Whether you’re looking to manage business finances or you want to gain more conversions, the sales funnel is one of the most powerful marketing techniques available. An automated sales funnel done right can create a ton of customer value and net more sales.
With that said, is an automated marketing funnel right for you? Or should you go with something else? Here are the pros and cons of automated sales funnels and how you can harness their power for your needs.
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Pro: It Helps Connect You With Your Audience
Online sales always focus on connecting with an audience. An automated sales funnel with the right content will net you many customers convinced that you are the right answer. With that said, figuring out the right way to build your funnel is a big question for most.
So, what’s the right content and how do you automate it to do the work for you? Automated sales funnels present how you can resolve a problem and why your products and services are the answer. Even simply good content gets better when it’s presented properly through a purpose-built sales funnel.
Automated sales funnels also simplify problem-solving through the proper presentation of your products and services. Even if you’re nurturing more prospects, this should provide the optimum route for your target audience.
Cons: They’re Too Linear
Whether you’re selling SEO services or email generators, you want your marketing funnels to work as soon as they can. Even when automated, however, these funnels are susceptible to a glaring weakness: linearity. Journeys with sales funnels can be too linear, taking time between conversions.
To understand what we mean, we need a quick look at the natural purchase cycle expected within a sales funnel. Most of these funnels start with awareness campaigns to generate more engagement.
Once a customer engages, they’ll see what they want and learn if it’s worth it. Once the customer bites on the lead magnet, they learn more about the product and do a purchase. Customers then undergo a cycle of retention and repeat the process all over again.
Unfortunately, the presence of social media and influencers broke this cycle. Rather than wait for a full cycle, the entire process of attracting your audience, engaging with them, and pushing them towards sales is a much faster process.
Even automated funnels can take as much time to push through the entire sales cycle. If you want more conversions, you would want to try and supplement your sales funnels with social media marketing.
Pro: Saves You Cost and Labor
Every personal brand starts with a small team of marketers – some even do all the marketing themselves! With that said, sales can be tiring and repetitive, which has diminishing returns if it’s not done right. An automated sales funnel should help simplify the entire process for you.
A good automated funnel is easy to use, which can be good in any organization, especially if you do things yourself. Simple design and implementation help reduce repetitiveness. Rather than hire a legion of salespeople, you can instead focus on growing your audience through your funnel.
An automated sales funnel also reduces the cost of human labor. As you let a set of algorithms handle your emails, you can schedule a proper rollout that follows the right time every time. Rather than relying on people doing it for you, set everything up ahead of time.
Cons: Steep Learning Curve
Small businesses rely on their owners knowing how to multitask, which means being able to wear several hats at a time. Automated sales funnels rely not only on marketing knowledge but also technical skills, something that someone may not have.
Automation can be a boon to those who know how to do it. At the same time, those who don’t have such skills can either miss its benefits entirely or hire someone who knows how to use it. That entails not only additional cost to a business owner but an extra layer of complication too.
While many automated funnels are easy to use, even the simplest to use software has a learning curve. Those who don’t have time to sit down and verge the learning curve will experience a lot of pitfalls. This can discourage them from using what should be a very useful business tool.
Pro: It Improves Your Lead Conversion Rate
At the end of the day, we all want our leads to convert into paying customers. Beyond understanding your customer’s journey, you want to always be there when they’re ready to make a purchase. Automated sales funnels help you connect with customers even better.
For starters, behavior-based alerts will help you understand what works and does not work. It helps give you a robust strategy when implementing techniques that persuade customers to buy the first time and repeat the purchase.
An automated sales funnel improves customer lifetime value by consistently sending marketing material. By helping you shift sales processes and retarget customers through techniques like cart abandonment reminders. There are also several other funnels for upsells, downsells, and more.
Cons: Cost
One issue that many small businesses complain about automated funnels is the cost of the software. Depending on the system you buy, plans will cost a few hundred dollars a month to access a portion of the system. The highest subscription plans can be more expensive, with up to three times the cost of the most basic plans.
Depending on the size of your business, several hundred dollars a month are enough to push down your bottom line. It can be said that this is part of your cost of operation. The extra sales you gain from the entire process can make up for what you pay for the software.
Then again, sales funnels take a good while to produce results. This means you need to make the most out of the few weeks to a few months of waiting for actual sales to see what ROI you can generate. For small businesses, this may be a bit too much, especially for those who are just starting out.
Final Thoughts
Automated sales funnels are indispensable tools for growing businesses. If you want to push more conversions and generate more sales, this can be a useful ally when used right. Knowing its pros and cons can help you gauge if this is the tool for your business.
Check out our list above and see if an automated sales funnel is what you need for unparalleled growth. In the right hands, it can give you an edge at the most crucial moments and boost your sales.
Kat is a Molecular Biology Scientist turned Growth Marketing Scientist. During her free time, she loves to write articles that will bring delight, empower women, and spark the business mind. She loves to bake but unfortunately, baking doesn’t love her back. She has many things in her arsenal and writing is one of her passion projects.
