Marketers who cannot visualize things clearly will find their marketing strategies ineffective. As a result, having a framework is critical if you want better to understand the various marketing journey stages and customers.
Creating a marketing funnel will assist you in visualizing your strategies and aid in developing a successful campaign. But what exactly is a marketing funnel, and why should you care?
For now, let’s focus on the marketing funnel and how we can apply it to our company.
The definition of a marketing funnel
So, what exactly is a digital marketing funnel?
Simply put, a marketing funnel is a business strategy for converting prospects into customers. It depicts the entire customer journey, from the time the customer first learns about the company until they purchase.
The concept of a marketing funnel is based on the premise that a company’s audience is larger than the percentage of those who will show genuine interest and turn into customers.
Instead of narrowing in on a few prospects, digital marketers cast a wide net to capture as many as possible and nurture them throughout the buying process.
Let’s take a closer look at the different stages of the marketing funnel.
Stages of the Marketing Funnel – An Explanation
When it comes to online marketing, what exactly is a marketing funnel? How does it work? What are the various stages?
The marketing funnel can be found in a variety of forms. Using a simple marketing funnel model with only three stages (Tofu, Mofu, and Bofu) makes it easy to see the whole journey from start to finish.
Let’s take a closer look at the three primary stages of the marketing funnel by defining them one by one and understanding the touchpoints at each stage.
Let’s go through the marketing process step by step.
Tofu, what is it? Something a Little Different to Eat
Perhaps you are familiar with the food made from condensed soy milk that has been pressed into solid white blocks. It’s made from soy and is referred to as Tofu. However, this is not the case with Tofu.
Tofu (Top of Funnel) represents the funnel’s upper tier. It’s the first part of the funnel, as well as the part that’s wider.
It’s all about brand visibility at the top of the marketing funnel, so make sure your target market knows about your company. The time has come to show your industry peers that you are a leader.
This phase is all about raising awareness about your brand. Marketing campaigns are effective at luring potential customers to this point. Events, trade shows, advertising, blog posts, infographics, and social media can all help you build trust and thought leadership.
Lead generation is the primary objective at this point in the marketing process. Consequently, data is gathered to foster the progress of leads down the funnel.
What does Mofu mean?
Your company should be positioned in Mofu as the best product provider or service provider to meet your customer’s needs. This stage may include specific offers and content such as podcasts, comparison tables, and webinars, among other possibilities.
At this point, your job as a digital marketer is to provide enough value for your website’s visitors to want to learn more about your company so that you can build a stronger relationship with them later.
This stage of funnel marketing is all about piquing interest, consideration, and intent.
Customers move to the interest stage after becoming aware of the brand and learning more about the products or services offered by the business. Marketers can cultivate these potential customers by sending them targeted emails.
Free trials and product demonstrations can then be offered to the new customers to cultivate them further. A great opportunity exists here for advertisers to demonstrate why their company is the best option.
The main objective of middle funnel marketing is to capture and nurture leads.
What exactly is a Bofu?
To reach Bofu (Bottom of the Funnel), your relationship with potential customers must be solid enough. This is the bottom of the funnel. This is the narrow end of the funnel or the apex.
As a marketer, your job is to present your brand in such a compelling way that it motivates your prospects to take action and convinces them that it is the best solution to their problems.
The final stage of your sales may resemble a special offer for your goods or services. This is the point at which leads are transformed into actual, long-term clients.
This stage is primarily concerned with product evaluation and purchase. When making a purchasing decision, you must ensure that prospects have enough information about the product to satisfy the desire to complete the transaction.
This final stage’s primary objective is to convert prospects into paying customers.
Comparing the Sales Funnel to the Marketing Funnel
Who owns the funnel has been hotly debated in the world of sales and marketing. Does it have to do with sales or with marketing?
The roles of sales and marketing are frequently distinct. Sales are more concerned with making money than marketing is. These two, on the other hand, go hand in hand. To generate revenue, sales require a marketing strategy. Marketing, on the other hand, is used to increase the number of sales conversions.
They could both use the funnel strategy to generate revenue for the business, just as there is a debate over whose funnel it is.
What’s So Special About Marketing Funnels?
It would help if you were concerned about the marketing funnel because it simplifies the customer’s journey. As a result, companies can more easily plan out each stage of their marketing campaigns.
The marketing funnel can be useful for almost any customer interaction, whether you’re trying to sell something, generating traffic to your store, or collecting affiliate clicks.
The marketing funnel is the best tool for companies to use when developing marketing campaigns and keeping track of customers’ interactions throughout the process. It’s a great way to guide customers from brand awareness to building a connection and then urging them to make a purchase.
Finally, the marketing funnel lets you know exactly what you need to do at each stage of the sales process to influence customers. When you look at your sales funnels from top to bottom, you have a better chance of increasing sales, customer loyalty, and brand awareness.
Understanding the marketing funnels thoroughly will assist you in developing an effective marketing strategy for attracting customers early on, influencing them to learn more about your brand, and persuading them to complete the purchase with you.