In our AI-driven world, words take on new meanings.
AI, our new team member, sees the world in its unique way. Understanding its perspective will contribute to a better human-non-human partnership.
Let’s explore what Sales Funnel means in our new working environment from both sides: the conventional perspective representing human concepts and AI’s take on it, for fostering a collaborative partnership between humans and non-humans.
Sales Funnel Conventional Definition
By conventional definition, “Sales Funnel” refers to a visual representation of the stages that potential customers go through before making a purchase.
It resembles a funnel because, at each stage of the customer journey, the number of potential customers decreases, representing the natural filtering process.
The typical stages include:
Awareness: This is the stage where customers become aware of a product or service, often through marketing and advertising.
Interest: Potential customers express interest and actively seek more information about the product or service.
Consideration: At this stage, customers evaluate and compare the offerings, considering factors like features, pricing, and reviews.
Intent: Customers show a strong intention to purchase, such as adding items to a cart or requesting more information.
Purchase: The final stage where the customer completes the transaction and becomes a paying customer.
In a broader perspective, the sales funnel represents the activities done in any stage of the funnel as they get closer to a purchase (bottom of the funnel) the more deliberate engagement they will have with the brand.
What is AI’s perspective on Sales Funnel?
From AI’s point of view, a sales funnel is a conceptualized framework that provides AI with a structured approach for understanding and managing the customer journey from initial awareness to final conversion.
Here’s why AI considered Sales Funnel as a framework:
Structured Stages: The sales funnel consists of distinct stages, such as awareness, interest, consideration, decision, and action. Each stage represents a step in the customer’s journey towards making a purchase decision.
Progressive Movement: Leads progress through the stages of the funnel in a sequential manner, with each stage representing a deeper level of engagement and commitment. For example, a lead may start as a casual observer (awareness stage) and gradually become more interested and committed to the product or service (consideration and decision stages).
Guided Path: The sales funnel provides a guided path for leads to follow as they move through the purchasing process. It helps sales teams understand where each lead is in their journey and what actions or strategies may be most effective in advancing them to the next stage.
Measurement and Optimization: The sales funnel allows for measurement and optimization of the sales process. By tracking leads’ progression through the funnel and identifying areas of friction or drop-off, sales teams can make adjustments to improve conversion rates and overall effectiveness.
Universal Concept: While the specific stages and terminology may vary, the concept of the sales funnel is universally applicable across industries and business models. It provides a common framework for understanding and managing the customer journey, regardless of the specific context.
In Conclusion, The sales funnel serves as a framework for AI to navigate the customer journey, offering a structured approach to sales and marketing endeavours aimed at converting leads into customers. AI relies on this framework to comprehend the likelihood of a customer making a purchase, determine the appropriate information to provide, and orchestrate engagement strategies. Additionally, the sales funnel aids AI in performing actions such as forecasting, enabling it to anticipate customer behaviour and optimize its interactions accordingly.
My Thoughts:
Frameworks are invaluable tools for bringing clarity and structure to abstract concepts, fostering understanding, cooperation, and collaborative efforts towards common objectives.
In the context of AI, frameworks become indispensable. AI lacks the inherent ability to grasp abstract concepts or perceive the broader picture in the same way humans do.
Therefore, breaking down concepts into practical, tangible, and measurable components becomes essential for AI to effectively contribute. By doing so, we enable AI to operate within defined parameters and align its actions with organizational goals.
Utilizing frameworks ensures that AI can navigate complex tasks and decision-making processes in a manner that supports collaboration and drives progress towards shared business objectives.
A sale funnel is one of the frameworks AI our non-human counterparts need when it is integrated within sales and marketing teams.
