Many small business owners still on the fence about investing on a website have one common objection that I understand all too well:

What does a website actually DO for my business once it’s finished? It feels like a pretty expensive asset just to ‘sit there’ online…

I totally get how this can seem the case, mainly because a lot of SBOs don’t know:

• How to access their website and use it fluently once it’s completed and

• How to use their website as a marketing tool, rather than what’s essentially a digital billboard.

I want to take the time to explain a process that answers this question PLUS ties in social media and future marketing opportunities.

Ready?

Let’s talk about Sales Funnels.

Don’t be put off by this fancy pants sounding marketing term - getting your head around this concept will go a long way to you leveraging your marketing channels to their fullest potential.

For those of you that haven’t come across the term before - or perhaps never quite understood what it meant - A Sales Funnel is basically a series of steps you encourage potential customers to take through your marketing in order to turn them into paying customers. I recently created this video (check it out on my IG TV) if you want to see it mapped out, but the following is an example of how the steps line up:

1. A Goal, a Target Market and an Offer

Before any pixels begin moving around the screen, you begin with a goal and an offer.

• Goal: what do you want to achieve? This might be more customers in store, more followers online, online purchases, etc.

• Target Market: who are you trying to attract? By having a clear idea of who you want to connect with, you’re able to create an offer that’s too good to refuse whilst also using language and images that really grab their attention.

• Offer: what value are you offering them? What is your offer or special in order to get them to perform the behaviour you want? Put yourselves in their shoes - what’s something they would find too good to miss out on?

Once you have some decisions around these 3 key areas, you can move to step 2.

2. An Entry Point (i.e. A Facebook Post)

You could also use an email to your database or an Instagram post - whichever entry point type you use, the idea is that you want to present your offer to your target market in the following ways:

• An image that they will relate to

• Text or a caption that connects with them and ‘speaks their language’

• Your irresistible offer and

• A link to your website to find out more.

As an example, check out the Facebook Cover I created for my One Page Website Bundle offer:

(P.S. I LOVE using Facebook Covers in promotions!) In the image is ‘Tap for Details’ , and once you’ve opened the Cover this is what the caption looks like:

Notice at the bottom of the caption is a link to my website? The idea is that, when you put your offer out into the world to attract the attention of your target market, there’s a link to your site encouraging them to learn more.

Why?

To get them the heck outta Facebook & straight to your website.

Facebook, Instagram - these platforms all have built in distractions like notifications, alerts, etc. that can distract users from what you’re trying to communicate to them in order to bring them into you business. So if you’ve created an irresistible offer with a specific target market in mind, your entry point (i.e. a Facebook Post or Cover) should be 100% geared towards getting their attention and then sending them to your website - where it’s all about YOU, distraction free!

3. Into the Pipeline - A Landing Page

Now, you’re not going to send them to your home page - you’re going to send them to a specific page on your website called a Sales Page or Landing Page. This is a page on your site designed to talk specifically about your offer AND NOTHING ELSE. We want the user so focused on how they can get your offer, we don’t even want them distracted by other elements of your business!

The link on my Facebook post clicks through to this page on my website, which talks exclusively about my One Page Website Bundle. I wanted visitors to be focused on the benefits, inclusions and results, so mine is a little long. Your offer might be quite simple - a 2-for-1, and 50% discount voucher, etc. - and so doesn’t need to be as long or as complicated.

Once you have convinced your target market that your offer is just what they need, your sales / landing page might direct them to step 4:

4. An Opt In Form

This step isn’t essential - you can simply have a PDF voucher they can download, or an offer code they can save. But if you decide to use an opt-in form, you’re creating a chance to grab some of their details in exchange for your offer. These details can then go into your database for marketing opportunities down the track, like emails updating them about new products, special events in your business, etc.

You might recognise the kind of form I’m talking about, here’s the one from my One Page Website Bundle Page:

Once the website visitor enters their details in and clicks Submit, their enquiry comes through to me and I can contact them about their website needs. BUT you can create an automatic email that sends them a voucher or an offer code with programs like Mailchimp.

Note: it is important to handle your visitors’ contact details with integrity and respect - you should store their details in secure software, and you should never sell them to third parties. Recently, the European Union introduced tough new laws regarding how companies can store their customers’ data - both existing & potential. These laws can be used as a handy basis for good conduct for everyone when it comes to database building and marketing - here’s a great article for Australian-based businesses if you’d like to know more.

5. Bringing Potential Customers In Store

Whether they access your offer directly from your sales / landing page or receive an email shortly after giving you their details, if your offer presents enough value to it’s recipients you should soon see them bringing theirs in store to redeem (added bonus, this is a great way to track the success of an offer!)

But the kicker: you need access to your website to create the landing pages and sequence in order to take potential customers from Facebook, through your website and into your business.

I believe all small business owners should have easy access to their websites for reasons just like this, as well as for other reasons like:

• Updating products and services

• Keeping a consistent blog

• Adding gallery photos and more!

I build all my websites in Squarespace - it’s a brilliant tool that even my most technically unsavvy clients love! If you’d like some direction for your website, feel free to get in touch!

Chat soon!

Meredith Paige x