Optimize Ecommerce Conversion Funnels: Tips on Sales Funnel

Do you want to turn clicks into successful purchases? Are you struggling to make your social media audience visit your website and buy your products? Do you wish to reduce your cart abandonment rate?

The secret to that lies in your ecommerce conversion funnel.

What is it and how to improve it?

Join us for this ultimate article on boosting your online sales and get the answers to these questions and more.

Let’s jump right in.

What are ecommerce conversion funnels?

Ecommerce conversion funnels, also known as sales funnels, are a series of steps or stages that a potential customer goes through on an ecommerce website before buying something. These funnels are designed to guide visitors from the initial awareness or interest stage to the final conversion or purchase stage. 

The primary goal of an ecommerce conversion funnel is to optimize the path and user experience. This is done to maximize the number of visitors who complete a desired action, e.g. making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or requesting more information.

10+ top tips for ecommerce sales funnel - boost your sales funnel

A well-designed funnel is key to the success of an ecommerce brand. 

If you don’t pay attention to it, you’ll be missing out on a lot of opportunities (most of which are sales, of course).

So don’t let it happen and take inspiration from our expert tips on nailing your ecommerce sales funnel:

#1 Optimize

Start by optimizing your website and product pages to increase the conversion rate. Make sure they are informative, visually appealing, and user-friendly. This way, you’ll be able to encourage website visitors to add items to their cart.

💡 Expert tips:

1. High-quality images - use professional product photography or consider tools like Adobe Photoshop or Canva for image editing. This will help you ensure that product images are clear, well-lit, and showcase different angles.
2. Detailed descriptions - craft compelling and informative product descriptions. Tools like Grammarly offer grammatical correctness and readability features.
3. User reviews integration - implement review platforms like Yotpo or Trustpilot to encourage customers to leave reviews. Doing this will boost social proof and trustworthiness of your brand.

source

#2 Focus

Focus on the checkout page. It’s a critical stage of the ecommerce funnel. Streamline the process, reduce friction, and offer multiple payment options to optimize the average conversion rate.

💡 Expert tips:

1. One-page checkout - simplify the checkout process into a single page using platforms like Shopify or WooCommerce’s one-page checkout extensions.
2. Guest checkout - allow guest checkout to minimize barriers for first-time customers. Most e-commerce platforms, including Shopify and Magento, offer this feature.
3. Payment options - offer a variety of payment gateways, such as PayPal, Stripe, and Square, to cater to diverse customer needs.

source

#3 Implement

Implement social proof throughout your ecommerce store, including customer reviews, ratings, and testimonials. This helps build trust and confidence among your website visitors.

💡 Expert tips:

1. Review request emails - use email campaign tools like Mailchimp or Klaviyo to automatically send review request emails to customers after they’ve made a purchase.
2. Testimonials showcase - incorporate testimonials using website builders like Wix or WordPress with plugins such as Strong Testimonials to display customer feedback prominently.
3. Ratings and badges - highlight product ratings and trust badges like Norton Secured or McAfee Secure to improve credibility and security.

#4 Utilize

Utilize email marketing effectively to nurture potential customers and guide them through the various stages of your ecommerce sales funnel.

💡 Expert tips:

1. Segmentation - segment your email list using email marketing platforms like Mailchimp or Brevo to send personalized content and offers to specific customer groups.
2. Automation - set up email automation workflows with tools like ActiveCampaign or HubSpot to send targeted emails based on customer behavior and interactions.
3. A/B Testing - optimize email campaigns using A/B tests for subject lines, content, and visuals. For that, look into solutions like Optimizely or Split.io.

source

#5 Attract

Attract website visitors at the top of the funnel through channels like SEO, paid ads, and social media. Target relevant audiences to maximize your chances of conversion.

💡 Expert tips:

1. SEO tools - use SEO tools like Moz or SEMrush to perform keyword research, optimize website content, and monitor search engine rankings.
2. Google ads - create and manage Google Ads campaigns using Google Ads itself or platforms like WordStream to drive paid traffic to your ecommerce site.
3. Social media management - use social media management tools like Kontentino to schedule posts, track engagement, and manage social media advertising campaigns effectively.

#6 Monitor

Monitor and analyze key metrics to assess the performance of your ecommerce sales funnel. Keep an eye on conversion rates at different stages to make data-driven optimizations.

💡 Expert tips:

Monitoring and analyzing key metrics is key to evaluating your ecommerce sales funnel’s performance. LiveSession, an advanced product analytics software, can be a game-changer in this topic. It allows you to:

• gain deep insights into users’ behavior,
• enhance the user experience,
• identify and address bugs, and
• ultimately boost conversion rates.

With features like session replays and event-based product analytics, LiveSession empowers your business to make data-driven optimizations at every funnel stage. It’s the all-in-one platform you need to understand and improve your online business’s performance.

Sign up for a free plan and start optimizing your funnel today!

source

#7 Improve

Improve your cart page for a smooth shopping experience. Let users edit quantities, save items for later, and calculate shipping costs easily.

💡 Expert tips:

1. Abandoned cart emails - set up abandoned cart email campaigns using emailing tools to recover lost sales. Tools like Klaviyo offer this feature.
2. Shipping cost calculators - provide real-time shipping cost calculations through integrations with shipping rate calculators like Shippo or Easyship.
3. Quantity edit options - allow users to easily edit quantities and remove items directly from the cart using ecommerce platforms’ built-in features or extensions, especially those with headless commerce capabilities.

source

#8 Offer

Offer incentives like discounts, free shipping, or limited-time offers to encourage visitors to convert and complete their purchases.

💡 Expert tips:

1. Coupon generators - create unique coupon codes with tools like CouponBirds or Couponler to offer discounts and promotions.
2. Free shipping threshold - promote free shipping on orders above a certain value. One useful plugin is Free Shipping Bar for Shopify, for example.
3. Countdown timers - create urgency with countdown timers for limited-time offers using apps like Hurrify for Shopify.

#9 Simplify

Simplify navigation on your ecommerce site. You have to make it easy for customers to find products and move seamlessly through the different stages of your sales funnel. Otherwise, they’ll simply drop out of it, leaving you with no sales.

💡 Expert tips:

1. Menu structure - organize your website’s navigation menu logically. For this purpose, you could use website builders like Squarespace or Wix for intuitive menu customization.
2. Search functionality - implement an efficient search bar. To do it, check out ecommerce platforms’ built-in features or extensions such as InstantSearch+ for Magento.
3. Breadcrumb navigation - enable breadcrumb navigation that will guide users through the website’s hierarchy. Some tool recommendations here include plugins like Yoast SEO for WordPress.

source

#10 Segment

Segment your audience based on behavior, preferences, and demographics. Doing this will allow you to tailor your marketing efforts effectively.

💡 Expert tips:

1. Customer profiling - take advantage of CRM systems (for instance HubSpot CRM or Salesforce) to create detailed customer profiles based on behavior, demographics, and preferences.
2. Email list segmentation - segment your email list using marketing automation platforms like Marketo or Pardot to deliver tailored content.
3. Behavior-based segmentation - implement behavior-based segmentation with the help of tools like LiveSession. These will help with targeting users based on interactions with your site.

source

Stages of an ecommerce funnel in practice: examples

In total, we can distinguish 5 stages of an ecommerce conversion funnel.

Below, we give you 2 examples to show you what they may look like in practice:

Example 1: online clothes store

1️⃣ Awareness stage:

• At this stage of the funnel, the online clothes store begins by implementing a robust marketing strategy. They create informative blog posts and social media content. The materials highlight the latest fashion trends and address common pain points related to fashion choices and styling.
• As part of their marketing plan, they collaborate with fashion influencers and bloggers to generate referrals and increase their brand’s visibility among their target audience. Further, they run Facebook Ad campaigns.
• This stage aims to introduce potential customers to the online store and create awareness about their clothing offerings.

2️⃣ Interest stage:

• In the middle of the funnel, visitors who have been exposed to the store’s marketing are directed to the online store’s landing page. Here, they find a visually appealing and user-friendly website that showcases a wide range of clothing products.
• Product recommendations are provided based on the visitor’s browsing history. This enhances their interest in specific clothing items.
• The call to action (CTA) makes visitors explore the product categories and start their customer journey. Visitors browse through the online store’s collection.

3️⃣ Consideration stage:

• Moving further down the funnel, visitors who have shown interest in specific clothing items add them to their shopping cart. At this stage, the online store captures their email addresses for follow-up and remarketing.
• Exit-intent pop-ups are strategically used to prevent cart abandonment. Those offer discounts or special offers to motivate visitors to complete their purchases.
• The goal in this stage is to persuade visitors to consider making a purchase, pushing them closer to the bottom of the funnel.

4️⃣ Conversion stage:

• At the bottom of the funnel, the online clothing store implements a loyalty program for existing customers to make them convert frequently. This loyalty program offers exclusive discounts, early access to new collections, and referral incentives.
• Marketers use targeted email campaigns and personalized communication to convert potential customers into paying customers. This stage focuses on completing the sale and ensuring a successful ecommerce transaction.

5️⃣ Post-purchase and retention stage:

• After a successful purchase, customers continue their journey with the online clothing store. They receive tailored content materials. Those are fashion tips, styling ideas, and exclusive product recommendations based on their previous purchases.
• The referral program encourages satisfied customers to refer friends and family to the store. Notice how this creates a loop of referrals and increases customer loyalty.
• Marketers continue to engage with existing customers through email marketing to retain their loyalty and encourage repeat purchases.

Example 2: website analytics and user behavior software

1️⃣ Awareness stage:

• At the top of the funnel, the website analytics and user behavior software company focuses on creating awareness among online companies. They use targeted content marketing strategies.
• They publish blog posts and resources that highlight the importance of data-driven decision-making in e-commerce and addressing common pain points in understanding user behavior.
• This content aims to attract many ecommerce businesses looking to optimize their online performance and gain insights into user behavior.

2️⃣ Interest stage:

• In the middle of the funnel, online brands, attracted by the content marketing efforts, visit the software provider’s website. Here, they find comprehensive information about the software’s features and benefits.
• The software offers tools for tracking user behavior. This is highlighted as essential for optimizing online companies.
• The goal in this stage is to gauge the interest of potential customers and make them consider the software for their needs.

3️⃣ Consideration stage:

• Further down the funnel, online businesses exploring the software’s features may leave the site without taking any action. To prevent this, exit-intent pop-ups offer a free trial or demo to encourage engagement.
• The software captures email addresses of interested businesses for follow-up and remarketing.
• The consideration stage aims to persuade visitors to try the software and experience its benefits.

4️⃣ Conversion stage:

• At the bottom of the funnel, businesses that have started using the software become repeat customers. The software provider offers premium subscription plans tailored to different business needs.
• The subscription plans come with advanced analysis and user behavior tracking features, which lead to improved performance.
• Repeat customers benefit from the software’s insights and data-driven strategies to enhance their operations and drive success.

5️⃣ Post-purchase and retention stage:

• After the purchase, the software provider focuses on retaining and nurturing relationships with their customers. They offer ongoing customer service and training to ensure customers maximize the software’s capabilities. 
• The software also helps businesses analyze user behavior patterns to reduce bounce rates and understand why visitors leave their site.
• Through targeted content marketing, the software encourages businesses to remain engaged, discover more ways to optimize their online operations, and become loyal users who continue using the software.

These 2 examples perfectly demonstrate well-designed conversion funnels for ecommerce businesses. We hope they inspire you to pay attention to your own sales funnel!

Boost your ecommerce funnel with LiveSession

source

If you’re looking to supercharge your ecommerce sales funnel, enter LiveSession.

LiveSession is a game-changing ecommerce marketing solution that makes everything easy. 

With our tool, you can dig deep into user behavior, squash those pesky bugs, and boost your conversion rates, all while enjoying crystal-clear session replays and event-based analytics. 

But that’s not all. LiveSession lets you answer burning questions like:

• Why do visitors leave your site?
• Where do they drop off in your sales funnel?
• And, most importantly, where are those precious e-commerce sales coming from?

Don’t miss out on the power of LiveSession. It’s the all-in-one platform for product and digital experience analytics that savvy businesses trust.

Sign up for a free trial and start turning insights into action today.

Other than that, we hope you enjoyed this insightful article. Now’s the time to build an ecommerce empire and get more sales - good luck!