How to secure wins across the conversion funnel
Jul 16, 2023
You’ve heard the terms ‘acquisition funnel’, ‘TOF / MOF / BOF’ thrown around but what does this acronym soup mean?
15 years of running $XXM lead-gen programs later, I want to share some hard-won lessons about what works at every stage of the funnel in the lead-conversion journey.
Top of the funnel (TOF)
Goal: Make target audience aware your brand exists and has relevance using highly scalable marketing tactics at a minimal cost per impression / view / click
Activities:
Ad buys in digital publications
social media ads
speaking sessions at conferences
TV ads, Radio ads, even Billboards (not relevant for series A / B)
KPIs: Reach & frequency metrics – impressions, views, and clicks
Don’t:
spend too high a % of marketing budget (zoom in on just your target audience)
expect these activities to generate leads use mass email or SMS marketing tactics yet
start without a campaign landing page
Forget to implement Google tag manager (GTM) on your site & set up necessary tracking for every ad you run, metrics must inform marketing spend
Middle of the funnel (MOF)
Goal: Convert TOF lead awareness to consideration via opt in to email nurture or demo (depending on sales motion)
Activities:
Distribute offers (free trial or sample)
Publish thought leadership (whitepaper or infographic)
Retarget site visitors & former customers via Google ads and on social media
Run email nurture sequences to opt ins from TOF, lapsed leads & customers
KPIs: Free trial signups, White paper downloads, email opens & clicks, site traffic from retargeting channels
Avoid:
Offers that seem desperate (e.g. cash for a demo), or unrelated to product
Starting without a CRM or contact database in place
Sub-par experience for the trial, sample or whitepaper
Trying to ignore email marketing CAN-SPAM laws
Bottom of the funnel (BOF)
Goal: Convert leads to customers by demonstrating product’s value and overcoming objections
KPIs: Lead to customer conversions, ARPU, time to close
Activities:
Optimize the website (publish an explainer video, test on-site chat, update content & design)
Launch Sales email sequences
Send SMS messages with limited time offers
Distribute product one-sheets, customer stories & competitor feature comparisons
Run platform demos (consider interactive / clickable demos)
Don’t:
Use standard contact forms for demo signups. Make demo scheduling friction-less (e.g. embed MixMax, Calendly etc. on landing page)
Continue to contact leads if they don’t engage after several emails, calls or texts
Share Sales collateral that is not professionally designed
CMOs and CEO reading this post, happy to chat live about your unique situation and how to leverage this playbook – it’s definitely not one size fits all but the general principles apply.
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