Did you know you can create a complete SMS sales funnel where the entire process from lead to purchase occurs in text messages? 

You will gain customers and boost revenues by leveraging conversational commerce to create an effective SMS sales funnel. 

The Basic Marketing Funnel

To put it simply, the marketing funnel, also known as the purchase funnel, is a roadmap of your customer's journey that starts from the initial stages to the purchasing stage.

Basically, it is how brands turn leads into customers. The top of the funnel is the largest part, which is designed to draw as many leads as possible. This is the awareness phase of the funnel, where people learn about your brand. 

The mid-funnel level gets a bit smaller; this is where people consider your products or services. Brands need to show them why they should choose them over the competition. This is the place where your brand needs to stand out. 

The final stage of the funnel is conversion, where the customer takes action, such as filling out a form and giving you contact information or completing a purchase.

When brands use SMS for full-funnel marketing, they reach their potential customers based on where they are in the funnel. Each stage requires different types of communication to help the customer move to the next step. 

How to Use SMS at Each Stage of the Sales Funnel

1. Awareness

The first stage of the sales funnel is awareness. You need to make sure that people are aware of your brand. This is most commonly achieved with paid advertising. Sophisticated advertisers will often use their awareness ad spend to generate opt-ins vs. sales. This is a way to begin a relationship with a consumer without requiring the first purchase. There are several ways to incentivize them, including the following:

• Special offers
• Sign up form
• Email campaign

2. Consideration

Once customers reach the consideration stage, you must create interest in your brand. You can start with a welcome message. This message helps generate interest and shows customers why they should choose your brand. At this point, you need to let them know why you are the right choice and show that you are better than the competition. 

You can also create campaigns so that they remember you. By staying on top of their minds, when the customer is ready to buy, they will choose your brand. You can use SMS to inform them about upcoming promotions, sales, and new arrivals or events.

3. Conversion Stage

When customers reach this stage, you need to use segmentation to ensure that the experience is customized and relevant to each audience. 

At this point, customers are familiar with your brand. Your job is to give them the information they need to follow through with a purchase. You can incentivize them with special offers, including early access, discounts, or free shipping.

You should also ensure that you are integrated with a messaging platform that can answer questions they may have at any time. Studies show that 70% of shopping carts online are abandoned, largely because customers still have questions they need to be answered. Assisted commerce through conversational commerce is a great way to make sure that customers know you are there to answer any questions. 

4. Customer Retention

Although the sales funnel starts with leads and ends with conversions, the customer journey continues beyond this point. Customer retention is critical to the future success and revenues of any brand. 

You can use SMS at this stage to keep your customers satisfied, increase brand loyalty, and more. SMS is effective for offering customer support. You can have a two-way conversation with customers and send links to pages, forms, or other resources that are relevant to their questions. 

You can also upsell and cross-sell through SMS. Send out offers for products that complement their past purchases, and make sure you leverage all available customer data so that your offers are relevant. 

You can send out customer surveys to get feedback. Not only does this show customers that you care about their experiences and provide valuable insight into their perceptions of your brand, but it also provides an opportunity to gather more data about their preferences. 

Finally, asking for an online review shows customers that you value their opinion. In addition, as 93% of consumers say that online reviews play a role in their decisions to purchase from a brand, it helps you get more leads. 

How an SMS Sales Funnel Benefits Brands

SMS messaging is beneficial to brands because it improves the customer journey. When brands leverage messaging to communicate with their customers, they can offer a customized and personalized experience. This simplifies the purchase process and makes customers feel valued. As they move through the sales funnel, they are more likely to convert and engage with your brand. Some of the benefits of an SMS sales funnel include the following:

1. Targeted Approach to Audiences

Customers have come to expect personalized experiences that are relevant to their needs. You have a direct line to your customer when you engage via text messaging. You can create relevant messages that resonate with their needs.

2. Automation

You can automate messages based on specific actions taken by the customer. For example, you can send a welcome message when they sign up, a thank you message for a purchase, or positive feedback; this only scratches the surface of what you can do.

3. More Conversions

SMS is a direct line of communication with each customer; you can answer their questions and be available when they are ready to buy but have a few pending questions. This helps to ensure that the experience is driven by their needs rather than the brand’s constraints. 

4. Customer Engagement

When you use social media ads or email to target customers, you don’t always know why they didn’t respond. The email could be buried in a spam folder, and they may not see your social media ads. SMS messaging increases customer engagement because they get one-on-one communication on their mobile device. You can connect with them more timely and relevantly, increasing their desire to engage.

Final Words

SMS effectively communicates with leads and customers, allowing brands to give customers what they want. Customers are more likely to follow through with a purchase when they are happy and have the information they need.