Designing a Digital Funnel to Sell Buildings Online

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A sales funnel is a marketing model that describes the journey a customer takes from the moment they become aware of a product or service to the point of making a purchase. The concept of the sales funnel is crucial for businesses to understand and optimize their marketing strategies, as it helps them identify and address the needs and behaviors of potential customers at each stage of the buying process.

Stages of a Sales Funnel

1. Awareness

At the top of the funnel is the awareness stage. This is when potential customers first become aware of your product or service. Marketing efforts at this stage focus on reaching a broad audience through various channels, such as social media, search engine optimization (SEO), content marketing, and paid advertising. The goal is to attract attention and generate interest in what you offer.

2. Interest

The interest stage is where potential customers start to show a genuine interest in your product or service. They may engage with your content, follow your social media pages, or sign up for your newsletter. At this point, it’s important to provide valuable information that addresses their needs and keeps them engaged. This can be achieved through informative blog posts, webinars, eBooks, and more.

3. Consideration

During the consideration stage, potential customers are evaluating whether your product or service meets their needs. They are likely comparing you with competitors and seeking out reviews and testimonials. Providing detailed product information, case studies, and personalized offers can help convince them that your offering is the best choice.

4. Intent

In the intent stage, potential customers have decided that they are interested in purchasing your product or service. They might add items to their shopping cart or request a quote. This is the time to offer incentives, such as discounts or special promotions, to encourage them to complete their purchase.

5. Purchase

The purchase stage is where the potential customer becomes an actual customer by completing the transaction. Ensuring a smooth and hassle-free checkout process is crucial to avoid cart abandonment.

6. Loyalty

The final stage of the funnel is loyalty. Satisfied customers who have made a purchase can become repeat buyers and brand advocates. Maintaining communication through follow-up emails, loyalty programs, and personalized offers can help nurture these relationships and encourage long-term loyalty.

Let’s Look at an Example Funnel…

In this example, let’s explore the use case of a shed manufacturer who leverages Facebook ads & email marketing to sell a new line of backyard office buildings.

Awareness

Platform: Facebook Ads
Technique: Targeted advertising

• Use Facebook Ads to create visually appealing and targeted advertisements that reach potential customers based on their interests, demographics, and behaviors.
• Example: A shed manufacturer runs a Facebook ad showcasing its new backyard office collection, targeting young women who have shown interest in accessory dwelling units.

Interest

Platform: Website Landing Page
Technique: Lead capture form

• Direct the ad traffic to a landing page on the website that links directly to the backyard studio model and offers a discount code in exchange for signing up for a newsletter.
• Example: The landing page features high-quality, interactive models of the backyard office collection and a pop-up form for visitors to enter their email addresses to receive the discount code.

Consideration

Platform: Email Marketing
Technique: Nurture sequence

• Send a series of automated emails to the subscribers, providing more information about the products, customer testimonials, and additional discounts.
• Example: The first email thanks them for signing up and provides the discount code. Subsequent emails share styling tips for your backyard office, customer reviews, and exclusive offers.

Intent

Platform: Email Marketing
Technique: Personalized offers

• Send personalized emails with product recommendations based on their browsing behavior and past purchases.
• Example: If a subscriber has shown interest in a particular backyard office, send an email featuring that item with a limited-time offer.

Purchase

Platform: Website Checkout
Technique: Simplified checkout process

• Ensure the checkout process is streamlined, with multiple payment options and minimal steps.
• Example: Enable your customers to revisit their preferred buildings instantly checkout. Accept various payment methods, making it easy for customers to complete their purchase.

Loyalty

Platform: Email Marketing
Technique: Loyalty program

• Encourage repeat purchases by offering a loyalty program that rewards customers for their purchases.
• Example: Send emails inviting customers to join the loyalty program, offering additional products for their original purchase (a free ramp, flower boxes, etc.) or a chance to win a giveaway, in exchange for positive reviews or referrals.

Leveraging a 3D Designer across the Sales Funnel

A 3D designer is the ultimate landing page. By engaging visitors with realistic visualizations, it captures attention more effectively than static content. It educates users through dynamic demonstrations, providing a clear understanding of your products. Additionally, it can include interactive pricing features, allowing visitors to customize and see cost implications instantly, thereby qualifying leads. This comprehensive, engaging experience streamlines the conversion process, making it easier for visitors to make informed decisions, leading to higher conversion rates compared to traditional landing pages.

The kicker? A 3D designer can be employed across all stages of the sales funnel to both maximize efficiency and increase business. Let’s take the above example and supercharge it by adding an IdeaRoom 3D designer to each step of the process…

Awareness

Platform: Facebook Ads
Technique: Targeted advertising

• Use Facebook Ads to create visually appealing and targeted advertisements that reach potential customers based on their interests, demographics, and behaviors.
  • Inform your advertisements with top selling styles, colors and sizes using the IdeaRoom analyze feature. Structure your ads to showcase the buildings that you know customers are designing in your 3D configurator.
  • Utilize your IdeaRoom 3D designer to generate high-quality .png images, videos and .gifs to showcase different customized buildings
  • Make the primary CTA of your advertisement interactive, such as “customize this building.” 

Interest

Platform: Website Landing Page
Technique: Lead capture form

• Direct the ad traffic to a landing page on the website that links directly to the backyard studio model and offers a discount code in exchange for signing up for a newsletter.
  • By saving links to unique building designs in your 3D designer, you can send a prospective buyer directly to the building you have asked them to customize.
  • With real-time pricing, enable your prospects to click through different supported options and see how their quote changes. 
  • As a preliminary form of lead capture, trigger a pop-up within your 3D configurator that asks for the prospect’s email address in exchange for a discount code. 
  • As a deeper form of lead capture, allow the prospect to save their building design to a dashboard or request follow up from a sales representative with additional name and contact information.

Consideration

Platform: Email Marketing
Technique: Nurture sequence

• Send a series of automated emails to the subscribers, providing more information about the products, customer testimonials, and additional discounts.
  • Integrate your IdeaRoom 3D configurator with an advanced CRM & outbound marketing system such as Hubspot. Automate extra email follow up with contacts who submit forms and save quotes in your 3D designer. 
  • Create different workflows depending on the user’s action. Did they share their email via a pop-up? Add them to a newsletter. Did they save a design? Put them in an email nurture sequence. Did they request a quote? Have a sales person reach out to schedule a consultation, and have their design up in the configurator and ready to talk through when you hop on a web call. 

Intent

Platform: Email Marketing
Technique: Personalized offers

• Send personalized emails with product recommendations based on their browsing behavior and past purchases.
  • Remind customers of their recent building, encouraging them to revisit their custom saved design in the configurator. Suggest popular upgrades that may expand their vision.
  • Encourage them to take their design and view it on their property with IdeaRoom’s Augmented Reality feature.

Purchase

Platform: Website Checkout
Technique: Simplified checkout process

• Ensure the checkout process is streamlined, with multiple payment options and minimal steps.
  • Give the customer a seamless checkout experience with in-app purchasing that is native to your configurator. Design finalized? Just hit purchase. 
  • Provide payment plans and flexible financing options that make it easier for your customers to choose you. 

Loyalty

Platform: Email Marketing
Technique: Loyalty program

• Encourage repeat purchases by offering a loyalty program that rewards customers for their purchases.
  • Use IdeaRoom’s social sharing feature, encouraging customers to share their final designed building to their social media platforms with a review of your business.
  • Ask customers with positive reviews to message or email their building designs to friends and family who might like to customize their own building so that you can capture new leads with an extra degree of confidence in your business.

Don’t set up your business and stop short. Think through your customer journey and architect a sales funnel that creates a smooth transition from Awareness to Loyalty. A 3D designer is a powerful lead capture and qualification tool that can be used at every stage of the sales funnel to educate, engage, and ultimately win new business. If you’re not sure where to start, give this supercharged playbook a try!