Want to know how to track and ensure your next marketing campaign is successful? Then you need to know about sales funnels and how your jewelry store can use them correctly to increase sales.
Today we’ll show you what a sales funnel is and a pre-internet example to show how this principle has always worked. We broke this blog up into two parts. Part one will focus on the basics of funnels. In part two we’ll look at how the internet has shaped the way sales funnels work and how you can use digital sales funnels in your store.
What are Sales Funnels?
A sales funnel is the customer’s journey from the time they become aware of you to when they buy your jewelry.
Sales funnels have multiple stages that filter out unqualified or uninterested prospects while attracting the right customers. Each step also encourages prospects to like, trust, and, eventually, buy from you.
You need to track the results of every step in your funnel. This is extremely important, and unfortunately, a lot of jewelry stores fail to do this. Tracking allows us to see what’s working and areas of the funnel that need improvement. Some funnels are easier to track because they are for a list of existing customers. Each person is accounted for as they drop off or move further down the funnel.
AIDA is Here to Help
The sales funnel we use today was created over 100 years ago. The model uses the acronym AIDA. A funnel has many stages a buyer goes through. Here are the four stages in our AIDA model:
Attention- This is where you want people to start recognizing your jewelry store and what you offer. You are not selling anything at this stage.
Interest- The target is interested in you, your store, or the jewelry you are offering. The key at this stage is to keep their interest and move them to the next stage.
Desire- This is when the customer wants to make the purchase and has to have that beautiful ring or bracelet. Salesmanship or a small promotion might nudge the target to the final stage.
Action- You target has acted and is now a customer.
When was the last time you made a big purchase? Do you remember going through the stages above? Chances are you experience the AIDA model as well.
Classic Real World Sales Funnel Example
Here is an example of a sales funnel that existed before the internet and could still work today. Feel free to try it out yourself.
Jim from ABC Diamond sends out a letter to 1,000 residents in the area. In the letter, he introduces himself as the neighborhood jeweler and offers free cleaning and a 1-year maintenance package to the first 100 people who call in and schedule their cleaning. When they come in for their cleaning they are given a $50 gift certificate good for a future jewelry purchase. The certificate must be used within 60 days. Jim calls the prospect in a few weeks to say hello and remind them their certificate will expire soon. The prospect comes in and redeems the certificate.
Let’s take a look at each step in this funnel.
Step 1 Letter
Jim purchased a list of 1,000 resident’s names and addresses. Jim wants to make them aware of his store and offers them a free service. He builds urgency by offering this to only the first 100 people. When they schedule their free cleaning, Jim collects their phone number and all contact information.
Step 2 In-store Visit/Cleaning
During the cleaning, Jim gauges the person’s interest in new designs or jewelry in general. If the person showed interest in an item they are offered a $50 gift certificate for their first purchase. If Jim feels they are not going to purchase in the future he doesn’t offer the certificate. In this case, Jim himself is filtering out unqualified prospects.
Step 3 Jim’s Phone Call
Jim calls those he gave gift certificates to. The call is to follow-up on the cleaning and provide maintenance tips. He reminds them of the $50 certificate and how they could use on that piece of jewelry they were looking at. He ends the call by reminding them the certificate will expiration date and how he’ll call back to schedule the next complimentary cleaning.
Step 4 Purchase
Jim’s phone call, and getting closer to the $50 certificate expiring, will make some prospects in the funnel come in and make a purchase. Most won’t, and that’s ok.
Multiple Stage are Key
The key to a funnel is to warm up your prospect and help them get to know your brand. This is relationship building and you’re looking for lifelong customers who will tell their friends about your store.
Most jewelry marketing campaign follows a “go for the sale” mentality and are not patient enough to build trust with the prospect. Can you see the AIDA model in the example above? Good campaigns are structured to have multiple touch points with customers to build trust.
Planning Steps
Set a goal– This is when Customer Lifetime Value comes in handy. You’ll want to calculate how many customers you’ll need to reach your revenue goals. They don’t necessarily have to be financial. For example, your goal can also be to grow your list of contacts.
Budget- How much you’re going to spend on this campaign. Factor in the time and costs to run events, printing, postage, etc. Does it make financial sense to run this campaign?
Get team onboard– Your sales team needs to be fired up about your new campaign. You can also incorporate a contest to motivate them.
Set dates– If you’re going to hit your goal you need a finish line. Each campaign should have a beginning and end date.
Know Your Potential Customers
Understanding the people you want going through your funnel will make creating the funnel fun and easy. If you know what they are looking for you’ll know what message to put in front of them and what the next steps should be. Every campaign can be very unique, so don’t be afraid to get creative.
In our real world example Jim sent 1,000 letters to random neighbors. A big chunk of those 1,000 had no interest in getting their jewelry cleaned. Some may not even own jewelry.
Let’s say Jim had a list of 1,000 newlyweds who recently moved into the area. We know that they most likely have a piece of jewelry that needs to be cleaned and maintained. They are new to town, so they probably need a new local jeweler they can trust.
If we run each list through Jim’s sales funnel example which do you think will work best for? I think Jim would much rather use the second list.
If you know the people you are targeting and put the right message in front of them, then it becomes a lot easier to earn their attention and interest.
The Sales Funnels of Today
In Part 1 of Sales Funnels for Jewelry Stores we covered the basics of sales funnels and how they were a powerful part of marketing even before the internet existed. Today we will look at how technology made it easier and more affordable to run an effective funnel. We’ll also share an example of a funnel using Facebook ads and email marketing.
How Technology Helped
If you remember, in part one we mentioned that good funnels have multiple stages and you should always track your results at each stage. We’ve all heard that we live in a “data-driven world”. Well, technology has made it easier to acquire it. In our case, this data can answer questions like how many people visited your website? Where they are located? Or how much time did the spend on a specific page? These are all valuable pieces of information that can help you make adjustments to your marketing.
Technology has made it a lot easier to track nearly every aspect of your sales funnels. From how many people opened your last email campaign to the average time people spent on your latest YouTube video. This information allows you to see what’s working and what needs improvement. You can identify which promotion is getting the best results and direct your marketing dollars to that campaign.
Digital Sales Funnel Example
Let’s run the same marketing idea we had with Jim back in Sales Funnels for Jewelry Stores Part 1. Here’s a Recap:
- Jim Offers a free cleaning to first 100 people who take him up on the offer.
- When they come in for the cleaning, if they show interest in the merchandise, Jim offers a $50 gift certificate for the next visit.
- Jim personally calls them a few days before the credit expires to remind them to use it.
Let’s look at each stage of this updated sales funnel.
Step 1 Facebook Ad
This time Jim is going to run a Facebook Ad instead of sending a random letter to 1,000 local residents. The ad can be put in front of users who live within 10 miles of Jim’s store. He can also set other specific targeting options. He targets women in the area who are celebrating an anniversary within 30 days. His ad will possibly be shown to thousands of people, but he only pays if someone clicks on it.
So Jim decides to deliver the same message from his letter in video form. He grabs his smartphone shots a video introducing himself to the neighborhood and makes his offer. Those interested in the free cleaning click on a “Book Now” button and are taken to a page requesting name, email and an integrated calendar to schedule a free cleaning appointment.
Step 2 In-Store Visit
Jim finds that his offer works, and gets a 100 people to schedule their free cleaning. Just like in our pre-internet example, Jim determines if someone is interested in the merchandise and personally gives them a $50 gift certificate. He also follows up with a personal email thanking them for stopping by and meeting them.
As much as we utilize digital marketing to try and sell more, personal contact is still the best way to start a relationship with customers.
Step 3 Jim’s Email, Remarketing, and Phone Campaign
Jim decides that he wants to keep his brand in front of Jane, a potential customer who fell in love with a diamond solitaire ring Jim showed her when she came in for her cleaning. She loved it but wasn’t sure about buying it just yet.
Jim send her emails with images of their ring designs, information about their lifetime warranty, and reminds her of how her $50 credit will expire soon.
He also adds Jane’s email address to a Custom Audience list on Facebook and can now put visual ads of the diamond solitaire ring in front of Jane while she’s browsing on Facebook. This is known as “remarketing” and can be very effective.
Jim is also able to see when she opens an email and interacts with his ads. Just like at the store he is able to do this with online marketing efforts. While in the store, Jim is measuring one potentials customer’s interest while online he can do the same thing with hundreds of potential customers.
A few days before the $50 credit expires Jim can check to see if Jane opened his emails and decide if he should give her a call.
Step 4 Purchase
Research has shown that the more exposure to a campaign, the greater brand awareness and intent to purchase. Jim’s digital sales funnel is likely to do better than his postcard funnel. Mostly because, in the digital example, Jim was able to place his brand in front of those interested, more often.
With the internet, we can send several messages for a fraction of what it cost to send a physical letter or a postcard. This means we can send more messages but only to those that show interest. If done correctly, good marketing leads to sales.
The Field Is Crowded
It’s pretty clear that the internet has made running a sales funnel a lot easier. Unfortunately, this has also lowered the barrier for entry and anyone can set up a marketing campaign like the one Jim did. Over the last few years, channels like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google Ads, and Email have become very crowded. It’s a lot harder to grab a consumer’s attention because they’re just a thumb swipe away from the next post or email. How can we compete?
The solution is to go back to the original principles of sales funnels. We want to follow the AIDA model (Awareness, Interest, Desire, and Action) and build trust at each stage. Don’t overwhelm potential customers with too many ads or emails. We don’t want to spam or annoy them. The idea is to give more value and useful knowledge and fewer promotional and sales ads.
Final Thoughts On Sales Funnels
We live in a world where any jewelry store can run a targeted sales funnel. Tracking results at every stage and adding multiple stages to a campaign has become easier. This has caused a lot of competition in popular digital marketing channels. The solution remains the same as it did before the internet.
We must understand who the message is for, where they are more likely to see it, and craft it in a way that stands out from everyone else. Don’t be afraid to be creative and unique.
If you’d like to discuss how GemFind can help you design a unique sales funnel then give us a call. Our experts can help you get more customers.