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What Does The Bottom Of The Funnel In Marketing Mean For Small Business Owners | by Dolly DeLong Education (A Systems, SOPS, & Workflow Educator)

In this blog post, we are going to answer the question of what the bottom of the funnel means, and we are going to cover 4 ways in which you, as a small business owner, can work on optimizing the bottom of your own funnels (yes, even as a solo business owner)!

4_tangible_ways_to_optimize_the_bottom_of_the_digital_sales_funnel_blog_post

what does the bottom of the funnel mean?

The bottom of the funnel refers to the final stage of the marketing and sales process. This is the point where a potential customer (or lead) has experienced all of the marketing and sales touches and is ready to make a purchase (or at least they are warmer leads and are now a part of your ecosystem). The bottom of the funnel is the most important part of the process because it is when the customer is most likely to convert to a paying customer (for either a digital product or maybe a group program for example).

Here are 4 tips to consider when you are wanting to optimize the bottom of the funnel for your own business

Tip #1: Increase your future lead captures by optimizing your website forms and landing pages

Wondering what exactly a landing page is? Well, to answer that question, I got to interview the amazing Ashlyn Carter (of Ashlyn Writes.com) in Episode 44 of the systems and workflow magic podcast and she talks about: WHAT a landing page is and ways to optimize your landing page! You can listen to it here or read about it here ⬇️

listen_to_podcast_episode_44_featuring_ashlyn_carter_here

🎉Here are 8 additional tips to help you get started with optimizing your landing page

  1. Use a clear, compelling headline that captures the user’s attention and explains the value of your offer.
  2. Create a simplified, easy-to-navigate design that allows users to quickly find what they are looking for.
  3. Incorporate visuals like photos and videos to add visual interest and help explain your offer more clearly.
  4. Use persuasive copy to highlight the benefits of your offer and why users should take action.
  5. Make sure your call-to-action is clear, concise, and stands out from the rest of the page.
  6. Include social proof, such as customer testimonials, to build credibility and trust.
  7. Include a form to capture user information and generate leads.
  8. Optimize your page for mobile devices, as more and more people are using their phones to access the web.

Tip #2: Establish a System For Gathering Customer Feedback To Use It To Inform Your Future Marketing Strategies

Establishing a system can be as simple (or robust) as you want this to be. I would say, if you are a team of one, make this process streamlined by including google forms as surveys at the end of your nurture sequences. This way they can be “evergreen” and you can establish a time once a quarter to check those surveys in order to get customer voice feedback.

You can even establish a simple system for yourself by taking one day a week to speak to your audience on your social media platform of choice (i.e. Instagram) and ask survey-like questions to again capture the voice of your ideal clients. Therefore, create more future marketing strategies for yourself!

Tip #3: Implement Automated Follow-Up Emails To Nurture Leads and Increase Customer Loyalty

Remember, with funnels (I believe) the name of the game is a long-term strategy. So in the middle of your funnel, don’t forget to set up those automated nurture sequences (through your email marketing platform) to increase more awareness of your brand, more loyalty, and in general to help establish you as the go-to expert in your field.

To read about the Middle Of The Funnel, click here.

or click on the image below ⬇️

new_on_the_blog_the_importance_of_middle_of_the_funnel_marketing

But as a reminder, an example of where these automated emails come into play is when a new lead downloads one of your freebies, and it sends them into a warm-up nurture sequence that helps them get to know you more, and “funnels” them into your ecosystem. They may not buy from you right away, but the fact is, they are now becoming more aware of your brand/business, so where can you invite them to continue to get to know more about your business (i.e. maybe you have an engaged following on a specific platform? Invite them there in an email)

Tip #4: Have a system for organizing your new clients who may purchase from you (or who want to learn something specific from you)

Having a system for organizing your new clients can be a great way to stay on top of your workload and keep your clients (or new leads who are in your funnel) happy. A great way to start is by:

  • Creating a list of all your new clients and organizing them into categories such as industry, services needed, payment status, etc.
  • You can also create a file for each client that contains all of their contact information, project details, and any other important information.
  • Then, set up a system for managing and tracking tasks for each client so that you can always know what needs to be done and when.
  • Finally, don’t forget the power of SEGMENTING specific clients who have raised their hand in the middle of the funnel (by downloading a specific freebie) and have your email service provider automate a specific nurture sequence for them (remember, episode 54 from the Systems and Workflow Magic Podcast? Magan Ward answers the question of “what segmenting is) (you can read about it here)

Finally, if you do end up converting these new leads into customers some systems for organizing new clients include using:

-Dubsado (you know how much I love this platform) (*use this link to get 20% off of Dubsado-note: this is my affiliate link)

-Honeybook

-Trello

-Asana

-ClickUp

Summary

So in summary, you now have been armed with 4 strategic ways to optimize the bottom of the funnel (esp if you are a solo business owner and you have to wear multiple hats in your business, KNOW that you can automate a lot of these strategies). 

✅Remember, to not only be patient with yourself as you build & optimize your funnels but know that if you are wanting success,  give yourself plenty of time and grace and know this is a LONG game (because you are most likely to ebb and flow in growth in the many years of business ahead of you!) 

Now that you know what the BOTTOM of the funnel in marketing means, I’ve got some more BOFU (Bottom of the Funnel) podcast episodes + resources to share with you to consume today: 

1️⃣ How a virtual summit is the FULL funnel marketing advantage

🎙 episode 62: https://systemsandworkflowmagic.com/2023/01/23/62-how-a-summit-is-a-full-funnel-marketing-advantage-featuring-summit-in-a-box-creator-krista-miller/

2️⃣ Why you need to set up financial systems for yourself as a business owner (aka be organized for your clients once they book with you) 

🎙episode 60: https://systemsandworkflowmagic.com/2023/01/16/60-setting-up-financial-systems-as-a-creative-business-owner-featuring-sarah-becker/

3️⃣ The Systems You Need To Put Into Place To Strategically Capture & Catalogue Your Client’s Testimonials

🎙 episode 56: https://systemsandworkflowmagic.com/2022/12/19/56-the-systems-you-need-to-strategically-capture-catalog-use-client-testimonials-for-your-seo-featuring-brittany-herzberg/ 

Additional Funnel Related Resources ⬇️

And if you are reading this between January 2023 to Feb. 10th, 2023, you can get FREE Funnel Edition here ⬇️

Private_Funnel_Pop_Up_podcast_training

Or to get a quick crash course on all things digital funnels, check out my fabulous resource “The Simple Funnel Mini-Course” here ⬇️

mockup_of_the_simple_funnel_mini_course

If you liked this blog post, please let me know by sharing it on Pinterest & by sharing it with another creative biz owner who needs help with funnel education!

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Thank you so much for reading!

Meet Your Friendly Nashville Branding Photographer, Milestone Family Photographer & Systems + Workflow Educator

a dad mom and toddler son are all smiling at eachother at a lavender farm by Erin Fox photography in Nashville

Dolly DeLong is a Nashville-based branding photographer for small business owners, a milestone family photographer & and a creative business owner who educates other creative business owners on all things systems, sops, & workflows.  Dolly loves serving business owners with her bold, elevated, and radiant photography.  And, she also loves educating other creative business owners on how to set up systems and workflows that will ultimately help them save time in their business-she does this by producing weekly blog posts and weekly podcast episodes on The Systems & Workflow Magic Podcast. 

She has a heart for serving the larger business community. Dolly shares her knowledge of tools like Dubsado, Email Marketing, and Business Systems with new creative business owners & family photographers in an encouraging and supportive way because she believes that anyone can find joy in automation! Plus BONUS: Systems is where the MAGIC happens!

Dolly’s faith and love for her family motivate her to help other business owners find the joy and freedom she’s found in running a successful small business.

Whenever she has a spare moment, she enjoys watching TV (i.e. Survivor), loves eating way too many sweets, and listens to podcasts while running or walking. To work with Dolly DeLong Photography for a branding photography session, fill out her contact form here.

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