One of the most common questions we hear from small and medium business owners when they start selling online is: “Which platform should I use?” Right after it comes “How do I attract more customers?” or “Which delivery service do you recommend?”.
And these are all legitimate questions – but in the context of digital commerce, they are premature. Before we set up any technical or operational element, we must know one thing: where is our customer in the process of deciding to buy?!
If we don't know that, everything else is guesswork.
This is exactly where something that many eCommerce brands in BiH still don't use properly comes to the fore – the Digital Marketing Funnel, or DMF for short.
What is a Digital Marketing Funnel – and why is it decisive?
The Digital Marketing Funnel is a model that shows the psychological journey of a customer from the moment they first hear about your brand or product, all the way to the moment they become your loyal user who recommends you to others. That process is not linear, but it is predictable, and it is precisely in that predictability that the strength of the DMF as a strategy-planning tool lies.
The funnel is usually divided into four main stages:
- Awareness
- Consideration
- Conversion
- Loyalty
And each of these stages requires different communication, different content, specific channels, but also precisely crafted messages that address the concrete needs and emotions of users at that stage.
Unfortunately, in BiH a large number of eCommerce businesses reduce everything to one question: “How do I sell?” They immediately jump to the conversion stage, without previously built recognition or trust. The consequence is high advertising costs, a low conversion rate and fluctuations in sales that look as if there are “no rules.” But the rules exist – they are simply not applied.
How does the funnel look in practice?
Let's take three very different examples to explain how the funnel is used to shape strategy.
The first example is the City Card – a digital solution for tourists coming to a city.
This is a classic case of a product at the top of the funnel. Customers don't know that such a solution exists, they don't search for it, and they don't think of it as a necessity. So the job of this business is not selling – at least not immediately. The first task is to create a need, that is, to raise awareness that such a solution exists and that it can solve a concrete problem for tourists – reduce sightseeing costs, speed up entry to museums, and make getting around easier.
The strategy for this stage must be based on education and visibility. That means investing in SEO, content marketing, video guides and blog posts like “7 things you must know when coming to Sarajevo.” The goal is not sales, but visibility and contextualization of the product. Without it, tourists will never even find out that the solution exists – let alone buy it.
The second example is a white collared shirt – a product everyone knows, everyone understands, and for which a need arises several times a year.
Here the customer is in the consideration stage. They know what they want, but they don't know from whom to buy. There are plenty of options, but they choose based on details: brand, material quality, price, reviews, delivery service. In this part of the funnel, the brand's job is not to explain what the product is, but why the customer should choose them specifically.
This is where positioning strategies come into play: reviews from satisfied customers, comparisons with the competition, highlighting value for money, and highlighting that certain something others don't have – whether it's local production, a guaranteed size exchange, or better customer support. The customer at this stage is rational, but still looking for an emotional trigger that will convince them they've made the best possible decision.
The third example is natural baby soap – a product most often bought by parents with specific needs.
Here the customer is at the bottom of the funnel – the conversion stage. They are ready to buy, they already know which ingredients they're looking for, they know they want something natural, and now they're only looking for confirmation that your product is safe, verified and worth the money.
Here the testimonials of other parents play a role, product safety certificates, the experiences of influencers who are parents, as well as campaigns like “From moms for moms” that create an emotional bridge and build trust. At this stage every doubt must be removed, every obstacle cleared, and the user must be given a clear signal that they are in the right place.
And what about loyalty?
In BiH eCommerce practice, the loyalty stage is very rarely planned strategically. The job is often perceived as finished the moment the money lands in the account. However, a returning customer is worth five times more than a new one. Not only will they buy again, but they will also talk about you, share experiences and bring in other users.
That is why a business strategy must include activities after the purchase as well: email follow-up, personalized offers, a reward system, exclusive discounts for loyal customers, customer support that remembers previous purchases and approaches the user with understanding and empathy.
Where do we most often make mistakes?
In BiH, most businesses skip the first two funnel stages – awareness and consideration – and immediately start with ads targeting conversion. It's like trying to sell someone a car without even knowing whether they have a driver's license.
On the other hand, in more developed eCommerce markets in Europe, the funnel is used as the foundation of business strategy. Teams create content for each stage, set different success metrics (e.g., impressions for awareness, CTR for consideration, ROAS for conversion), and precisely optimize campaigns by stage. This enables them not only to better understand their users, but also to build a profitable business in the long term.
Conclusion
The Digital Marketing Funnel is not just another theory for the marketing team. It is the foundation for planning and developing the entire business model. Each stage requires a different approach, tools and communication, and a business strategy that ignores the funnel – inevitably wastes time, money and potential.
That is why it's crucial that every eCommerce business in BiH, regardless of size or industry, learns to think in funnel terms. To know where its customer is and how to approach them – not as a salesperson, but as a guide through the decision.
At the end of the day, you won't sell more just because you have a webshop. You'll sell more because you know how and when to address the right customer – at the moment when they are ready to listen to you.
Everything described here – from building awareness, through the consideration stage, to conversion and loyalty – was the main topic of one of the latest "Trebal’ eComme kafa?" meetups. There we share hands-on experiences, analyze local and foreign examples, and work on making the eCommerce scene in BiH more mature, more competitive and more profitable.
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