Building A Sales Funnel For Physical Products

Increasingly, brands are turning to the broad reach of the Internet to sell their physical products, marrying the digital and material into one experience for customers.

In our tech-fueled world, entire online marketplaces now exist for buying and selling products of almost every kind.

As a matter of fact, you may have noticed… Amazon and Etsy have become household names, and these sites are empowering small startups and titans of industry in taking their product from creation to delivery.

Today, no matter what size business you run, you can have your brand on the doorsteps of customers anywhere in the world.

And with all the many online tools, you have the chance to hook into this powerful reach yourself to get your physical product into your customer’s hands quickly.

So what’s most important to harnessing these options, building a sales funnel for your physical product, and creating an experience your customers are sure to love?

Great question! Let these 6 points become your mantra as you launch your funnel, and you’ll be on the path to an award-winning sales process in no time.

Reviewing the Entire Fulfilment Process

Physical products need to get from Point A to Point B, but on the way, there’re several steps to consider.

Take refunds for example.

Did you know, on average, up to one in three online sales is returned, and this trend is increasing? (Don’t let that number scare you, though; they can be lower depending on your industry).

Shipping and handling, updating customer billing, costs related to returns… you get the idea.

As you build your funnel, keep the fulfilment process (and its necessary components in mind).

This will give you the chance to keep track of associated expenses, but there’s another amazing benefit.

You’ll also be able to catch any part of the process that might need tweaking to make sure that your physical product isn’t tied up on its way to the customer or worse, never even gets out the front door of your business.

This part of the customer experience is just as much a part of your sales funnel as anything else.

Protip: for a real nitty-gritty look at your fulfillment process and how it factors into your sales funnel, map out each piece as the steps in a flow chart. You’ll have a visual perspective that will let you know where you can trim steps and costs or consider alternatives.

Borrowing the Competition’s Playbook

Depending on your industry, your competitors might inspire a range of emotions in you. And the competition today seems like it’s never been greater.

Data presented by Edward Lowe even shows that, in many industries, 80% of revenues go to 20% of the brands.

Why not take a play from the competition, especially if they’re part of that 20%?

By putting together an analysis on your competitors, you’ll be getting insight on where and how to modify your funnel.

(Check out sneaky tools like these to start getting an idea of their online strategies).

You can also use this snapshot of the competition to simplify your sales funnel and focus on what works.

Less complex funnels, especially for physical products, have less moving pieces, and so, are less prone to hiccups and holdups.

That’s good for your sales and your customers.

Protip: Stay on top of your market. A yearly update of your competitor analysis will allow you to get a look at the evolving landscape of your industry and get ahead of trends.

Providing More to Your Customers… and Increasing Sales

Let’s circle back around and take a look at one of the largest and most successful brands delivering physical products to customers… Amazon.

Even though Amazon is a marketplace that you can use for your physical products, it also provides good lessons in increasing sales potential.

One way that Amazon does this is through cross-selling, presenting related products to capture more average cart value.

When you present your customers with items related to their current purchase, you’re taking advantage of the valuable information you’ve learned about their preferences.

In fact, 35% of Amazon’s entire revenue comes from using cross-selling.

Think of all that sales potential for your funnel!

You’ve probably also heard of upselling, but it’s not some out-dated sales technique.

Research also has shown that it remains a good tactic for increasing average cart sizes.

And like with cross-selling, you have the chance to take advantage of your fulfillment process to deliver more and enhance your customer’s experience.

Protip: Drill down on the reasoning for your upsells and cross-sales. Presenting a lamp to a customer who just bought a book doesn’t make as much sense as giving them the option also to purchase a magazine related to their interests.

Entrusting Your Staff with Your Brand

Factoring in support service for your sales funnel is a certain way to strengthen the funnel for your physical product.

Customers often have questions about warranties or product materials.

They also might have to deal with a lost or stolen package, and they’ll want to turn to someone they can trust.

In that sense, you’ll be entrusting your brand, and your sales funnel to your staff.

And when you choose the right staff, you’ll be boosting customer retention by 5% and profits beyond 25%.

Hire support staff who are knowledgeable about your industry and can learn everything about your product there is to learn.

By having a strong hiring process, you’ll have staff that can best serve your customers by knowing what they’re talking about.

And because it costs, on average, $3,500 to replace even minimum wage employees, your funnel will benefit in more ways than one by having a loyal, well-chosen team.

Protip: Skip micromanaging your support team. When interacting with customers, they’re sure to face many unique situations requiring them to make independent decisions. Be confident in your hiring process and follow up with them on any issues you see.

Engineering the Logistical Side of Delivery

Another factor to remember when building your funnel is how much of the fulfilment process you’ll do yourself.

Major fulfillment houses are popping up left and right, and this industry is expected to have big growth in the coming years.

These companies specialize in warehousing items and packing them for delivery.

There’re a few factors to consider here. It might be easier and more cost-effective for you to go to a fulfillment house, but it also might mean better service for your customers.

For example, with 50% of retailers now offering free return shipping to customers, a fulfilment house that can help you make this a reality for your business can greatly improve your customer’s experience.

(Amazon’s same-day delivery through company-owned fulfillment centres have improved their funnel conversions up to 25%).

These logistical benefits are worth thinking about if you have the option to outsource your fulfilment.

Protip: Working with a fulfilment house shouldn’t just be a grab and go affair. Take time to learn as much as you can about the company, including its ability to handle issues and meet targets.

Finding Opportunities for Future Products

Once you’ve built your funnel, there’s still work to be done.

For physical products, you’ll also want to use your email sequence to expose your customers further to your brand.

Once you’ve captured their information like their name and email, you can combine this with their existing purchase preferences to provide interesting followup emails.

Picture it for a second: if you’re in the fashion industry, three weeks after purchasing a brand new, hip t-shirt, your customer gets a follow-up email.

And in that email, you share some fun clothing trends you’ve seen taking hold across the country.

Before you close out your email, you remind your customer that you’re about to release a new pair of jeans to your site that will surely sell out fast.

By connecting with your customers on this more personal level, you’re also creating space to showcase future products and keep them in your funnel.

Protip: Check out our step-by-step guide to creating an autoresponder that your customers will love to incorporate well-written emails into your sales funnel.

Taking Your Funnel to the Next Level

Selling a physical product comes with its set of unique challenges and hurdles.

But in reality, designing your funnel can be as creative a process as designing the funnel for any product or service.

There’s so many avenues and resources available today, and within the limit, be willing to take a chance with an innovative idea for your sales funnel.

And Josh Felber gave some great examples of doing exactly that for his physical product over at our podcast on re-targeting secrets.

A free, but limited ebook can lead to a webinar session, which can then lead to a chance to purchase your physical product.

Or a flash sale on Instagram can have your customers emailing you for an exclusive coupon before heading to your site.

The possibilities are endless, but the core idea remains the same: your sales funnel is yours to unleash for the benefit of your brand. Remember our points here, and get creative with it!

What would you say are the biggest challenges when creating a sales funnel for a physical product?