Syed Balkhi June 24, 2020 Most companies are always looking for new leads that they can convert into customers. After all, just a 1% increase in customer acquisition numbers turns into a 3.2% increase in revenue. Instead of trying to find new leads, why not focus on increasing the quality of the leads you get?
Application funnels are an excellent way to qualify leads to make sure they’re the right fit for your products. It saves you both time and money since you’ll know if you’re right for each other early on in the sales process.
Let’s take a closer look at application funnels and four ways to help you find better customers for your business.
What’s an Application Funnel?
An application funnel is a sales funnel where prospective customers fill out an application form to see if they qualify for a product or service before you make them an offer. It’s different from other opt-in campaigns as your goal is to find a paying customer instead of just getting their contact information in exchange for some valuable information or content and the hope they’ll buy from you in the future.
You can create an application funnel through an online funnel tool or combine your WordPress form with an online conversion tool. Either way, you’ll better qualify your leads up-front and save time on the sales process. They’re typically used for higher-priced products and services, but they can be tailored for any business.
How Your Application Funnel Helps Find Better Customers
Your goal as a business owner is to drive high-quality traffic and leads to your website and convert them into paying customers. Huge email list and search traffic numbers are just vanity numbers. They don’t mean much to your bottom line. That’s where an application funnel can help.
An application funnel is more concerned with getting you higher quality traffic and leads for your business. It weeds out the leads who aren’t a good fit for your products or services before you both invest too much time and effort into the relationship. You’re giving back time and money to your leads that aren’t ready to work for you and helping your business focus on those leads that have a higher chance of converting into a customer.
Here are four ways an application funnel can help your business find better customers today.
1. It Helps You Define Your Ideal Customer
Your business probably isn’t for everyone, and that’s okay. As your price point goes up, the narrower your customer base. Why? Because it’s harder to convert cold traffic into a paying customer for a $ 10,000 product or service. You can’t use the same tactics as you would for a $ 10 or $ 100 product.
An application funnel forces you to think more in-depth about your target customer. About who they are, what their purchasing journey is, and what their pain points are. Document this information and then share it widely within your business since everyone can use it.
2. It Uncovers In-Depth Information About Potential Customers
Your application funnel can help you discover more information about your potential customers, which you can use in future marketing and sales efforts. You can’t create the right sales or marketing strategy unless you have this information. An application funnel helps you uncover who your leads are, who your customers are, what they’re looking for, and what they care about.
For example, Nicholas Kusmich, a sought-after Facebook Advertising consultant, uses an application funnel for his service offerings.
His applications are roughly 10 questions long, so, not long enough to deter serious applicants, but it’s enough of a time commitment that it weeds out those who aren’t serious. Kusmich’s questions give him a better understanding of his target audience so he can create better products and optimize the time they spend together. He uses it to tailor his sales and marketing strategies as well, optimizing them to create a more positive lead and customer experience.
3. It Identifies Your Target Audience
Ever gotten on a call with someone and discovered that you’re not a fit for each other? It’s happened to all of us at one time or another. Both sides end up wasting time and effort on the call, which leaves everyone feeling frustrated.
An application funnel is a multi-step process to identify your target audience. Leads will self-select into or out of your sales funnel, saving you both a lot of time. They don’t want to waste their time on a product that wouldn’t help them, and neither do you. Applications can help qualify leads for any product or service in any industry.
4. It Makes It Easier to Convert Leads
If a lead makes it through your funnel, they’re ready to buy from you. You’ve addressed their pain points and outlined why they’re suffering. They’ve identified with your explanation on why they’re stuck and can’t move forward without a solution. You’ve taken the time to ask them questions about their specific situation and given them a glimpse into how your product could help them.
At this point in the funnel, you’ve determined you’re a good fit, and they’re ready to buy. You just need to send a link to purchase your product, and the conversion is complete.
And if they self-selected out of the funnel before this point, you still have their contact information and can send them useful information. You’ll know precisely what type of content they need and if you should maintain the relationship into the future. All because of the application funnel.
If you’ve never thought about an application funnel, consider testing one on your next landing page. See if it can find you more relevant leads and convert them into customers faster than your current process. You might be surprised.
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