Table of contents
Top of the Funnel – top of the sales funnel. ToFu, MoFu, BoFu – how to align activities with the marketing funnel?
ToFu is the first stage of the sales funnel, the first point of contact between a potential customer and your company, products, or services. At this stage, the brand’s goal is to establish itself in the audience’s mind and generate traffic. ToFu, MoFu, BoFu—how to align activities with the marketing funnel?
This is the point at which the audience is vetted, and a separation is made between those who accidentally clicked on an ad or came to our website by chance and those who may actually be interested in our offer. When contacting customers at the top of the funnel, we should focus on the audience’s interests, which often involves focusing activities more on education than direct sales.
ToFu is the most commonly used format at this stage. ToFu, MoFu, BoFu – How do you fit activities into the marketing funnel?
Blog industry articles – address industry trends, provide basic advice and answer common questions.
Webinars – are used to discuss issues and answer questions. They are usually conducted by authorities in their field.
Podcasts – an online audio publication where one or more people narrate or lead a conversation on a particular topic. It is usually suitable for listening while doing other activities.
Infographics – visual representations of information, data or processes. They are easy to remember and share on social media. It is easy to build a large reach with them.
Paid advertising campaigns—reach and image formats (such as Google Display Network or Demand Gen). You can read about them in the article “Display campaigns in Google Ads—everything you need to know!“) allow you to reach a large number of users with image and video creatives displayed to them in various places.
These are usually content that can be encountered by accident or in search of information not directly related to the product or service. They can also be materials that allow you to solve a problem related to an issue. For example, a credit counsellor who cares about building brand awareness with potential customers may record a podcast on financial topics. In this way, he provides potentially interested people with valuable information and, simultaneously, can build his image among future customers.
Another example of establishing a presence in the audience’s consciousness is a search engine presence for educational phrases, such as “how to open an e-commerce business” or “how to open a restaurant.” To find such phrases, a keyword planner in Google Ads will help. Users find answers to issues of interest on your website, and you can advertise a service or product. For example, disposable restaurant packaging at a discounted price or interior finishing. By the way, users end up on your remarketing list, and you will be able to reach them at a later stage of the funnel.
MoFu – Middle of the Funnel – middle of the sales funnel
ToFu, MoFu, BoFu – how do you fit activities into the marketing funnel? The middle of the funnel, as the name suggests, refers to a central stage in the purchase path. Potential customers are likely already familiar with your brand or product and are considering a purchase. This stage is when you should provide them with additional information that can convince them to take your offer. Customers are comparing different options and considering whether a product or service is right for them.
At this stage, the potential customer becomes familiar with our content. He is probably already initially interested in the product, so we should attempt to convince him. At this point, the focus should be on presenting the potential benefits to the customer. Answer the question: What can they get if they decide to buy just our product?
For this purpose, blog posts, webinars, and e-books – i.e. the formats already mentioned above, are ideal. This time, however, the nature of the content should be less general and more focused on your product and describing its benefits, as well as the problems it solves.
MoFu – most-used-at-this-stage-formats
E-books—This increasingly popular format is a great tool for presenting specific examples illustrating how your products can help solve customers’ problems. You can make your e-book live as a lead magnet by killing two birds with one stone: first, helping the customer and second, getting contact information.
Industry reports – analyses that focus on a specific problem area faced by potential customers. This content should present different approaches to solving the problem and show why your solution is effective.
Guides – help potential customers understand what they should look for when choosing a solution for their specific need. You can create a list of key criteria to consider, step-by-step guides or interactive tools to help them make the right choice.
Guides – help them make the right choice.
E-marketing emails – with them you will keep potential customers interested by sending them expert content, such as articles. You can also include discount codes or special offers for regular customers.
Trial Versions – with their help you will convince customers that your product or service meets their expectations and needs. It is also a good tool to tie the customer to a particular solution.
BoFu – Bottom of the Funnel – bottom of the sales funnel
BoFu is the stage at which customers make the decision to engage with your brand. Therefore, it is a key moment that usually determines the success of the sales process. If you correctly address the needs and break down the fears of customers in this phase, you will dramatically increase the chance of closing the deal.
At this stage, our task is to source leads and for the sale of the products or services offered. You can provide customers with discount codes, tutorials or even greeting e-mails! .
BoFu – most commonly used formats at this stage. ToFu, MoFu, BoFu – how to fit activities into the marketing funnel?
Case studies describe ongoing projects to showcase the successes achieved. They describe examples of implementations, the problems encountered during them, and the solutions applied. This format lets customers realize that we know our stuff and can take care of the implementation of services at a high level.
Product comparisons give customers insight into a particular choice’s similarities, differences, and benefits. Using this format, we can show customers why choosing a particular product will bring them the greatest benefits.
Calculators and buying guides are tools to convince a customer who already has a strong purchase intention but is thinking about choosing a particular offer. For example, he may be trying to compare loan instalments at different banks or lease amounts for different car brands.
Reviews – customer reviews can be a persuasive factor in making a purchase. Depending on the industry, there are even times when they are the deciding factor in the selection process! Ensure that your company’s reviews are visible online. Encourage customers to display them at every possible opportunity. This will not only increase your visibility but also build your company’s credibility.
FAQ—frequently asked questions. This is a set of answers to the most common concerns and questions about products or services.
After-sales-care
A frequently overlooked element when designing funnels is after-sales care. Most salespeople focus solely on selling products or services, forgetting that tying the customer to the brand carries great benefits.
These are the elements of after-sales care that you should consider if you want to tie customers to your brand:
Technical support – can include providing advice by phone, email, live chats or even personal visits to resolve problems.
Warranties and after-sales service – providing customers with product warranties and the availability of after-sales service if a product needs to be repaired or replaced.
Customer loyalty programs and promotions—Create loyalty programs and offer promotions specifically for customers who have made a purchase. These can include special offers, discounts on future purchases, or access to exclusive events and content.
ToFu, MoFu, BoFu – content-matching
In the process of designing a funnel and matching content to the appropriate stage, the most important thing is to understand each stage. Try to put yourself in the customer’s shoes and think about what they need at any given time and how you can deliver it to them. This is especially important for industries where the buying process is long (e.g., B2B) and the customer does the research themselves. If you want to effectively design long purchase funnels, read the article “How to run online campaigns for the B2B sector?”
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ToFu, MoFu, BoFu – how to fit activities into a marketing funnel? Funnel design is a difficult task. Their effectiveness depends on a variety of factors that should be taken into account while still in the planning stage of marketing activities. If you want to be sure that your activities will bring the expected results, use the services of Digital Agency The agency mainly deals with planning and implementing online marketing activities. You can take a look at the ranking of digital agencies in Poland. These can consist of brand building, search engine advertising, public relations, creating marketing communications, optimizing online campaigns or data analytics. The agency’s marketing department will evaluate the budget allocation, recommend solutions in PPC advertising and make possible changes to the website.