sales funnel blog v3-1

The Sales Funnel: An Easy-to-Understand Guide for Small Businesses

SplashWrench Marketing Blog

Greetings, small business champions! Today we’re going to decode a crucial concept that’s essential for your business success – the “sales funnel.” Though it may sound complex at first glance, we’re here to simplify it. Think of it as a journey your customers embark on, from the moment they discover your business until they become loyal patrons.

Stage 1: Awareness

Imagine walking past a bakery, and the aroma of freshly baked cookies wafts out. That enticing scent draws your attention, doesn’t it? That’s what the Awareness stage is all about. It’s when people first notice your business, just like how the smell of those cookies caught your attention. This can happen through an online ad, a billboard, or a friend recommending your business.

Stage 2: Consideration

Now, you’re standing outside the bakery, gazing at the display of mouth-watering cookies. You start contemplating whether to buy a cookie or not. This is the Consideration stage, where potential customers are weighing their options. They might check out your website, read reviews, compare prices, or look at alternatives before making a decision.

Stage 3: Conversion

You’ve made up your mind and decided to buy a cookie. Welcome to the Conversion stage! This is when a prospective customer decides to make a purchase and becomes an actual customer. It’s a significant stage because this is when your business makes a sale.

Stage 4: Retention

Lastly, imagine you enjoyed the cookie so much that you decide to visit the bakery again next week for more. This is the Retention stage, where customers keep coming back to your business. They might also tell their friends about your amazing cookies, bringing more people into the Awareness stage.

 

And there you have it, the sales funnel simplified using a simple bakery example. Understanding these stages can help you strategize your marketing efforts, communicate effectively with potential customers, and retain your existing customers. Remember, each customer’s journey may vary, but knowing these stages will undoubtedly guide your business strategy.

surprised woman looking at mobile device

How to Handle It When Someone Steals Content on Instagram

SplashWrench Marketing Blog

Recently, we discovered a local real estate agent copied a food image from one of our restaurant client’s Instagram accounts and posted it on her own account. This was not a share, but an actual copy of the image which was used as an original post on her account. In the caption the real estate agent tagged our client, an audacious move, including the sentence “all rights reserved to the respective copyright owners.” The post text included the name of the real estate agency, phone number, and email addresses.

This practice is wrong on multiple levels. First, it’s in violation of community standards on Instagram, and adding the copyright sentence does not make it legal. Second, the food image was out of context with the other posts on the real estate agent’s account. What does a food image have to do with selling houses? Lastly, what sort of professional marketing tactic is this, and does the brokerage provide this sort of training to their agents? Who would hire a real estate agent who would take the time and energy to steal a restaurant’s content? Where are the ethics? What is the point? Is this considered marketing?

If you’re faced with this type of scenario, remain calm but vigilant in having the post in question removed. Do some fact checking and then politely reach out to the offender’s superiors, informing them of the violation and requesting the offending post be removed. If you must contact the offender directly, be polite, offer them an “off ramp” to the situation so that they will comply with your request. If these tactics don’t work, Instagram has specific information on copyright violations and how to report them.

Here’s a link to Instagram’s Community Guidelines. https://help.instagram.com/477434105621119

Here’s a link to report content on Instagram. https://help.instagram.com/2922067214679225/?helpref=hc_fnav