Ecommerce is complicated. As the internet has expanded, we’ve seen a quick shift in consumer behaviour. Only a few decades ago, people made a few choice purchases online and spent the rest of their shopping budget at the mall. Today, ecommerce sales are projected to exceed 4.3 trillion U.S. dollars worldwide, and that seems like just the beginning. 

Nowadays, selling online is practically a science. With so many different tools, platforms, and approaches you can leverage, it’s hard to feel like you’re doing as much as you can to optimize your sales funnel. 

Whether you’re a Shopify Plus merchant optimizing product feeds with Akeneo, a B2B brand using Adobe Commerce’s AI-driven personalization, or a DTC startup using Klaviyo to recover abandoned carts, this guide will walk you through actionable strategies to attract, engage, convert, and retain customers at every stage of your sales funnel. 

Awareness Stage: Attracting the Right Audience

The awareness stage is the top of the funnel, where potential customers first discover your brand. These are typically first-time visitors who may know little about your products or value proposition. The main goal here isn’t an immediate sale but to make a strong first impression and generate interest in your product or service. 

KPIs to Track:

• Traffic sources (organic, paid, social) 

• Click-through rates (CTR) for ads and content

• SEO keyword rankings and impressions 

Strategies and Tool Integration

Top-funnel strategies focus on promoting your brand and name so that your target audience knows you exist and can become a future paying customer. This stage of the funnel relies heavily on content marketing, advertising, and social commerce. 

First, let’s look at how to improve your SEO and content marketing. With a PIM like Akeneo, you can easily optimize your product pages/feeds with rich metadata for the SERPs and more specialized services like Google Shopping. 

Create blog posts targeting long-tail keywords (e.g., “eco-friendly cork yoga mats for beginners”) and leverage an ecommerce platform like Shopify Plus or Adobe Commerce to ensure that your pages load quickly, are mobile-friendly, and offer features like editable meta tags, SEO-friendly URLs, and automatic sitemaps. 

Next, you can build lookalike audiences with a tool like Shopify Audiences or customer data from a marketing platform like Klaviyo. You can then use this data to create ads targeting high-intent shoppers on social media or Google Ads. 

Finally, incorporate user-generated content (UGC) from your existing customers in your ads to build trust with shoppers who might not be familiar with your brand. Also, consider partnering with influencers relevant to your niche to tap into their follower base. The internet is full of drop-shipped, low-quality, scammy stores. Make sure that people encountering your products for the first time understand that you’re trustworthy. 

Consideration Stage: Engaging Shoppers

In the consideration stage, visitors are aware of your brand and are evaluating your products or services. The goal here is to pique their interest and build trust so they move closer to a buying decision. Shoppers at this mid-funnel stage are browsing product pages, comparing options, and seeking reassurance that your offering fits their needs.

KPIs to Track:

• Bounce rate, time on page, pages per session and returning visitors

• Cart-to-detail rate and site search usage

• Conversion rate of visitors to leads, and email engagement

Strategies and Tool Integration

When targeting shoppers in this interest stage, you need to reinforce that you’re not just a legitimate brand but also the best brand with the best product. To achieve this, start with your website. 

Ensure each product page is informative and compelling. Use high-resolution images, videos, or 360° views, and detailed product descriptions that highlight benefits, specs, and how-tos. Include customer reviews and ratings to provide social proof, and an FAQ section addressing common questions.

Implement a strong internal search engine: both Shopify Plus and Adobe Commerce have capabilities for this (Adobe Commerce even offers AI-powered site search via Adobe Sensei). When shoppers can quickly search and filter to the exact product that fits their needs, they’re more likely to stay and consider purchasing rather than bouncing to a competitor.

Wherever possible, tailor the on-site experience to the user. This could include “Recommended Products” or “Customers Also Viewed” widgets based on their browsing behaviour. Adobe Commerce’s built-in AI can automatically surface relevant product recommendations and personalized content based on user data.

Noibu can also help improve your website by identifying, prioritizing, and fixing UI issues and site bugs, such as broken links and slow pages.

Next, while we mentioned UGC in the awareness section, it is also highly valuable in the consideration stage. Highlight testimonials, case studies, or trust badges. If you have press mentions, showcase them. Many shoppers read reviews closely in this stage, so encourage customers to leave reviews and consider using a tool like Yotpo to display UGC and ratings prominently.

Finally, focus on retargeting campaigns, both in ads and via email, to stay top-of-mind with browsers who haven’t pulled the trigger yet. Klaviyo’s abandoned cart flows and personalized email sequences, for example, can help re-engage visitors. 

Conversion Stage: Closing the Sale

Welcome to the bottom half of the funnel! The conversion stage is when the purchase decision is made. By now, the customer is highly interested; the focus shifts to removing any final friction or doubts, so they complete the order. This stage includes adding to the cart, going through checkout, and actually paying. 

KPIs to Track:

• Conversion rate/checkout completion rate, and cart abandonment rate

• Average order value (AOV) and cost per acquisition (CPA)

Strategies and Tool Integration

The goal of this stage is simple: make it as easy for people to buy and spend as much money at your store as possible. To achieve this, we need to work on conversion rate optimization (CRO) and ensure that our checkout process is as simple and straightforward as possible. 

Shopify, for example, offers a one-page checkout option to simplify the checkout process and reduce the likelihood that shoppers will drop off before completing their purchase. You can leverage its checkout customization options, and – if you have a developer or ecommerce agency available – you can also further stand out with the help of Checkout UI Extensions and Shopify Functions.

Remove any unnecessary form fields (do you really need the customer’s company name or fax number?) and allow guest checkout without forcing account creation. The goal is to make it easy for customers to buy. 

Similarly, while the effort to check out should be low, make sure to offer multiple payment and shipping/pickup options to accommodate as many people as possible. This includes accepting credit/debit cards, PayPal, Apple/Google Pay, offering Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) via services like Klarna or Afterpay, and Buy Online, Pick Up In-Store (BOPIS) options.  

Next, consider adding urgency and incentives, such as timed discounts sent via Klayvio’s SMS marketing tools, and set up cart abandonment email automations to encourage those who haven’t purchased yet to come back and complete the transaction. You can also use exit-intent pop-ups on cart or checkout pages, like a pop-up stating “Complete your order now for 5% off, use code EXTRA5.” 

Finally, track checkout errors like declined payments, performance issues or script errors with Noibu’s real-time monitoring to catch issues before they become problems. If possible, have live chat or a support line readily available on the cart and checkout pages. A customer in checkout might have a last-second question where a quick live answer via Gorgias chat can save the sale. Gorgias can even be configured to proactively reach out if it detects a customer lingering on the checkout page.

Loyalty Stage: Retaining & Expanding Relationships

The loyalty stage follows the first purchase and covers retention, repeat purchases, and customer advocacy. Here, the objective is to turn one-time buyers into loyal, repeat customers and eventually brand advocates. This stage is the most important because retaining customers and increasing lifetime value often costs less than acquiring new ones.

KPIs to Track:

• Customer lifetime value (CLV), retention rate, and repeat purchase rate

• Net Promoter Score (NPS) and referral rates (if you have a referral program)

Strategies and Tool Integration

This bottom-of-the-funnel stage is vital for successful businesses, yet it requires the most consistent effort to keep customers interested and engaged. The first step is to ensure that all new customers feel well taken care of. 

Make sure that your customer support for post-purchase issues (returns, inquiries, troubleshooting) is top-notch. Quick, empathetic service via email, phone, or chat will leave a positive impression. With Gorgias, you can manage and respond to customer tickets efficiently across channels. Gorgias’s AI and automation tools can handle common requests and flag VIP customers so you can prioritize them.

Next, implement a referral or loyalty program to reward repeat purchases. This could be points-based (e.g., earn points for every dollar spent, redeem for discounts or freebies) or tiered (e.g., silver, gold, platinum levels with increasing perks).

Use your customer data to stay in touch in a meaningful way. Segment customers based on purchase history or preferences and send targeted content. For example, after someone buys, send a “thank you” email and, a week later, a usage guide or tips for the product. 

Later, send personalized recommendations for complementary products. With Klavio, you can set up automated post-purchase email flows, such as a cross-sell email a couple of weeks after purchase or a “We miss you” campaign if someone hasn’t purchased again in a few months. 

After a purchase, follow up to request a review or testimonial. Happy customers’ reviews not only help bring in new customers, which feeds back into Awareness/Consideration, but also make the customer feel involved.

Conclusion

When building a sales funnel for your ecommerce business, keep in mind that it's not a one-time task but a continuous process. By strategically tracking the right metrics and leveraging specialized tools like Shopify Plus, Adobe Commerce, Noibu, Gorgias, Klaviyo, and Akeneo, you can consistently improve your customers' journey, drive conversions, and increase customer lifetime value. Invest in each funnel stage to create a growth engine that keeps your ecommerce business thriving.

At Blue Badger, we have years of experience building ecommerce conversion funnels for our clients while implementing and maintaining the tools and platforms behind them. Whether you need a full platform setup or simply want to integrate an SMS automation tool into your marketing strategy, we’re happy to start building an ecommerce ecosystem you can rely on. Contact us today to learn more.