Steps of e-commerce

With SECLGroup let’s study the classic Sales Funnel, which is used in e-commerce. The customer journey from the first contact with the company to the purchase consists of 7 stages, namely:

• Presentation of goods on the online platform.
• Attracting the target audience to the portal.
• Growing potential buyers.
• Application processing.
• Order payment.
• Delivery of goods (refundable).
• Maintenance of all previous stages.

For example, the mass auto-dialing service can take on most of the routine tasks. With the help of a voice robot, you can make a simple automatic distribution of messages or set it to receive calls from the first line of the call center.

Stage 1. Presentation of goods or services on the Internet platform

There are several easy ways to create a platform for presenting your product. Consider the most popular of them.

• Creation of landing pages or multi-page sites through special programs for developing web pages. The most famous services are Tilda and WordPress.
• Maintaining a group or page in Social Networks. Today, there are several social networks for the effective promotion of their services, for example, Facebook and Instagram. For more than 3 million users, social commerce is a significant source of income!
• Online trading platforms. Do not forget about services for placing advertisements. They are very popular with entrepreneurs and businessmen.

It is important to understand that the choice of platform depends on the size of the company and the specifics of the work. Small businesses or startups are better off starting with social media. However, for large companies with a wide range of products, it is recommended to create your own website.

If you have a real estate agency, then databases of ads for renting, selling and buying apartments are suitable. Internet ad sites are ideal for solving such problems.

Stage 2. Attracting the target audience to the platform

After you have decided on a trading platform for brand promotion, you need to choose advertising channels for lead generation. Here you need to focus on one detail: when choosing a marketing tool, you need to take into account the features of the platform to which traffic will be attracted. Consider which lead generation strategies are suitable for various sites.

• For landing pages and websites, contextual advertising Google Ads is suitable. Another interesting, but no less effective way to attract relevant leads is SEO-optimization of the site.
• Group or pages on Facebook or Instagram. The algorithms of most social networks are built in such a way that constant and unique content ranks well within the platform itself. Therefore, if you have chosen to promote your product through social networks, then you should pay attention to the quality of the content and the number of publications.
• Base ads. Most online sites have paid promotions that allow you to quickly get into recommendations or selections. In addition, you should carefully consider the rules of the service, otherwise, the platform management reserves the right not to place an ad on the site.

Stage 3. Nurturing leads

An important process in the sales funnel is interaction with leads. In order for the client to move to the next step, you need to warm up his interest. Let’s analyze the main ways that motivate a client to complete a transaction.

• Use a chatbot on your website that will save you from unnecessary difficulties and problems: it will help you unload the 1st line of technical support, increase sales conversion, and also collect user information.
• In social networks, you can post posts with educational, informational, and entertainment content. Warm up customer desires with promotional codes or short-term promotions.
• If you work with online platforms, then in the description of the ad it is important to convey the value to buyers (explain to potential buyers why they should buy the product from you).

Stage 4. Application processing

Here, interested customers place an order.

• On the site, this process looks like this: buyers add the desired products to the cart and proceed to checkout.
• In social networks, the ordering algorithm is different from the online store. As a rule, clients write in private messages and the manager accepts applications.
• Boards of announcements. Here the user can clarify all the necessary information from the seller and agree on a deal.

Stage 5. Payment for the order

Making a payment is one of the most important steps in the sales funnel. Here you need to do everything as quickly and conveniently as possible so that the user only needs to enter bank card details. Set up integration with several payment systems (PayPal, Visa, GooglePay, WebMoney).

Stage 6. Delivery and refund

After payment for the order, the goods are delivered to the consumer within the specified time. Popular express delivery services (Boxberry, DHL, FedEx) are suitable for this task. In the event that the product does not fit or is damaged, you must proceed in accordance with the prescribed return policy.

Stage 7. Maintenance of all previous stages

To increase user loyalty to the brand, it is necessary to monitor the quality of customer service. At each stage of the funnel, the customer should feel satisfied. For example, by improving the quality of content, collecting feedback, or simplifying the checkout process.

Conclusion

This area is very diverse: in addition to online sales itself, it includes the broad categories of Internet banking, which deals with online transactions, and Internet marketing, which includes advertising and actions aimed at increasing conversion.