting a nice date the day before.
But Molly isn’t looking for a one-and-done date. She’s thinking long-term. After all these steps, she wants to keep things going with Jimmy and make sure he stays loyal to her.”
Nailed! Awareness, consideration, conversion, and loyalty.
Did I’ve gone too far on this? Absolutely, but well… Maybe that’s why you’re still here, right? 😉
Going back to business.
What can ecommerce do in each funnel stage?
This isn’t mandatory, each business can have differences, but they are good marketing practices.
Awareness (ToFU): Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Search Engine Marketing (SEM – paid media),social media marketing, social media advertising, video marketing, influencers merchandising and inbound marketing.
Remember, at this stage you’re being known.
Consideration (MoFU): Remarketing and email marketing based on lead behavior, reviews and testimonials/rating, branding work at social media and promotional campaigns onsite.
Now, you’re beginning to show your product or service consistently and arguing your advantages.
Conversion (MoFU): Maximize Your Conversion Rate: Add better photos, improve your site copy (mainly the product description), do A/B tests testing changes on your page (change then measure), and for last but no least, go after abandoned carts.
Be clear on your sales argument and functional and website structure, focus on purchase.
Loyalty (BoFU) – Encourage your customers to write feedbacks and share their experience on social media, keep the good support, send free gifts, and make remarketing campaigns with similar or complementary products.
Keep a significant connection with your clients.
Example of marketing funnel for ecommerce
I know you’ve enjoyed my funnel example with Jimmy and Molly story. Those turtle and flamingo dances always get me.
But now let’s go to business. We’ll create an ecommerce of fashion clothes as an example. This ecommerce site is named TurtleGlam 
Awareness:
For awareness, TurtleGlam uses online ads, including Google Ads and Facebook Ads.
The company uses search campaigns on Google Ads with search terms related to the products, like “lime green shoulder bag”, and then have impressions and sessions to the website pages.
For Facebook, the ecommerce advertises a product video for potential clients based on a target audience segmentation. Both ads help TurtleGlam to show up to audiences who have this lifestyle and interest in shopping.
Consideration:
At this stage, TurtleGlam shows off their incredible and immersible product photos on social media, aligned with e-mail marketing campaigns with brand and product storytelling for leads who sign the newsletter.
On advertising, TurtleGlam runs Remarketing campaigns, a strategy that offers products that the lead visited and have seen on the website.
These strategies are in the consideration stage for making leads into a potential customer.
Conversion:
TurtleGlam has a team focused on improving the product pages, making clear photos and providing informational content.
Besides that, when a customer leaves his e-mail and abandons the checkout without buying, TurtleGlam starts campaigns for abandoned carts, reminding this customer about the product. These practices contribute to a better conversion rate.
Loyalty:
TurtleGlam has effective email marketing after conversion plan, launching recommended products that complements the customer’s order (Did you like your Lime Green Shoulder Bag? Here are 3 belts that match this beautiful style of yours).
Additionally, during the loyalty stage, TurtleGlam shows that the brand interest isn’t only making sales, setting up very caring email and WhatsApp messages for order’s follow-up. Always making TurtleLovers around the fashion industry.
In closing
I expect to have helped you to get a better understanding of the ecommerce marketing funnel. It was a pleasure to share this with you all (mom and dad). Just kidding, I know there are some marketers here, I can smell your aroma a mile away (it’s smells like coffee and brainstorming sessions).
And I know you’re gonna use TurtleGlam for your fashion brand name. It’s okay. I forgot to patent. Damnit!
You still can give my part on this.
I’m waiting. Waiting for that ca$$$h.
Still waiting.
Just kidding (I’m not kidding, I’m here if you change your idea). But yeah, it’s all right. You can use the name. Just one rule: no actual turtles on the raw material, and we’re good!
Very insightful!
Thank you comrade
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