Funnel
A funnel is the path a potential customer takes from first contact with your business to the signed job. At every step, people drop off.
- 3 min read
What is a funnel?
A funnel is a way of looking at your customer journey. At the top are all the people who come across your business, for example via Google, an ad or a van on the street. Some of them visit your website. Some of those visitors request a quote. Some of those enquiries lead to a conversation or a site measure-up. And some of those sign. At every step the group gets smaller.
Three stages are often distinguished. At the top, in the orientation stage, people do not know you yet and are exploring their problem. In the middle, they compare providers and gather information. At the bottom, they are ready to choose and request a quote. After the enquiry comes the sales stage, which for a trade business is at least as important.
Why a funnel matters for your business
A funnel shows you where it leaks. If you win few jobs, that can have many causes: too few visitors, a website that does not convert, or enquiries that are poorly followed up. Without looking at those steps separately, you are guessing. Often with the reflex: more ad budget, while the problem lies further down.
A funnel also helps you use the right means at each stage. To win someone at the bottom of the funnel, you need an ad on a keyword with buying intent and a strong landing page. Someone at the top you reach more easily with informative content or social media. The Growth System works on the same logic, with links for traffic, Conversion and follow-up.
How a funnel works
You measure per step how many people move on to the next. That gives you a series of percentages: how many impressions produce a click, how many visitors make an enquiry, how many enquiries get a conversation and how many conversations become a job. The weakest step is where you gain the most.
An example. Say a roofer gets a few hundred visitors and twenty enquiries a month via Google. Only two of them become customers. The first reaction is to advertise more. But when the roofer looks at the funnel step by step, the biggest leak turns out to be elsewhere. Of the twenty enquiries, only eight get a call back, on average only after three days. Of those eight, five get a quote.
The roofer sets up an automatic confirmation by email and text message, with a link to book a call straight away. Enquiries that still have no appointment after a day get a reminder. Within a few months nearly all enquiries get a conversation and the number of jobs rises considerably, with the same ad budget. Only after that does it make sense to buy more traffic.
An example like this shows that a funnel is not just about marketing. The steps after the enquiry, such as calling back quickly, a clear quote and lead qualification, determine just as much how much work you win.
Common mistakes with a funnel
Only investing at the top. More visitors help little if your website or follow-up leaks. Then you are pouring more water into a bucket with holes.
Not measuring after the enquiry. Many businesses know how many enquiries they get, but not how many of them become customers and through which channel. That leaves the most important part of the funnel invisible.
The same message for everyone. Someone who is just starting to look around needs something different from someone who wants to sign tomorrow. An ad or page that tries to serve both convinces neither.
Making the funnel too complicated. A model with ten stages and dozens of figures quickly loses focus. For most trade businesses, five steps are enough: visit, enquiry, conversation, quote and job.
How to tackle your funnel
First write down your steps, from first contact to signed job. Keep it simple and recognisable for your own business.
Then measure each step. With conversion tracking you see visitors and enquiries per channel. With a CRM you record which enquiries led to a conversation, quote and job.
Then find the weakest step and start there. If it leaks on the website, work on your conversion rates. If it leaks after the enquiry, put a faster follow-up in place. If everything is in order but too few people come in, only then is more traffic the logical step.
Repeat that every month. A funnel is not a picture for a presentation, but a working tool to see where your next growth comes from.
Frequently asked questions
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What are the stages of a funnel?
Usually three stages are used: orientation at the top, comparing in the middle and deciding at the bottom. For a trade business it is useful to include the steps after the enquiry too: conversation, quote and job. That way you see the whole path to the signed job.
What is the difference between a funnel and a customer journey?
A customer journey describes all the moments and channels where a customer comes into contact with your business. A funnel summarises that journey in successive steps and measures how many people drop off at each step. The funnel is therefore mainly a measuring tool.
Where does a funnel usually leak?
At many trade businesses it leaks on the website, because visitors do not make an enquiry, or after the enquiry, because follow-up is too slow. Measure each step separately to see where it goes wrong for you. Start improving at the weakest step.
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