Customer Funnel Care: How to Fix It When It Breaks & Keep It Thriving
Don't let the crack get bigger.
Have you ever found yourself explaining one of your primary business features to a potential customer?
And after that conversation, you’re wondering why I am explaining this if it was on my landing page or follow-up email.
Then you start testing your sales funnel and come to find out…
…your sales funnel is broken.
Then the questions start:
Where is it broken?
Is it broken in multiple places?
When did it break?
How many leads did I lose?
How do I fix it?
You’re in the middle of a funnel crisis.
We’ve All Experienced A Crack In The Funnel
Customer leads slip through, and because you cannot grasp the severity of the crack, you go into full crisis mode.
It’s a horrible feeling.
Whether you’re using a CRM, a CMS, email marketing, Google Ads, or another type of system to capture your leads, those are a lot of systems.
You’re always at risk for something breaking.
But how do you prevent that from happening?
Or at least minimize your funnels from breaking?
Before I jump into your solutions and proactive measures, knowing the warning signs is essential.
Just like Adam Said:
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⚠️ Warning Signs Your Customer Funnel Is Broken or Could Break Easily
When setting up a customer funnel, it’s exciting. You’ve done your customer research. You’ve created the correct copy to target your audience with ads. And you’ve gone through 28 landing page drafts.
But for some reason, the conversions are lower than anticipated, you feel like the phone should be ringing more, or your customers are asking many questions during the onboarding process.
#1 High Bounce Rate on Landing Page
Customers leave the webpage almost immediately after arriving. This may indicate needing more clarity on design, slow load times, or irrelevant content. A high bounce rate at the entry point of your funnel can significantly reduce conversion rates.
#2 Misalignment Between Advertising and Product
The advertising message promotes specific features or offers that don’t align with the actual product or service. This misalignment can create mistrust and confusion among potential customers, eroding your brand’s credibility.
#3 Lack of Follow-up in the Consideration Stage
Potential customers who have shown interest are left without timely communication or support. This lack of engagement during a crucial stage of the decision-making process can lead to a loss of leads that might otherwise have converted.
#4 Complicated Checkout Process
A long and confusing checkout process leads to cart abandonment. If customers find the process too tedious or complicated, they may abandon the purchase altogether, even after moving through previous stages of the funnel.
#5 Inadequate Customer Support After Purchase
Once customers have made a purchase, they struggle to get proper support or assistance. This neglect in the post-purchase phase can lead to dissatisfaction and negatively affect customer retention and referrals.
#6 Failure to Nurture Leads
Leads are generated but not adequately nurtured or followed up with relevant communication. This lack of nurturing can cause potential customers to lose interest or fail to see the value in your product or service, leading to missed opportunities.
These are a few ways your funnels could be broken and systems breaking along the way. But where do you start, and how do you ensure you do everything you can to prevent them from breaking?
Solutions To Common Customer Funnel Problems
Using some of the common warning signs I outlined above, I’ve outlined some solutions that can help prevent these problems from breaking your customer funnel.
#1 Analyze and Optimize Landing Page
By checking your analytics, you can identify areas of your landing page that might be causing high bounce rates. Focus on improving the clarity of design, speeding up load times, and ensuring content relevance to engage visitors and guide them further into the funnel.
#2 Foster Alignment Between Sales and Marketing
Ensuring your sales and marketing teams are in sync will help maintain a consistent and truthful message. Regular collaboration between these teams can prevent advertising that misrepresents the product, preserving trust and brand integrity.
#3 Implement Timely Follow-up Mechanisms
Introducing a chatbot, human interaction, or email automation at the consideration stage ensures potential customers receive the necessary communication and support. These methods help keep interest alive, and guide leads toward conversion.
#4 Simplify the Checkout Process
Minimizing choices and simplifying the checkout process can prevent cart abandonment. Streamline the steps, provide clear instructions, and offer reassurance to make the checkout process as user-friendly as possible, encouraging completion of the purchase.
#5 Provide Comprehensive Post-Purchase Support
Ensuring customers have access to all the information and assistance they need post-purchase will enhance satisfaction. Offering detailed insights, tutorials, or personalized support goes a long way in fostering customer retention and positive referrals.
#6 Implement a Persistent Lead Nurturing Strategy
Recognizing that an average sale may require up to 7 touches, create a consistent and engaging follow-up strategy. Tailor content to the leads’ interests and stage in the buying process, and maintain regular contact to cultivate curiosity and loyalty.
Sometimes Fixing A Funnel Requires Getting Dirty
While these are all marketing methods and strategies to ensure your funnel runs smoothly for your customers, sometimes your systems break too.
This is why I have this method of testing…
I’m a Full-Stack Marketer, so my hands are in everything from PPC ads, SEO, website production, developer projects, CRM systems, and social media. It’s essential to know my customer funnels are working while I’m working on everything else but my customer funnel.
Monthly Reminders
My team and I have a system where we all take turns testing the contact forms, lead gen forms, and automation in our customer communication systems.
This is set on a calendar with the attached SOPs and links needed to test the funnels and ensure the systems run correctly and effectively.
One time, I suggested after a full website refresh and migration that we no longer needed to test our forms online.
Boy, was I wrong!
My brother (who is also my boss) said, “I would prefer to keep testing every month.”
Thank the marketing gods he did.
Because the next month, our contact forms were tested and no images were coming through.
Being in the scrap metal recycling industry, we rely heavily on images of materials for price quotes and logistics.
Spot Checks
Without relying on the calendar reminder, I will spot-check a funnel when it seems that the traffic should be converting.
Typically, something won’t be broken, but I’ll realize that the funnel can use some optimization.
Ask Other Team Members To Test
The beauty of working in a small business is that everyone wears many hats and knows they can be called on at any time for a new task.
Occasionally, I’ll send a teammate a link to test a customer funnel for a different division within the company. Something that they may not see every day. This allows them to provide feedback and a quick report on how everything worked.
🎉 New Level Achieved
You’re Ready To Take On Better Customer Funnels!
Maintaining a robust customer funnel isn’t just about setting it up and letting it run; it requires constant vigilance, testing, and optimization. By understanding the warning signs of a breaking funnel and implementing the strategies outlined above, you can ensure a smoother journey for your potential customers.
But remember, it often requires getting your hands dirty and diving into the intricate systems that support your marketing efforts. Stay diligent, be ready to adapt, and keep your customer funnels thriving. Your business’s growth and the satisfaction of your customers depend on it. Happy funnel fixing!