Landing page vs. sales funnel, what’s the difference and which one should you go for?
You ought to ask this question when you want to generate new leads for your business. Both tools are all used for the primary role of developing and nurturing leads.
However, each tool serves a different purpose in different customer journey stages. That’s why it’s important to establish the difference between a landing page and a sales funnel. Let’s dive in and find out the difference below.
What is a Landing Page?
A landing page is a standalone web page designed to receive traffic from a marketing or advertising campaign. As the name suggests, it is the page potential customers land on after clicking on a link in your email, Google, or social media ads.
A landing page can be any form of a webpage ranging from your website's homepage, "About Us" page, or a simple blog post. The key concept is that it is a webpage where you direct your visitors from one of your marketing campaigns.
Your landing page should help you convert your visitors or traffic into leads. You’ll achieve this goal when your web visitors click the call to action (CTA) button.
Your landing page should also get potential customers to share their contact information. It is worth noting that landing pages will help you drive conversion by prompting your potential customer to:
Sign up for a free trial
Sign up for the product demo
Download a lead magnet such as an e-book
Register for a webinar
Complete a product survey
Also, if you are serious about increasing your email marketing ROI, a landing page should be high on your marketing tools list. It will capture relevant email addresses that will increase your email marketing success.
And there is more from where that came from. A landing page will also complement your email marketing efforts by creating brand awareness.
For example, if you use a blog or "about us" page as your landing page, grab the opportunity to provide more information about your products or services. Make an effort to include enough images and videos sharing information about your products to aid the customer in making quicker purchase decisions.
If you are in the process of creating your landing page, ensure it contains the following vital components.
Important Elements of a Successful Landing Page
There is no defined standard for creating a landing page, but when you include certain elements, you’re more likely to be successful. These elements include:
A Strong Headline
Remember that your landing page is a landing zone for the traffic you redirect from your marketing campaign. As is human nature, the first thing you do after getting to an unknown place for the first time is to look for anything familiar or relatable.
That's what a strong headline is for. It should be the first thing that your visitors see. It should relate to the content they read before being redirected here. That will capture their attention and give them a reason to want to stay longer.
A Unique Value Proposition (UVP)
Your strong headline will only make your visitors want to find out what your landing page has in store for them. From there, the floor is all open for you to dazzle and wow your visitors.
The UVP is your moment to steal the show by demonstrating to your customers why your products and services are the best options for eliminating their pain points. But again, like in 'America Got Talent,' your time on stage is limited.
Therefore, it is much smarter to use videos or images to grab the customers' attention and get the message home more entertainingly. A well-presented UVP will increase customer interaction with your brand and skyrocket your conversion rates.
Customer Testimonials
According to marketing statistics, 88% of people have high brand trust levels when recommended by a family member or friend. Over 64% of marketers still believe word of mouth (WOM) marketing is still the most effective form of marketing, while 83% rely on WOM marketing to increase brand awareness.
Hence, always include genuinely positive customer reviews on your landing page. These reviews will make more visitors trust your brand and increase conversions.
Call to Action (CTA)
The best marketers will tell you that you have to create favorable situations to close a deal quickly. The CTA is your best chance of closing the deal with the visitors on your landing page.
It is your chance to convert your visitors and push them down further the sales funnel. You must find a sweet spot to place your CTA button on the landing page strategically.
For example, a good place would be right after your UVP. Just at the right moment after you have your visitors hooked, then you find exciting, short, and persuasive words to get them to take action. For example, subscribe to your email list, try a product sample, or participate in your product survey.
Types of Landing Pages
All that remains now is to choose the type of landing page that will address your business needs. Here are the types of landing pages to choose from.
Lead generation landing page – it is the most common form that businesses use to capture and generate new leads.
Your primary focus with this landing page is to collect customer information from prospective leads. You’ll use this information to market to them further down the line. Therefore, always include a lead magnet, like a free e-book, teaser content for an online course, product sample, or videos that can entice visitors to share their information.
Click through landing pages - it is a simple page you specifically create to push your visitors to the next steps in your sales funnel.
It doesn't contain much; only a specific message or offer you hope will entice customers to take action by clicking the CTA button.
Long-form landing page – it focuses on boosting your conversion.
Therefore, you should buff it with more content and include customer testimonials, statistics, images, and videos to help you better convince potential customers. Don't forget to place a few CTAs in strategic places.
Squeeze page – here, customers share their email addresses in exchange for giving them a free offer.
Now, you know what a landing page is and when to use one. Our question was about landing page vs sales funnel. So, let’s find out what is a sales funnel.
What is a Sales Funnel?
A sales funnel is a marketing tool that guides potential customers through the purchase cycle from initial interest to final sale. In reality, a sales funnel can be regarded as a path in a buyer's journey. In the journey, you take a potential customer through various steps to convert them into paying customers.
A sales funnel automates your customers' sales processes. The automation works in your favor because it gives you control over every stage of the buyer's journey.
Every one of these stages is an opportunity for you to upsell or downsell to your prospective customers. The goal here is to achieve full conversion from a prospect to a paying customer.
A sales funnel should help you accomplish three primary goals:
Turn web visitors into subscribers
Turn subscribers into new customers
Turn new customers to repeat customers
For these goals to be achieved, your sales funnel has to take your customers through the following main stages.
Awareness Stage
Your biggest focus at this stage is to capture the customer's attention and make them aware of your products and services.
You want the customer to have only your products or services in mind when entering the consideration stage of their purchase process. The content you use in this stage should include details of the customer's pain point and present your products and services as the best solution to ease their pain.
For example, a blog post that discusses customer pain points and strategically mentions your products and services as solutions.
Interest Stage
A customer at this stage of your sales funnel is now fully aware of your products and services. However, the work is not yet over; you have only captured their attention.
Here, you want to make the final push to close the deal. The customers want to learn more about your products or services, like how to use them, their benefits, and why they are better than the competitors.
You have to be more persuasive with your marketing content at this stage. For example, you could target these customers with emails containing free e-books and 'how-to videos' of your products.
Decision Stage
You are now nearing the end of the funnel. The customer at this stage has most likely decided to buy your products or services.
However, they may need a final push to shake hands on the deal. For example, an offer of free shipping may be enough to finally get the customer to close the deal.
Action Stage
A customer at this funnel stage has purchased your product or service. But are they delighted with the purchase?
You already know how hard it is to acquire a new customer. Therefore, you cannot afford to lose them after a purchase.
Therefore, here you need to encourage the customer to be regular. For example, send the customer a thank you email for purchasing your products or services. In the same email, request their feedback about the product or purchase process they went through.
Landing Page vs. Sales Funnel: Which One is For Me?
These marketing tools will deliver the results you want based on the goals and objectives you've set for your marketing campaign. For example, if your primary goal is to generate leads, your best bet would be to use a landing page.
However, a sales funnel is your best option if you are looking to drive your sales and collect leads, while still developing customer relationships. Ultimately, both tools will help you build relationships with potential customers and influence them to buy from the business.
Get in touch with us today for help creating landing pages and sales funnels that will get you leads that will then turn into conversions and sales.