The Marketing Funnel, What it is and How it helps to generate leads is something that every marketer should know. In this article, you will go through every stage of the marketing funnel. 

What is a Marketing Funnel?

A marketing funnel is a model of the buyers journey. It represents the buying stages people go through after being aware of a business, service or product.

The funnel shape illustrates the audience’s narrowing as the journey progresses toward purchase. While you want to minimise dropouts, it’s natural for some people to exit at each stage.

Your highest-quality leads will make it to the end.

In reality, customer journeys are varied and complex. However, the marketing funnel provides a simplified framework for marketers. 

You can use it to:

• Understand your audience and tailor your approach accordingly
• Identify and address weaknesses in the customer journey
• Contextualize your marketing results

All this helps you create a more effective marketing strategy. And ultimately get more sales.

Marketing Funnel Stages

The marketing funnel stages differ by model because businesses create funnels to suit their needs. For example, Business-to-Business(B2B) and Business-to-Customer(B2C), buyers’ journeys tend to work differently.

One of the most commonly used models is AIDA: Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action.

However, you can simplify any marketing funnel into three stages:

1. Top of the Funnel (ToFu): People become aware of the problem you can solve
2. Middle of the Funnel (MoFu): Prospects want a solution and consider their options
3. Bottom of the Funnel (BoFu): Prospects decide on a solution and become customers

Here’s an example of the marketing funnel in action:

1. ToFu: Someone reads a blog post about improving their fitness
2. MoFu: They’re interested in getting an activity tracker so they start comparing models
3. BoFu: They decide they want a Fitbit and purchase on Amazon

 

Top of the Funnel Marketing(ToFu)

The top of the funnel (ToFu) is where you introduce people to your business, service or product. And the problem it can resolve. 

Some marketers call this the awareness, attention, discovery or engagement stage.

In theory, you want as many people as possible to enter your funnel. The more people you reach, the more leads you can convert into customers.

However, it’s important to focus on the quality of your audience. Not just the quantity. You need to be highly targeted. Otherwise, you’ll waste time and money reaching the wrong audience.

For this, define your target customers.

Define Your Target Customers

Start by analyzing your existing customers. What kinds of people have already purchased your product or service?

Observe in Google Analytics. The “Demographics” report covers age groups, genders, countries, cities, education, employment status, income, languages and interests.

Increase Brand Awareness

Many brands use advertising to increase brand awareness.

However, Inbound Marketing can deliver a better Return on Investment(RoI) at this stage because it earns your audience’s attention. It’s less promotional.

The main goal should be to raise brand awareness among the target audience. And establish itself as an authority in its market.

People at the top of the marketing funnel are usually searching for somewhat general information. If you provide that information (and it’s tangentially related to the products or services you offer), you can raise awareness of your brand. 

It’s also helpful to look at your competitors’ top pages. Seeing the keywords they target or rank for in Google can give you ideas. You can analyze your competitors’ pages.

The next step is writing search engine-friendly content that’s the best of its kind. This helps you secure high search rankings organically and get more people into your marketing funnel. 

However, search isn’t the only important channel for brand awareness. There’s also:

• Digital PR: Earn media coverage on the sites your prospects visit
• Social Media Marketing: Create engaging and shareable social media content
• Online communities: Answer relevant questions on sites such as Reddit and Quora
• Guest Blogging: Write helpful articles on sites your audience visits
• Events: Speak at or run events that your target audience attends
• Newsletters: Keep in touch with prospects who’ve signed up

Just be careful not to spread yourself too thin. It can be more effective to focus on one or two strategies. Especially when you’re starting.

The best strategy depends on your buyer personas. And the resources available to you. Testing and measuring will help you spend time and money in the most efficient way possible.

Middle of the Funnel Marketing(MoFu)

The middle of the funnel (MoFu) is where people identify a problem and research solutions. In this stage, they want to know which product or service is right for them. Some marketers break this down into interest and consideration stages. Or something similar, like desire and evaluation.

Educate Your Prospects

At this stage, educate your prospects. Lead them toward a buying decision. Explain what makes you different from your competitors.

Your support team should be available to answer questions directly. Live chat is often the most convenient option for your prospects. But phone, email and social media are good options. 

Provide self-serve resources, too.

Many marketers believe that how-to guides, product overviews, and case studies are best at generating new leads. While success stories often help nurture those leads through the funnel.

Manage Your Reputation Online

Prospects won’t always come to you for advice. They will also seek information from their influencers and industry experts.

This is why Online Reputation Management is so important. It means getting more positive reviews and media coverage. And taking action against anything negative.

That way, you build trust and secure more sales.

For example, Marketers should ensure their brand features prominently and positively.

They can do this by collecting reviews on:

• Their website
• Their Google Business Profile
• Third-party review platforms, like Trustpilot

And by collaborating with relevant publishers.

Bottom of the Funnel Marketing(BoFu)

The bottom of the funnel (BoFu) is where leads become customers. It’s also known as the purchase, decision, conversion or action stage.

At this point, prospects have done their research. They’re ready to buy. 

If they haven’t yet chosen a provider, they will likely head to Google. To search a transactional keyword.

If they have already chosen a provider, they might go straight to your website. Or search a navigational keyword.

• SEO is how you appear higher in organic search results. It’s a long-term strategy that can attract people at all stages of the funnel.
• Pay-Per-Click (PPC) is how you appear higher in paid search results. It can deliver near-immediate results. Many marketers use it to attract prospects at the bottom of the funnel.

Generally, a combination of both gives the best results. Either way, you need to build awesome landing pages.

Build Awesome Landing Pages

Landing pages are the pages that finally convince visitors to buy. 

The quality of a landing page affects its organic and paid rankings. In addition to the conversion rate (the percentage of visitors that move forward with the purchase).

You need to get it right. Optimize for target keywords. Reduce the barriers to purchase. And reassure customers they’re making the right decision.

Turn Leads into Loyal Customers

The customer’s journey shouldn’t end after they make a purchase. The bottom of the funnel should also include loyalty and advocacy stages.

A continued relationship with your customers makes them more likely to buy again. And to recommend your brand to others.

This feeds more people into your marketing funnel. Creating an ongoing cycle of sales.

Loyalty and referral programs can play an important role here. They incentivize customers to make repeat purchases and recommend your brand. 

But loyalty programs don’t work for every business.

What you can always provide is great aftercare. Both in the form of customer support and post-purchase content.

Keep previous customers engaged by sharing post-purchase content through social media, email marketing and other channels. This keeps your brand on customers’ minds long after they’ve made a purchase.

Different Types of Marketing Funnels

Different types of marketing funnels focus on specific strategies or goals.

For example:
Digital marketing funnels focus on online activities, such as in social media, websites or third-party applications. They don’t include offline tactics.

Content marketing funnels focus on content that people engage with throughout the customer journey. They can help you create a more cohesive and effective content strategy.

Other types of funnels can help your business too:

• Conversion funnels outline the route to a specific user action. Such as a newsletter signup or demo request. 
• Purchase/buying/customer funnels outline the steps from awareness to purchase. But they don’t necessarily focus on marketing tactics and goals.
• Sales funnels or lead generation funnels also outline the steps from awareness to purchase. But they’re centred around sales procedures and goals.

Sometimes, people use these terms interchangeably. But if you use multiple funnels within your business, it’s helpful to define them individually.

Set a marketing strategy that suits your business, products or services, and according to the required marketing funnel. The marketing funnel plays a crucial role in business and setting strategies and goals according to it can help your business to convert more leads to customers.