Marketing Funnel Strategy

What is a marketing funnel?

A marketing funnel is a series of stages to guide prospects through the customer journey. The
funnel helps marketing teams plan and measure efforts to attract, engage, and convert
prospects through content and other marketing materials, like landing pages and ads.

Marketing funnels are commonly based on the ‘AIDA’ model:

 Awareness
 Interest
 Desire
 Action

But you can simplify the funnel into a three-stage model:

 Top of the funnel (TOFU): awareness stage

 Middle of the funnel (MOFU): consideration stage
 Bottom of the funnel (BOFU): conversion stage

Note: you can rename or add stages like ‘loyalty’ and ‘advocacy’ to any funnel model,
but the function of the marketing funnel—to attract, engage, and convert leads—
remains the same regardless of how you identify specific stages.

For the rest of this article we'll look at the TOFU/MOFU/BOFU funnel model.

Keep in mind: sometimes marketing funnels and conversion funnels are thought of
as interchangeable, but it’s important to understand the subtle differences between
them.

Marketing funnels generate leads: they attract prospects at the top of the funnel,
and help marketers measure and track efforts to engage and convert prospects in
the middle and bottom of the funnel.

Conversion funnels generate sales: they capture the customer journey from
awareness to conversion, which could mean buying a product, completing a form,
signing up to a list, or another type of micro-conversion.

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Marketing Funnel Strategy

Learn what works (and what doesn't) at each stage of the

funnel

What is the difference between the marketing and sales funnel?

Just like the marketing and conversions funnels share similarities, the marketing
and sales funnels are closely related in that they describe the process of turning
prospects (potential customers) into actual customers, by taking them from the
awareness stage (top of funnel) to the conversion stage (bottom of funnel).

The primary difference between the two consists in the way the conversion stage is
defined. Generally, a site visitor who has signed up to your product or service, or a
free trial, has reached the end of the marketing funnel. The sales funnel, however, is
more specifically designed to turn leads into paying customers. As such, one
objective of marketing funnels is to turn Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) into Sales
Qualified Leads (SQLs).

Marketing funnels are also broader in scope, especially if you break down the
bottom of the funnel into different stages.

If you go beyond the conversion or purchase stage, the marketing funnel also
includes a loyalty stage that consists of turning one-time customers into repeat
customers. This step usually entails marketing tactics like loyalty programs and other
forms of continued relationship. Finally, the very last of the marketing funnel stages
is about making those loyal customers into advocates of your brand.

3 stages of the marketing funnel

The traditional funnel model is linear, beginning at the top of the funnel and ending
at the bottom, where your prospects convert.

The challenge is that marketing funnels don’t always work like this in the real
world. People don’t always jump into a funnel right at the top and progress step-
by-step through each stage until they come out the bottom, a new customer.

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Marketing Funnel Strategy

Many people bounce in, out of, and around the funnel before they convert. Or, they
may make it to the bottom of the funnel and then (gasp!) drop out, never to be seen
or heard from again.

The marketing funnel—like people's real-life buying behavior—is nonlinear, which is

why it's important to understand the customer journey from the moment of
awareness to the moment of conversion. And part of that is understanding how
each stage works in the traditional marketing funnel model.

1. Top of the funnel: awareness

The top of the funnel (TOFU) is where prospects become aware of your brand and
engage with it for the first time. They might not know a lot about your product or
service yet, so this stage focuses on content and marketing material that promotes
brand awareness.

Use this lead generation stage to attract prospects, and show them what you have to
offer:

 Include content pieces that educate potential customers about concepts

related to your product or service in your content marketing and SEO strategy
 Create a landing page or infographic that introduces your brand, service, or
product to new visitors.
 Share a post on social media that highlights your unique selling proposition
(USP).
 Use paid ads on social media and in podcasts that are relevant to your target
audience.

2. Middle of the funnel: consideration

Potential customers enter the middle of the funnel (MOFU) once they’ve engaged
with your brand in a meaningful way: maybe they’ve subscribed to an email list, are
following you on social media, or have signed up for a webinar.

Use this stage to engage with prospects—to earn their trust and set your brand
apart:

 Write an article or white paper that provides value, answers a question, and
solves a problem for your potential customers.

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Marketing Funnel Strategy

 Invite visitors to participate in a survey to learn more about the drivers, hooks,
and barriers they encounter with your brand.
 Share case studies and product comparisons.
 Create landing pages specific to individual customer segments.

Pro tip: surveying potential customers is an opportunity to learn how real people
shop and behave on your site. Ask open-ended questions like

 Where did you hear about us?

 What are you hoping to find on our site today?
 What persuaded you to [take a specific action]?
 What are your concerns or questions about [our product or service]?

3. Bottom of the funnel: conversion

The bottom of the funnel (BOFU) is the last place prospective customers go before
they convert. You’ve gotten their attention, built trust, and fostered a relationship
with them.

Use this stage to convert prospects—give them specific reasons to choose your
brand over your competitors:

 Offer a trial or demo so visitors can experience your product or service first-
hand.
 Write a how-to guide or article that answers questions and eliminates any
doubt or blockers potential customers may experience.
 Share social proof, like customer reviews and testimonies, to build even more
trust.
 Make feature and price comparison charts easy to access and understand.
 Send segmented email marketing campaigns and use on-site surveys—for
example, send an email to users that have abandoned their shopping cart, or
put an exit survey on the checkout page.

Keep in mind: every customer experiences your marketing funnel differently. You
might create content for the top of the funnel, but that doesn’t necessarily mean
that customers can only access it at that stage. For example, someone might jump
directly to the middle or bottom of the funnel because they’re already aware of their
problem and your solution, and are ready to

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Marketing Funnel Strategy

Measuring the success of your marketing funnel

Understanding your customers requires observing and communicating with them—
not just looking at numbers on a chart and making assumptions. To measure your
marketing funnel's success, you need both quantitative and qualitative data

That said, there are still some key quantitative metrics to keep in mind when you
measure your marketing funnel's success and effectiveness.

4 marketing funnel metrics you should measure

1. Cost per acquisition (CPA)

CPA measures how much you’re spending on marketing to acquire each new
customer. Teams usually look at this number to analyze their paid advertising, email
marketing, social media, and other paid marketing efforts.

To get this number, divide the entire cost of your marketing campaign by the
number of conversions. From there, the idea is pretty simple: if the cost outweighs
the gain, you might want to consider ending the campaign or testing alternatives.

2. Customer lifetime value (LTV)

LTV (or CLV) measures the continuous value a customer brings to your company. This
metric is all about customer retention, which carries particular weight for SaaS
(software as a service) companies because subscribers pay regularly. However, LTV
also gives insight to industries like ecommerce and traditional sales—if you can
predict the likelihood of a customer making another purchase.

Keep in mind: CPA and LTV are affected by factors like marketing and company costs
and how you price your product or service. It's hard to know how much prospective
customers are willing to pay, especially if you're a SaaS startup. Market
research alone won't tell you how much to charge—you have to test prices and listen
to your customers.

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 Marketing Funnel Strategy

3. Conversion rates

Conversion rate measures the frequency of conversions. Some marketers only focus
on the final conversion: sales—but you can measure each stage's success through
micro-conversions or goal conversions. For example:

1. TOFU conversion: how many visitors convert to marketing qualified leads (MQLs)
2. MOFU conversion: how many MQLs convert to sign-ups or subscribers
3. BOFU conversion: how many sign-ups or subscribers convert to customers
Measuring goal conversion rate allows your team to make more informed decisions
about each funnel stage rather than just the final outcome.

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