As we head into summer, there’s no better time to think big about how you can scale your business through the rest of the year. As a business owner, you know how important it is to attract high-quality leads—leads that will hopefully turn into sales! And building out an application funnel may be one of the best ways to attract ideal customers and grow sales. At Interact, we’re all about finding the most strategic and effective ways to attract quality leads and grow your business, so let’s look at how an application funnel can help you do just that.
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What Is an Application Funnel?
First thing first: What is an application funnel? For any business or entrepreneur to be successful, some kind of sales funnel must be in place. Your sales funnel is essentially the pathway a potential client or customer follows, hopefully ending in a sale.
The main objective of a sales funnel is to not only create one-off, in-the-moment sales, but to create lasting relationships with customers and clients so you can build the longevity of your business. Your sales funnel will take your potential client on the journey from “awareness” all the way to “long-term customer” who loves to rave about your business. You can learn more about how to build a successful sales funnel by reading this blog post.
But let’s get back to the application funnel!
Like a sales funnel, application funnels help convert leads into lasting customers. The difference? A sales funnel takes your customer from not knowing about your brand or business to converting them into a warm lead and potential repeat customer. An application funnel, on the other hand, is all about quality over quantity.
An application funnel allows prospective customers to see if they qualify for your product or service. This is a great strategy if you’re looking to sell a high-ticket product, and it can be really effective for coaching or mentorship programs.
This is not only effective in creating demand for your product or service, but it also allows you to segment your clients based on who will really benefit from what you have to offer. Time and energy saved for both you and your client? Win-win!
Benefits of Using an Application Funnel
All right, now that you know what an application funnel is, let’s look at how it can support your overall strategy!
Application funnels can benefit your business in a multitude of ways. Some of those benefits include:
- Identifying your ideal customer
- Gaining insight into potential customers
- Locating your target audience
- Converting more leads
Let’s take a closer look.
Identifying Your Ideal Customer
An application funnel will help you understand your ideal customer. It’s a heck of a lot harder to convert a potential customer for a $10,000 price tag than it is for $100—especially when you aren’t clear on who your ideal customer even is. With an application funnel, you can ask potential customers specific questions, discover their pain points, and better understand their purchasing journey. This information will help you nail down exactly what type of client is the best fit for your higher ticket offers.
Gain Insight Into Your Customers
This is important, and also why a lead-generation quiz is so valuable when gaining insight into your audience—ask more questions, and you’ll get more answers! An application funnel will help you weed out anyone who’s not the right fit for your offers while helping you uncover your leads. Gaining this information will help you build a marketing strategy to send the right message to the right people at the right time.
Locate Your Target Audience
There’s nothing worse than spending an hour on a discovery call only to realize you’re not the right fit for each other. Both you and your prospect end up wasting valuable time that could be better used elsewhere. An application funnel will help you qualify leads through the application process, leaving you to better understand who you’re trying to reach.
Convert More Leads
Chances are, if a lead makes it through your application funnel, they’re probably ready to make a purchase. Because you’ve already taken the time to ask specific questions and address your lead’s pain points, you’re more equipped to decide if they’re the right fit. Then, all that’s left to do is send a link to the final product or offer, and the conversion is complete!
Now, let’s look at how you can create a quiz as an application funnel.
Using an Application Funnel for Your Quiz
Lead-generation quizzes are one of the most effective ways to engage and grow your audience while turning them into warm leads. People love learning more about who they are, and they can answer a bunch of fun questions along the way! When you create a quiz, you capture valuable information from your audience, which you can then use to send them the right message at the right time. You can also use that information to refine your offers and services to better match your ideal customer.
So, how can you use a lead-generation quiz as an application funnel? Let’s get into it!
An application funnel is typically made up of three parts:
- The reverse squeeze page
- The application
- The “thank you” page
The best part is you can replicate this with a quiz! Let’s break down these three components:
The Reverse Squeeze Page
Otherwise known as your “quiz description.” Here is where you’ll hook your potential lead with a short description of how your product or service works, and how you can help them. While this page is typically short and sweet, the messaging should showcase a solution to a problem your reader can expect to get by the end. This page will also include a call to action to take the quiz. Note: other application funnels might include an opt-in form at the start to capture potential leads’ emails right away.
The Application
Here, you’ll ask your audience specific questions to help you uncover whether they’re a good fit for your services. You could set this up with “scored quiz logic,” where you’ll assign scores to each question to determine where the quiz-taker is on their journey. You can also set this up as an “assessment quiz” where you’ll test the knowledge of your audience. For example, if your services depend on how much your quiz-taker knows about plants, you could choose this option and ask questions that showcase a “right” or “wrong” answer.
Hot tip: Remember, these questions will help you segment your audience, so make sure you’re asking the right questions! Include questions that gauge your quiz-taker’s budget and help you identify their needs and wants
The “Thank You” Page
The third and final component of your application funnel should be the “thank you” page. In this case, when using a quiz, your results page will function as a “thank you” page. Here, you can connect with your audience while affirming they made the right choice. For example, you could include a short video explaining your services or extra tips and resources.
You can also tell them what happens next! Include a timeframe of when they can expect to hear from you—and don’t forget to set up your opt-in form to capture emails so you can follow up with personalized messaging.
Hot tips:
There you have it! Building out your application funnel could be the key to more leads and higher sales! Keep the below tips in mind when creating your funnel, and you’ll be ready to go in no time:
- Follow up in an email. Once you capture a lead, you need an email follow-up ready to rock. This email should be sent right after someone completes the application funnel. It should include a link for people to buy your product or service and a link to schedule a call for more information. Check out this article for more on that.
- Ask strategic questions! Remember, the more specific you can get, the better gauge you will have of your audience’s needs, hopes, and fears. You can learn more about how to ask killer quiz questions in section 5 of The Quiz Course.
- Lean on branching logic! Use branching logic to pose follow-up questions. For example, if someone answers “yes” on question 1, you could take them to a new set of questions or straight to a result, depending on how you set it up.
- Be ready to refine! Remember that any sales funnel is going to be an evolution. Let it be a process, and know you can always refine as you learn along the way.