Business Buzz: Creating sales funnels with social media

PHUKET: Following up on last week, now that you have a plan, know your target market and understand the importance of your biggest asset – your database, we are going to look at how the customer experience is created through your sales funnel.

Many people do not fully understand the role and importance of a sales funnel as a whole system and just view individual parts in isolation, so it is important to understand the role and function.

Put simply, a sales funnel is the guided path you take a new potential customer along from your first interaction, and if all goes well, until they complete a purchase and become a loyal customer. It includes growing your database through planned customer attraction, capturing their details and then creating ongoing communication and interaction.

An example of a simple sales funnel is placing an advertisement online with social media, which gets them to click on a link that takes them to a website or capture page to get their contact details. From there you may re-direct them to your sales page.

The ultimate aim is to have a satisfied loyal customer who is generating a revenue stream for you, preferably on a repeat basis.

Simon Wetherell is a social media expert, lawyer and international speaker. He now resides in Phuket, where he trains businesses and individuals on how to profit from the use of social media. For more information, go to PhuketOnlineMarketing.com, or call him on 095-085 3355.

— Simon Wetherell