Introduction
Conversion Funnels are the stages your users go through to get from a particular state A to a desired state B. Most commonly used in sales and marketing, a Conversion Funnel typically looks something like: awareness > interest > desire > action. The same model works with product management.
How do I analyze my Conversion Funnel?
For the sake of our conversation, we’ll assume your Conversion Funnel looks like the above awareness > interest > desire > action flow.
Awareness
This is when potential customers/users are discovering, ideally, your product or feature. They’re not necessarily ready to buy or adopt it, but are evaluating it against other alternatives they may have available to them.
Analyses here review brand strategies (how visible are you, do you provide valuable content hooks, does your social media engage your target audience, etc.). Measure reach through metrics like website traffic, ad impressions, social media shares and mentions, and public relations coverage.
Generally, you’ll want to increase your efforts on high performing channels.
Interest
Here is where customers are aware of what they’re looking for and are actively seeking and evaluating different options.
Analyses here typically revolve around the quality of your product information, value proposition, customer testimonials, etc. Look at metrics like page views, time spent on your website, interactions with content, etc.
Here, you’ll want to focus on creating more content and features that resonate with your target audience.
Desire
At this point, trust becomes a key factor as customers are looking to make a purchase. Customers will pay close attention to the benefits and unique features of your product.
Analyses here are things like conversion point analyses (i.e. how many people make it to each stage of your sales process?, the effectiveness of incentives you may offer, etc. Look at product page visits, product inquiries, engagement with testimonials, barriers to conversion, etc.
Optimization-wise, you’ll want to highlight your defining features and value proposition clearly. Consider adjusting pricing strategies, promotions, webinars, etc. as appropriate. Basically, do what you can to simplify the user experience.
Action
This is where customers have done their research and are about to make a purchase. At this point, you’ll want the buying process to be as smooth and easy as possible.
Analyses here will look into the usability of your product’s purchase site. Focus on conversion rate, abandonment rate, etc.
Keep your checkout or sign-up processes simple and flexible. Ensure the call-to-action at each step of the process is clear and compelling.
Conclusion
Overall, the goal of a Conversion Funnel Analysis is to gauge how your potential customers/users go from not knowing about your product/feature to adopting it, however that may look like for your product. Some tools that you may find helpful to this exercise are Customer Journey Maps, Mind Mapping, and SWOT Analyses. These, respectively, help you understand how your customers experience your product, help validate your understanding of your product’s value proposition and market-fit, and provide insight on how the competitive landscape could affect your conversion rates.