The buyer’s journey happens in a few different phases. Before becoming a customer, the buyer seeks approval that the company they chose is the right decision. As they go through the sales funnel, the customer gets to know the vendor. The experience they gain will directly affect whether they convert and make a purchase or find someone else.
The role of PR in supporting the sales funnel is precisely to help the customer understand why this particular company is the right choice.
The four stages of the sales funnel
To successfully support the sales funnel, a PR agent must first understand its stages. We can split the sales funnel into:
- awareness stage;
- interest stage;
- desire stage;
- action stage;
Each of these stages is crucial for the conversion to happen. Let’s see how a PR campaign may help improve the overall satisfaction during the customer’s journey through the sales funnel.
Raising awareness about the company and the brand
Without awareness about the company and the product, there is no sale. The goal of PR in this stage is to let the clients know of the company’s existence. You need to focus on the target market and introduce the brand to the eyes of the public.
It is essential to use the right marketing channels to promote the company and raise brand awareness during this stage. Monitor platforms that the brand uses, and also keep track of what the potential clients use. This includes social media platforms, influencer marketing, media outlets, magazines, and the company website. You want to establish the authority of the brand in the given field.
A PR agent should raise brand awareness and come up with new ideas about the need for the brand in customers’ minds.
Pique the interest of the clients
Just knowing about the brand’s existence has no value unless the customer has an interest in it. The main reason why people are looking for services or products is to solve their problems.
The role of PR in this stage is to explain to the customers why this particular brand is the one they need and how this choice helps them solve their problems.
For a product release process to be successful, there needs to be a customer interest. Clients need to understand how the brand solves problems and what its products and services are. Without this information, you cannot successfully engage with the clients, and your PR campaign will likely fail.
Awake the desire to purchase
Even though a customer may be interested to hear about the brand and its products, that is not a guarantee that they will convert and make a purchase. There are so many companies on the market offering the same solutions. Besides the interest, there also needs to be a desire.
The best way to awaken the desire for a product is to honestly speak about its qualities and benefits.
The PR campaign must engage the clients, beam with enthusiasm, inspire, and awake the desire to purchase. Understand what the clients want this season, and that information will help you with the PR.
The good thing is that if the PR campaign is done well from the start, the desire for the product will come naturally as a result of the other stages.
All that is left is to take action
The last part of the sales funnel is the most difficult one. Converting a person into a customer is the goal of the entire project. There are many ways in which a company can increase conversion rates. One of the examples is using software that increases conversions. Research convertmore.com to learn about the potential of these tools.
A PR campaign can have a critical role in helping businesses convert their clients. As a PR agent, your goal is to help the client make the final decision and convert to a paying customer. When a visitor comes to the website, even if they are satisfied with the products, there is still a little bit of doubt whether this is the right choice.
As a PR agent, you need to guide clients to the right decision.
PR can provide comfort and ease the customer into converting. The first tool to use is reviews of previous clients. Use this information as the backbone of the final stage of the campaign. It helps you show how satisfied the previous clients were. That is solid proof of quality. If there were negative reviews, try to show how the company handled the issues. People are sometimes very skeptical and afraid of having no one to address their problems after the purchase.
Another approach would be to use a case study about the product. This in-depth content shows all the benefits of the product. Someone wanting to understand more about what they want to buy will appreciate a well-written case study.
Furthermore, you can rely on infographics that show various statistics to help them make the final decision.
Help the customer, do not trick them into purchasing
Keep in mind that these tools and strategies can help the customer understand if they need the product and trick them into buying something they don’t really need.
Both can increase sales, but not both are positive for the business. You need to guide the clients and help them understand if what they are buying is what they need. If a customer purchases something of no real value, they will feel scammed at the end.
That approach will only create a negative reputation both for the business and the PR company.
Role of PR in supporting the sales funnel and guiding customers
As we can see, the public relations team plays on two fields in this case. The role of PR in supporting the sales funnel is to help customers make up their minds and increase the conversion rate. However, it is also to ensure the customers make informed decisions and understand what they are buying. You need to be the guide and the teacher the clients need. That is the only way to truly help the sales funnel.
