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Welcome back!

The Olympics are over, but our August strategy playbook is still going strong! Last week, we kicked off our new monthly theme by learning how to get more eyes on your brand with TOFU marketing. Today, we’re zooming in on MOFU— where you start building customer relationships to sift committed buyers down to the decision stage.

Let’s dive in! 🏃‍♂️🚀

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Tools + Productivity

Strategy

Get Comfortable

MoFu is the longest haul out of all levels of the funnel because customers are spending time deliberately searching for solutions and comparing their options.

Here, you’re battling for the most attention from leads eyeing many different potential solutions. So what kind of content is most effective to maintain prospective customers’ valuable attention?

Recall last week when we used the blender example to explain addressing pain points for different segments— whether it’s professional chefs or busy parents.

Considering these different customer profiles, one tactic you can use is drip emails tailored to different pain points & demographic qualities.

This means different email sequences (drip campaigns) are tailored to each customer profile.

Use tracking tools to determine which specific ad or campaign brought the customer to your site— If a customer clicks on an ad aimed at professional chefs, they receive emails tailored for culinary professionals.

Again, different layers of the funnel = different strategies. Here, more educational tactics work best.

Let’s say you’re a digital marketing agency.

Instead of directly pitching your services, your campaign sends a series of emails with valuable content, like case studies showcasing successful client projects, detailed guides on SEO best practices, and insights into effective social media strategies.

Each email builds on the previous one, gradually deepening the recipient’s understanding of how your agency’s expertise can address their needs.

You can also ramp up engagement with interactive content, like quizzes or surveys embedded in the emails that relate to your product, like this furniture company:

At the end of a drip campaign (moving into bottom-of-the funnel), a well-timed, relevant offer—backed by the trust and value built through educational content—motivates prospects to take action and convert into clients.

At the MoFu stage, you have the benefit of demonstrated interest, so you can use less snappy & more comprehensive content mediums— think product demo videos, research reports, & online classes.

If you’re a B2B brand, you can get away with using these forms of content as incentives in some of your ToFu ads and kill two birds with one stone:

If the extent of your products’ offerings is hard to grasp with a single ad, here is the place to make complex features easy to understand by directing leads to demo videos, podcasts, & webinars.

At the end of the day, no matter what medium you choose, the content should achieve these goals:

1. clearly show how your solution addresses the customers’ pain points

2. help prospects understand how your solution works & why it’s unique

3. alleviate any concerns or objections that may arise when considering the solution

Once upon a time

Think of MoFu as the contents of a book. We’ve all heard the phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover,” yet everyone does it anyway— which is why nobody will care to learn about your offerings before you grab their attention with ToFu advertising (unless they were referred).

Once they open the book, you have to tell a story to maintain interest, whether through case studies, customer success stories, or illustrative examples.

Begin with a relatable problem or challenge customers in your ICP would face:

Then incorporate your solutions into the journey towards finding a solution. Here’s how Zoom told the story of a F1 team to imply the products’ value:

Finally, conclude with a positive outcome, emphasizing the role your product or service played.

If you remember our article on the customer journey a while back, this might ring a bell. Essentially, storytelling in marketing involves mapping content to specific stages of the customer journey.

You might start with a blog post along the lines of “5 Common Challenges in [Industry/Field] and How to Overcome Them,” providing value to prospects without overwhelming them with a sales-y tone.

A follow-up email might be a case study detailing how another customer achieved success with your solution.

Getting closer to the decision stage, you could start positioning your product against competitors with a simple comparison table.

When prospects are close to making a decision, engage them with an interactive quiz such as “Find the Perfect [Product/Service] for Your Needs,” so that they already know the exact product for their needs considering your brand specifically.

Enhance this with a product demo video that showcases your solution in action, allowing prospects to envision how they could apply the service.

Featuring a variety of stories from diverse customer experiences and diversifying content formats can help account for different segments of your audience.

Meditation company Headspace would probably argue meditation is for everyone, but athletes are likely a significant customer segment warranting targeted content:

Don’t be Fu-lish

Being too sales-focused is a common mistake you should avoid. Most middle-of-the-funnel content shouldn’t read explicitly like a sales pitch. Remember that your potential customers are in the "research and compare" phase.

The second common mistake is using a one-size-fits-all approach to communications sent out. Personalizing your content for different audience segments makes it more engaging.

If you’re selling fitness gear, your emails might share workout plans for beginners, advanced athletes, and casual gym-goers.

MoFu metrics

For the middle of the funnel, focus on metrics that show how well you’re driving engagement and nurturing relationships. For example,

• Email open rates

• Landing page engagement metrics— time on page, clicks, & scrolls can reveal how customers are evaluating content & being persuaded

• Click-through-rate on MoFu content — indicating an interest to engage more

• Conversion rates for MoFu offers — like demos, trials, & classes

Looking Ahead

The middle of the funnel is like the “talking stage” of a relationship. You’ve already caught their eye, and now it’s time to really get to know each other. This is your chance to connect with the prospective customer by addressing their specific needs and offering value.

How well you handle this phase can directly influence whether they’ll commit— and move from casual interest to a purchase.

Stay tuned for next week’s edition, where we’ll finally cover the decision stage at the bottom of the funnel (BOFU). See you then!

the Marketing Funnel
Week 1: Awareness (TOFU)
Week 2: Consideration (MOFU)
Week 3: Conversion (BOFU)
Week 4: Retention & Advocacy

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