“Sales is an outcome, not a goal. It’s a function of doing numerous things right, starting from the moment you target a potential prospect until you finalize the deal.”
The journey of a potential customer from showing interest in a product to making a purchase forms the sales funnel. It comprises several stages commonly referred to as the top, middle, and bottom. Each of these three levels has specific dynamics that vary depending on the buyer persona, type of products and services, and the niche audience.
As the potential customer passes down the sales funnel from the awareness stage to the decision-making stage, they are subject to varied marketing approaches that intend to engage, attract, and convert. Just any strategy won’t work here, as in many cases, it has been observed that even after being qualified and nurtured, about 50% of leads are still not ready to purchase. That is why, creating relevant content in accordance with every stage of the buyer’s journey – namely top of the funnel, middle of the funnel, and bottom of the funnel, is essential.
While some reach the very end of the funnel, which is the decision stage, whereas most of the leads never leave the top of the funnel. It means that not every prospect you attract gets converted into a qualified lead. Therefore, understanding the various aspects of your sales funnel is important to identify the loopholes that never lets you convert the visitor.
Here is a detailed overview of each stage and the content type to be used to nurture leads better and increase sales revenue:
Table of Contents
ToFu: Top of the Funnel
From the time potential customers hear about a product until the time they make a purchase, he/she passes through various stages of the sales funnel. The top of the funnel (ToFu) is the stage of awareness. In this stage, brands have a large pool of potential leads to attract through product and service awareness.
Source: Web Ascender
As per Adweek, more than 80% of customers do online research to find out relevant solutions for their concerns before making a purchase. Therefore, publishing useful and informative content on your website, social media, and other online channels can help improve your brand’s online visibility and draw the audience’s attention towards your brand. Here, you need to become an information source for customers and make them aware of your brand and how you can address their pain points or concerns through content. But, remember, the ToFU content created and shared in this stage should be educational and not a sales pitch.
The content you use in the ToFu stage should be engaging and SEO-optimized, featuring relevant keywords, meta titles, descriptions, and titles. It helps customers obtain a detailed understanding of the problems they are facing. Moreover, make sure that you regularly update content and promote it as it is your tool to capture customer attention and drive them to your site.
ToFu Content Types:
- Short videos
- Infographics
- Blogs
- E-books
- Whitepapers
- Audio/Video Podcasts
- Social Media Updates
MoFu: Middle of the Funnel
Now that you have grabbed your customer’s attention with the offering of relevant content at the ToFu stage, here comes the next level, which is the middle of the funnel (MoFu). By the time you reach this stage, people have already acknowledged their concerns and are keen to find an appropriate solution. Hence, here is your perfect opportunity to highlight your service or product and bring it before the audience.
Source: SlideShare
In this part of the sales funnel, you get the opportunity to turn visitors into qualified leads by positioning your brand as the solution provider. You need to use MoFu content to educate prospects that your company has the solution that can address their needs and challenges discussed earlier in the ToFu stage. The content in the middle of your sales funnel will aim towards educating the buyer on why they should opt for your service or product.
At the MoFu stage, you can offer gated content to potential buyers in exchange for their contact details, which you can use later to nurture leads and offer them personalized content via email marketing campaigns. So, start gathering data like email addresses through landing page forms, newsletter sign-ups, or content downloads.
Build credibility in the middle of the sales funnel, with the below content type.
MoFu Content Types:
- Brochures
- Webinars/Events
- Case studies
- FAQ sheets
- E-books
- Quiz/Surveys
- Useful Resources
BoFu: Bottom of the Funnel
When you have a healthy collection of leads who are most likely to buy, you move to the bottom of the funnel (BoFu). These leads that you have attracted using ToFu content and engaged further with MoFu content are now ready to purchase. Here, they only need the final push towards making a decision in your favor. This is the stage where you finally get to sell, which is why MoFu is crucial.
Source: Pinterest
At the BoFu, you can use content to showcase your product and demonstrate how it works, describe its features, benefits, and how it is better than the competitors in the market.
BoFu Content Types:
- Product comparisons
- Product demo
- Free trial
- Coupons
- Consultations
- Assessments
- Testimonials
Takeaways
However, the process of lead nurturing through ToFu, MoFu, and BoFu is not a standalone process. All three stages must work together to take the visitor down to the tip of the sales funnel and convert them into buying customers.
You must not forget that ToFu content is the key as it is the stage from where the first level of engagement takes place, helping brands to build a customer relationship that lays the foundation for the final stage, which is BoFu. It is through a strong and effective content strategy that brands can better engage and encourage leads to seal the deal at the final stage.
As you proceed down the funnel, creating great content that nurtures mid-funnel leads should be your focus. With relevant content and a well-optimized website and SEO strategy, you are more likely to generate leads and keep them hooked with your brand for repeat sales.
