Jewellery, especially high-value items, is rarely an impulse purchase.
Customers often take time to consider their options, explore various designs, styles, and price points before making a decision. So, when a visitor comes to your website for the first time, it’s unlikely they will make a purchase straight away. This is where a digital sales funnel can come into play.
What is a sales funnel?
A sales funnel, in essence, represents the journey a potential customer takes from their first interaction with your brand to the final purchase.
It’s called a ‘funnel’ because, much like a real-world funnel, the number of people decreases as they move closer to the final stage—making a purchase. Here’s how it typically breaks down:
- Awareness: This is the top of the funnel, where potential customers first become aware of your brand or products. This could be through a Google search, social media post, or even word of mouth.
- Interest: After they know about you, they might show interest in your products. They may visit your website, follow you on social media, or sign up for your newsletter (via the email opt-in we discussed earlier).
- Consideration: This is a critical stage where potential customers are comparing your offerings with competitors. They are considering their options, evaluating your products based on quality, price, reputation, etc. This is where your email marketing can play a key role, providing relevant information and gently nudging them towards your brand.
- Decision: The prospect is now ready to make a purchase. They’ve chosen the product they want and are figuring out where to buy it from. This is the time to reel them in with a compelling offer or a strong call-to-action.
- Action: The final stage of the funnel, where the prospect becomes a customer by making a purchase. But the journey doesn’t end here. Post-purchase services, follow-up emails, and requests for reviews can lead to repeat purchases and loyal customers.
The sales funnel is a continuous process, a cycle that repeats with every new prospect. Your email marketing strategy, coupled with the email opt-ins, plays a pivotal role in guiding potential customers through each stage of this funnel, ultimately leading them to choose your brand when they’re ready to make a purchase.
It’s a powerful way to nurture leads, build relationships, and turn prospects into loyal customers.
How an email opt-in forms can help move people through your sales funnel
Email opt-ins are essentially permission slips that allow you to send marketing emails to potential customers.
This is a powerful tool for nurturing leads and staying at the forefront of their minds during the consideration period. Here are some steps you can follow:
- Create a Sign-up Form: Place a simple, user-friendly sign-up form on your website where it’s easily visible, like in the header, footer, or as a pop-up. The form should ask for at least the visitor’s email address, though you may also want to collect their name for personalised communication.\
- Offer Value: To encourage visitors to share their email address, offer something valuable in return. This could be a discount on their first order, exclusive access to sales, or informative content like a guide to choosing the perfect diamond ring, for example.
- Email Marketing Campaign: Once you have their email address, you can send them regular updates about your jewellery offerings, sales, events, and more. The key is to provide valuable content that resonates with them and gently nudges them towards making a purchase.
- Personalised Follow-ups: With the data you collect, you can personalise your follow-up emails based on their browsing behaviour. If they viewed a particular item or category multiple times, you could send them more information or a special offer related to that product.
- Engagement: Keep them engaged with interesting content about jewellery care, the latest trends, stories behind your pieces, or educational content about different gemstones. This will help establish a relationship and trust with potential customers.
Remember, the goal is not to push for an immediate sale but to stay in touch during their consideration period, build a relationship, and ultimately, be their chosen retailer when they’re ready to make the purchase.
This strategy can turn casual website visitors into loyal customers.
