What is a lead generation funnel

Is important to learn how to organize a lead funnel and streamline your prospective customer journey for higher conversions and easier sales. 

There are different theories and approaches regarding the stages of the potential customer funnel, but the majority coincide in three major stages of the consumer journey:

1. Upper Funnel Leads (Awareness).
2. Mid-Funnel Leads (Consideration).
3. Lower Funnel Leads (Conversion).

Within this more general classification, companies often break them down further to assign specific actions to sales reps. In this way, the typical stages in a lead generation funnel are:

• Awareness: it’s the top of the funnel and the goal is to make people aware of your brand, product, or service. Your prospects might not know this, but their journey to your company starts long before they’re even aware you exist. 

In this stage, customers aren’t on the hunt for products; they’re on the hunt for solutions to problems. This is where you get on their radar and this is typically done through content marketing, social media, advertising, and other strategies to attract a broad audience.

• Interest: once awareness is established, the next step is to capture the interest of potential customers. This may involve providing valuable content, solving an issue, or addressing a need that the audience has. This is also the stage where you’ll want to use prospecting tools and lead generation software to gather basic customer contact information. 
• Consideration: at this stage, your leads are in the middle funnel. They know your product exists, and they are considering it as a possible solution to their problem.

It is the stage where potential customers are evaluating their options. They may be comparing your offerings with those of your competitors. Content, good storytelling, product demonstrations, and reviews can be useful in this phase.

• Intent: this is the stage where the potential customer is showing signs of intent to make a purchase. They may be requesting more information, signing up for a trial, or engaging in other activities that indicate a serious interest.
• Purchase: it’s the conversion stage. You’ve done it. The bottom of the funnel is where the lead becomes a customer by making a purchase. This is the ultimate goal of the funnel, but the journey is far from over. This is often where sales are lost, so don’t stop nurturing them yet. People are easily distracted. Be close, making your job all along the funnel, until the transaction clears.
• Post-Purchase Engagement: after a purchase, the relationship with the customer continues. Post-purchase engagement involves activities such as providing excellent customer service, seeking feedback, and encouraging repeat business or referrals. Don’t forget that a good customer relationship not only helps prospects through their first purchase, but also increases the likelihood of referrals, upsell success, and overall brand credibility.

Businesses use various strategies and tactics at each stage of the funnel, employing tools like landing pages, email marketing, social media, and other forms of content to guide potential customers through the journey. It’s a complex and fascinating process and it´s important to track your lead funnel with strong CRM software.