Conversion funnel
What is a conversion funnel?
A conversion funnel (also known as a sales funnel or marketing funnel) is a metaphor used in ecommerce marketing to describe the path a customer takes before completing a purchase of a product or service. Businesses typically divide this funnel into four stages, moving from the largest group at the top to the smallest at the bottom: awareness, interest, desire and action.
As customers move through these stages, the number of people naturally decreases. The main goal of optimising your conversion funnel is to encourage as many potential customers as possible to move all the way to the action stage, where they complete a purchase.
Sales funnel categories: top, middle and bottom of the funnel
When optimising a conversion funnel, different marketing strategies and tactics target customers at each level. Another way to look at this is to divide the funnel into three main sections:
- Top of the funnel (TOFU): The awareness stage. Here, customers are discovering your brand for the first time.
- Middle of the funnel (MOFU): The interest and desire stages. These customers are learning more about your products or services and comparing options.
- Bottom of the funnel (BOFU):The action stage. Customers are ready to make a purchasing decision.
Each stage reflects the potential customers’ level of familiarity with your offering and their proximity to making a purchase. By using appropriate marketing techniques for each stage, from broad awareness campaigns at the top to targeted offers at the bottom, you can move customers smoothly through the funnel and increase the likelihood they will complete a transaction.
