It was Sir Isaac Newton who introduced the world to the three laws of motion, one of which says “For every action, there’s a corresponding opposite reaction.” Now, how does this relate to marketing, specifically sales funnels?
It is your job to walk your audience through different stages of the sales process until they become customers. This way, you get the reaction you want, which is a purchase or, better yet, commitment and loyalty to the brand.
However, pushing them deeper into the sales process is easier said than done. Marketing, after all, is an intricate part of doing business. Fortunately, you can simplify the steps with tools, such as ClickFunnels.
In this article, we’ll together explore the following points:
Before signing up for ClickFunnels, make sure to get ClickFunnels 30 Days Marketing Plan. Everyone who has ever had a ClickFunnels account, needs these 30 day blueprints. The summit is totally free.
What is ClickFunnels?
ClickFunnels is a popular platform that helps its users sell products online. To be more specific, it positions itself as a “one-stop shop” of everything you need for every stage of the sales funnel and, ultimately, convert leads into customers with the least amount of time and effort on your end through automation.
Russel Brunson founded the company sometime in 2014. Unlike other online marketing programs, ClickFunnels is self-funded. It means that it doesn’t have venture capitalists as backers.
This somehow works to his disadvantage since he has full control over the direction and use of the platform. Plus, with his deep knowledge in online marketing, analytics, and automation, he and his team are able to design features that meet the needs and preferences of its target market.
How does ClickFunnels work?
The concept of ClickFunnels is simple, but for you to better understand it, you need to know more about sales funnels. How does it differ from other marketing strategies, such as search engine optimization (SEO) or email marketing?
What are sales funnels?
The sales funnel is a representation of the customers’ journey from the time they saw the product to the moment they paid it perhaps through their credit card. It is called as such since the graphics usually resemble a funnel you see in most kitchens. Look at the photo below from business2community.com:
As you can see, the sales funnel begins with Awareness and then ends in Purchase or Loyalty and Advocacy (or social proof, when customers recommend your products and brands to others).
As the leads go through each stage, their number will become fewer, and that’s normal and perfectly fine. After all, you cannot expect everyone who saw your ad to buy your product. However, to boost your conversion, you need to implement the right marketing strategy in every stage.
These techniques can vary in every stage, or you can use the same platform, such as social media or e-mail. But you need to customize that to match your message and the stage of sales funnels your leads are in. You also have to keep those leads that didn’t proceed to the other levels engaged, since you can still convert them some other time.
What are the ClickFunnels features?
To help you achieve all your goals in every stage of the sales funnel, ClickFunnels provide you with the following features:
1. Templates galore
One of the primary features of ClickFunnels is templates. There are dozens to choose from, depending on the stage of the sales funnel and the marketing strategy you’re trying to implement. Currently, the platform divides these tools into the following categories:
You can use these templates as Squeeze Pages, which are the landing pages that help you collect e-mail addresses of your audience. You can use the data to build your mailing list for e-mail marketing.
There are also the Tripwire Funnel templates, which appear immediately after the squeeze page. This is where you make the first offer, which is the lowest-cost product. Often, this also generates a loss, but the purpose is to get your customers deeper into the conversion process.
You can see a few examples of the templates below:
2. Drag-and-drop editor
Called the Etison Editor, it is the ClickFunnels feature that allows you to customize the different templates and tools to reflect your brand and message.
It is a drag-and-drop editor, which means the page already has some placeholders, and all you need to do is to rearrange them according to your liking. You can also change the photos, texts, and colors. You may also add elements like your logo and other business-owned assets like videos and photos.
While the drag-and-drop feature is already helpful, ClickFunnels makes it even more convenient by using color-coded blocks for every layer of the page.
3. Webinar funnels
ClickFunnels also provide tools to attract your leads to take part in webinars. But why should you even bother to have one when you can do email marketing and other digital strategies? The answer is conversion.
According to Neil Patel, you can convert up to 19% of your attendees to customers. On average, industry conversion rates are somewhere between 3% and 5%.
ClickFunnels also provides various templates you can use to promote your webinar events, and they look like squeeze pages. But it gets better since you can also automate the whole process.
It means that you can create a series of evergreen webinars, catered to the specific stage of the sales funnel, and let the system do the rest. Guests can sign up to the first webinar, and if they like it, the system will lead them to the next page, where they can join another event.
4. Analytics and split tests
When it comes to online marketing, little changes can lead to big things. With the likes of squeeze pages, landing pages, and websites, it can be as simple as changing the position of the logo, choosing a better photo, or even modifying the colors of the text.
But how do you know they're working or not? That's where analytics and split testing come in. ClickFunnels let you test the effectiveness of the pages in meeting your objectives. You can then tweak the design until you find the one that gives you the best results even before you publish the page.
5. Backpack
While Rome wasn't built in a day, certainly, it still happened because many people made it so. It's the same thing with growing your business. If you want your company to soar fast, you cannot market by yourself - you need help.
For this reason, ClickFunnels lets you run an affiliate marketing program right within your funnel. As a feature, you can:
By the way, don't forget to check my article: Best Affiliate Programs With Recurring Commissions
6. Multichannel Use
ClickFunnels also has a Follow-Up Sales Funnel, which helps you reconnect to your leads in different channels. These include e-mail, social media, desktop notifications, and even texts.
Who should use ClickFunnels?
ClickFunnels is ideal for every digital marketer, but it can be a must-have for the following:
1. Startups
When building a startup, money can be tight. You may also feel issues with building a team. When you cannot hire plenty of professionals for your business, ClickFunnels can fill in the gap. With it, you may skip having a website designer or web developer.
2. Entrepreneurs with poor technical know-how
Building a website or a page can be both frightening and intimidating for anyone who isn't tech-savvy. Tools like Etison and other automated features mean you no longer have to learn how to code to publish your pages.
3. Digital marketing agencies
When you're managing more clients, time management is a problem. ClickFunnels can help in this area by automating many processes.
4. Content creators
Whether you're a blogger or a copywriter, ClickFunnels features can speed up the working process. It also provides you with a competitive edge since you can do more than fill the content. For instance, you can already offer analytics or split testing and page design.
Pricing plans
For the details, refer below:
Pros and cons of ClickFunnels
With all this information, should you use ClickFunnels? Would it make a worthwhile investment? Let’s weigh the pros and cons:
Pros
1. Ease of use
The user interface of ClickFunnels is easy to understand, and navigating through the various tools is convenient. Even someone who doesn't have a lot of technical know-how will learn to use it fast. The drag-and-drop editor and the customizable templates ensure you can create pages for sales funnels in record time.
2. Automation
In this day and age where time is golden and you're up against hundreds of fierce competitors each day, you need to learn how to manage your resources. ClickFunnels lets you do that through the power of automation. You can basically set up the system and let the platform do the rest for you.
This way, you can just keep track of the performance of these pages and modify them when necessary.
3. Diverse support and coaching
It's not unusual for businesses, including platforms, to offer support. However, what I love about ClickFunnels is you feel that it wants you to succeed. Besides chat support, you can also call. You will also receive access to dozens of courses and training. If you become an exclusive member of TwoCommaClubX, you may even join live events, to name a few.
4. Scalability
ClickFunnels is a software as a service (SaaS) platform. You pay for only what you need, upgrade when you're growing, but also go back to your old plan when you need to. You can also cancel it anytime without worrying about paying for a cancellation fee or breaching contracts.
5. Simple pricing plans
Some platforms offer dozens of plans that everything is confusing and overwhelming. That can cause analysis paralysis. By simplifying the pricing plans, it's easy for you to compare your options.
Cons
1. Pricey plans
Although the plans are easy to understand and come with good features, they are still expensive compared to other options, such as Kartra or Builderall. It comes with a 14-day trial, but it isn't for free. The upside is all funnels are free regardless of the subscription you chose.
2. Need for other digital marketing platforms
As mentioned, marketing strategies are complex. While ClickFunnels gives you an excellent head start against your competitors and saves you time and effort, you may need more platforms if you want to automate comprehensively. For example, you may need a solid autoresponder for e-mail marketing.
3. Potential lack of support for those with a basic plan
For a price of nearly $100 a month, basic plan holders can only receive chat support, and they may not even be a priority. They also don't have access to guides and training, only a forum.
Conclusion
Overall, ClickFunnels is one of the best sales funnels platforms in the market today. Despite the hefty price, it is easy to use and understands the demand and problems digital marketers face.
It offers excellent customer support for higher plans, including comprehensive training and guides.
In case you want to learn about other funnel builders, check out my guide - Best Sales Funnel Builders
Before signing up for ClickFunnels, make sure to get ClickFunnels 30 Days Marketing Plan. Everyone who has ever had a ClickFunnels account, needs these 30 day blueprints. The summit is totally free.
