The internet provides multiple platforms for your business to reach existing and potential customers. Online marketplaces provide a platform for both large and small businesses to market their physical products to the global market. You can get your product to any part of the world even after a few months of operations.
While the internet provides a faster and easier way to reach your target market, your sales funnel must include both offline and online customers. Here are top things to keep in mind when developing a sales funnel for physical products:
1. Have clear goals and objectives
Before designing strategies for each phase of the sales funnel set clear goals and objectives. Determine the market segments you intend to reach and sales platforms available for your business. One of the common statistics that business owners use is that 80% of sales come from 20% of their brands or products. Identify the best products to start with and the market segment that will be interested in those products.
Social media marketing is among the best ways to create awareness for your physical products online. Set goals for each social platform and then strategize on how to achieve those goals. Starting with clear goals and objectives helps you in evaluating whether your sales funnel is effective or not at different stages.
2. Consider the fulfillment process
Owners and managers of established brands like Inline Design will tell that one out of every three items sold online is returned. Think about the whole fulfillment process including shipping, handling, and processing refunds. The best approach is to create a simple sales funnel that ensures that products do not delay in reaching customers. Your products may not leave your store if you ignore some aspects of the fulfillment process.
Consider utilizing fulfillment houses to improve customer satisfaction. For instance, fulfillment houses can help you offer free returns to your customers. Ensure that the company is reliable in delivering products on time and handling logistical issues before outsourcing the fulfillment process.
3. Hire the right sales staff
The reality is that you will not handle all your customers’ orders and inquiries alone. You need a competent staff that can represent your brand well to your clients. Online customers often have multiple questions about the quality and warranty of products. Remember that they do not have a chance to inspect the products before buying. They rely on your staff’s description and assurance to order products.
You do not need to micromanage your staff or worry about losing customers if you hire the right staff. Review your hiring and training process to ensure that you get the best talents in the market to serve your customers.
4. Utilize up-selling and cross-selling
An effective sales funnel should enable your business to sell as many products as possible to your connections. It should have a significant effect on your conversion rate. Most business owners utilize up-selling to increase their sales. Your sales figures will increase significantly if you can get your repeat customers to buy the most expensive products instead of their cheaper alternatives.
Another way to get more products to your customers is through cross-selling. Entice your customers to buy related products after a purchase. Leading marketplaces like Amazon thrive on this technique. Remember that the products must be related for this technique to work.
5. Create opportunities for future products
Your marketing efforts will often lead to one-time purchases. However, your goal when creating the sales funnels should be turning all connections to repeat customers. Chances of satisfied customers buying from you are high. Your approach in handling customer complaints especially with the delivery process will influence their decision to buy from you in the future. You also need to think about the possibility of selling new products to the same customers in the future.
As you interact with customers and prospects, find ways to get their contact details like their email address. Send follow-up emails after a purchase. You can ask for a review of the purchase process or products. Alternatively, you can use the follow-up to inform your customers of products you are about to release to the market in the near future. The personalized interaction helps in keeping your customers in your sales funnel.
Takeaway
Creating a sales funnel for physical products has unique challenges especially when selling the products online. However, your funnels will become better as you continually adjust them to suit changes in the market. Do not shy away from learning from your competitors. Analyze your major competitors’ approach and then customize their funnels to suit your business while bearing in mind the five things outlined above.