Like most business owners, you’re always looking for new and innovative ways to grow your company. And if you’ve been hearing a lot about “funnel building” software lately, you may be wondering if it could be the solution to your business needs.
Here’s everything you need to know about funnel-building software. So whether you’re thinking about using funnels or you just want to learn more, read on!
Table of Contents
- What Is a “Marketing Funnel”?
- What Is Funnel Building Software?
- Why Should You Use Funnel Building Software?
- What Are the Advantages of Using Funnel Building Software?
- What Are the Disadvantages of Funnel Building Software?
- What Mainstream Businesses Use Funnel Software?
- What Is the Conventional Alternative to Funnel Building Software?
- Popular Funnel Building Software
What Is a "Marketing Funnel"?
A marketing funnel is a model that tracks your potential customers as they move through the stages of the buying journey. Often, when people speak of a marketing funnel, they’re also referring to the technical components, which may include everything from a set of ads to a website to a set of customized email sequences.
The funnel begins with the awareness stage, then the potential customers show interest in your product. After customers have purchased your product, they enter the loyalty stage, where they hopefully become repeat customers and advocates for your brand.
By tracking customers at each step of the funnel, businesses can adjust their marketing strategies to better meet customer needs and boost their sales.
What Is Funnel Building Software?
Funnel building software helps businesses create and track marketing funnels. With this type of software, businesses can design custom funnels for their products or services, set up tracking and reporting features to measure progress, and make changes to their funnel designs.
Funnel building software typically allows you to build landing pages, create lead capture forms, automate email, and integrate with your customer relationship management (CRM) software.
Why Should You Use Funnel Building Software?
Funnel building software is a valuable tool for businesses of all sizes. It can help you grow your customer base, increase sales, and improve your marketing strategies. SamCart and ClickFunnels are two of the most popular platforms and both have pros and cons. A newer platform on the market is Systeme, which offers essential features at a more affordable price.
With a bit of research and by taking the time to understand your needs, you can find the perfect software to help your business grow.
What Are the Advantages of Using Funnel Building Software?
Funnel building software offers several advantages for businesses. These include the abilities to:
- Create custom funnels for your products or services
- Set up tracking and reporting features to measure progress
- Make changes to your funnel designs as needed
- Integrate with CRM software
- Email customers at each stage of the funnel
- Increase sales
What Are the Disadvantages of Funnel Building Software?
There are some disadvantages to funnel building software.
- First, you need to have some technical skills to set up and use the software.
- The software can be expensive, and usually requires a monthly fee.
- The software can be complex to use.
- You’re also locked into one system. If the system doesn’t have all the functionality you need, you may need to abandon the entire system you’ve set up.
What Mainstream Businesses Use Funnel Software?
E-commerce and SaaS companies are especially well known for using funnel building software. However, other types of organizations also use funnels including B2B companies, brick-and-mortar stores, and even non-profit organizations.
Using the website BuiltWith, you can see a list of companies that have built funnels with ClickFunnels and companies that have built funnels with SamCart.
What Is the Conventional Alternative to Funnel Building Software?
Traditionally, marketers use a collection of software products to create a tech stack – a set of software that works together to accomplish a job.
A business will almost definitely require a few components in their tech stack: a web host, a content management system (CMS), an email automation system, and online advertising tools like Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and YouTube Ads.
Web Hosting Services
Web hosting allows you to display your own website. Many web hosts like Hyperhost act as one-stop shops by allowing you to purchase your domain, set up security, build your website using their website builder, and get analytics on your website. SiteGround and WP Engine are two top web hosting platforms that developers recommend.
Content Management System
A content management system (CMS) provides a comprehensive solution for creating and managing your website content. Popular solutions include WordPress, Webflow, and Squarespace.
More complex development tools allow you to create custom applications with specialized functionality. For that, you’ll want to consult with a couple full-stack tech engineers or companies that specialize in web and app development to get a few expert opinions.
Email Automation System
Email automation software allows you to streamline email marketing tasks, including sending mass emails, follow-ups, and thank-you notes. You can also use automation software to segment your email list, target specific customers, and track campaign results.
GetResponse is a large, established brand in the email space. However, you can choose another software that’s just as good to suit your specific needs. These are the best alternatives to GetResponse available.
- Mailchimp, MailerLite, and Convert Kit are all excellent email automation platforms.
- Klaviyo allows both email and SMS (text messaging) automation.
- HubSpot integrates well with all of these and is an extremely popular tool for managing customer relationships.
Advertising Tools
Online ads can help you reach a large audience with minimal effort. You can target specific demographics, interests, and even locations.
Advertising platforms like Google Ads, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and even Snapchat, Tik Tok, and LinkedIn are all possible ways to bring new traffic to your website and into your sales funnel.
Popular Funnel Building Software
The two market leaders for all-in-one funnel building software are SamCart and ClickFunnels, so we’ll take a closer look at these two popular options.
SamCart
SamCart is a powerful shopping cart software that allows you to create online stores. With SamCart, you can add products, set up shipping and taxes, and accept payments. You can also design your store’s checkout page to match your branding.
SamCart has many advanced features like abandoned cart recovery. You can learn more about SmartCart here or try SamCart’s 14-day free trial.
ClickFunnels
ClickFunnels is an online sales funnel builder that allows businesses to increase conversion rates and decrease customer acquisition costs.
ClickFunnels offers features for managing customer data and tracking customer interactions within the sales funnel. You can learn more about ClickFunnel here, or try ClickFunnels’ 14-day free trial.