As per reports, for every 100 leads, only 2-5 prospects may convert into paying customers. How do you increase this ratio by targeting TOFU clients?
A sales funnel comprises different levels, each denoting the type of customer or the status of your deal with them. These are categorized as TOFU, MOFU, and BOFU. At the top of the sales funnel (TOFU), you probably have many potential leads. These customers could be new to your offerings and may be getting acquainted with your brand.
Yet they may not be actively looking to buy a product or service. In short, not all the leads you have at this stage are likely to convert into paying accounts. Frankly, very few will. Studies indicate that the average conversion rate for top-of-the-funnel sales leads ranges between 2%-5%. So, utilize this phase of awareness as a good opportunity for your brand to make a lasting impression that has them returning to your products or services.
The top-of-the-funnel is your chance to get your target audience hooked and want to know more about your offerings. It needs to focus on value-added content and ads that create brand awareness while leaving your prospects wanting to learn more. You want to maintain a fine balance between showcasing your expertise and not coming on too strong by selling too much information. If you successfully catch the attention of maximum prospects without being annoying, there is more chance of bringing them to your brand’s sales funnel.
Let trust-building be the core of the TOFU phase to educate your prospects with insights they find valuable. When they trust your brand, they will likely sign up for the long haul. The right elements can enhance awareness and win the interest of more prospects in your brand’s offerings.
How can you make the most of TOFU?
Your sales and marketing teams know that attracting new customers and generating leads are the stepping stones to a successful strategy. However, when the top-of-funnel is a hit-and-miss, your sales and marketing teams won’t have many leads to nurture and carry forward.
Inventing innovative tactics to strengthen your TOFU is the key to building trust among the target audience. Moreover, this is a catalyst for helping you establish thought leadership with prospects. But where do you begin to create a robust top-of-funnel for your sales?
Adding value to your audience makes all the difference. Be it through your content or your communication, the more you focus on delivering value, the better will be your success rate with prospects. When potential customers resonate with your brand voice, it enhances their engagement. And if more people engage it elevates the chances of prospects converting into paying accounts. Since more potential customers are in their research phase early on, the primary goal of marketing at the top of the funnel is to stimulate awareness and propel lead-gen campaigns.
These are the prospects who expressed interest in your offerings but are yet to make a purchase. When you can add value through your offerings and address the prospects’ needs, you can create content that appeals to TOFU clients. This enables them to take the next step toward an informed decision for purchase.
Quality TOFU leads help you increase brand awareness, generate qualified leads, and foster strong relationships with customers. A steady flow of top-of-the-funnel leads paves the way for optimizing the best strategy to maximize your returns on investment.
How will you benefit from TOFU sales?
Your sales and marketing teams implement the latest strategies to appeal to the right audience. Yet, there are times when the newest ideas may fail to yield the results you seek. This is where TOFU-focused sales come in handy. It helps brands like yours to produce interest among prospects in your offerings. Moreover, blogs launched to level up the TOFU include impactful CTAs. Feel free to ask your prospects to sign up for a newsletter or a contact form that connects them with your sales team. SEO-rich top-of-funnel content can benefit you in several ways, ultimately increasing client reach and sales conversions.
Brand awareness
Whether your business is newly launched or you have established your brand identity in the market, instilling and sustaining brand awareness are always critical. Plan every content you launch or deliver and use the right keywords. Create brand awareness by connecting with TOFU prospects and discussing ways in which you can address their concerns. When you take different routes to build relationships with the audience, more prospects will become aware of your brand.
Generating leads
If the blogs and content pieces you deliver are rich in value-added information and SEO-backed, they will attract more prospects. If more potential clients read your materials, there is more scope for garnering high-quality leads. While crafting various forms of content, ensure you cover topics that intrigue the target audience. Integrate every content piece with relevant keywords, optimizing for search engines. Also, discuss the significance of building relationships with potential prospects using social media channels, email campaigns, or other marketing tactics. Implementing these initiatives will increase your lead generation, allowing you to stay ahead of the competition and build a strong client base.
Building relationships
Strong relationships with prospects go a long way in expanding your database and improving customer retention. Although B2B brands realize the importance of robust customer-business relationships, it may feel like a struggle to accomplish this. The good news is— with careful planning and strategic implementation of ideas, it is not far-fetched. For instance, engaging with potential customers through content and social media channels will prove effective.
Researching your audience and understanding the content they grasp will serve as a roadmap to help you decide the types of topics to discuss in your content. Include advice and informative content to develop trust with the clients. Launching interactive and value-added posts allows your messages to create an impact on the target audience. Tailor messages and content to make them interesting, drawing readers and invoking purchase interest. Catching the attention of TOFU clients with your content and campaigns is a surefire way of increasing the performance efficiency of your sales cycle.
Segmentation
Client segmentation is an essential element to customize campaigns for audiences in a specific funnel of the sales cycle. It is important to thoroughly understand the tone your target audience prefers, the type of content they find interesting and what are their pain points. The sales and marketing approach will vary depending on whether you are targeting new leads or wanting to provide useful information that encourages them to engage with your brand. Whereas, if you are looking to retain existing customers, providing updates about new offerings may work in your favor. The bottom line is the more you know each client segment, the more effective is your marketing campaign.
Ace your content for efficient TOFU marketing
Content conveys your brand’s voice, and at the same time, it is a channel that allows your audience to align with you. Combining high-quality content with strong visuals builds relationships with prospects, attracting new leads. While there is a diverse stream of content that can be launched, these are the common content types the TOFU clients may find appealing.
Blog posts
Blog pieces are a great way to talk about your expertise. You can use short-form or long-form blogs to highlight how your offerings address audience pain points. Develop them as a means to resonate with more prospects. Cover topics your target clients would search for and amplify the searchability with keywords. In this way, you deliver value-added content that drives traffic to your site and increases your customer reach.
Landing pages
Leverage landing pages to discuss all your services to engage a specific target audience. Optimize landing page content to increase site visits and generate more inquiries. Utilize these to encourage brand-customer interactions either directly with the purchase or through web chat or a contact form. You can also create separate landing pages for events or special offers.
White papers
These offer the perfect opportunity to publish long-form content, shining light on the impacts of your benefits. You can draw upon success stories and how-to guides, and build case studies as white papers. Make them available to download from your site and to the email list. Utilize the launch of white papers as a perfect time to showcase your expertise and connect with the audience.
Infographics
These are concise and visually appealing forms of content. Infographics allow you to represent complex concepts in a clear and easy-to-interpret format. You can post them on your website and social media channels to generate interest among prospects through reposts and engagement.
E-books
If you are looking to establish your thought leadership, E-books are the best resource for sharing valuable content. You can discuss software solutions that would address the pain points of your audience. Leverage this form of content to connect with a large base of prospects and share it through email marketing campaigns. Another way of attracting leads through E-books is making them available on your site and linking them to a contact form for enhancing audience engagement.
Wrapping up
Your brand has a unique idea and offers solutions that address the pain points of your audience. But without connecting with the prospects, it is tough to build your brand reputation. Top-of-the-funnel marketing is your chance to attract your target customers and keep them for the long haul. Focusing on the TOFU of your sales cycle allows you to create a good first impression and generate more conversions. Your innovative marketing techniques focused on the top potential customers are a driving force to convert those potential leads into actual sales. Spend time and resources on marketing tactics to deliver your best lead-gen campaigns and take advantage of top-of-the-funnel sales opportunities.