As the middle kid of the marketing family, mid-funnel tactics often get overshadowed by its noisy siblings in the upper and lower funnel. But the middle of the funnel, or “MOFU”, is a critical stage for converting potential customers into buyers.
Often called the "consideration stage," this is where potential customers are actively researching solutions to their problems. This is a crucial time to capture their attention and convince them that your brand is the best choice.
This post will explore why mid-funnel marketing is important, common challenges, and effective strategies to boost conversions.
What is the middle of the funnel?
The middle of the funnel is the term for the marketing activities that happen between the customer first hearing about your brand (the top of the funnel), and finally making a decision to purchase (the bottom of the funnel).
The middle of the funnel in context
The marketing funnel concept, as a whole, works to help marketers understand the process potential customers go through before they buy. With a good understanding of how people interact with your sales funnel, you can optimize it and attract more customers.
Middle of the funnel marketing often looks like:
- Expert insights and research
- Key product features and benefits
- Reviews and proof that your brand is reliable
Middle of the funnel content often includes things like white papers, product demos and case studies. It could also be word of mouth recommendations from people your target audience know and trust. This part of the funnel is valuable for helping customers feel informed and aligned with your brand and offerings. Without this step, it’s much harder to convince them to convert later on. And yet – the middle of the funnel is often under-funded and misunderstood.
Why the mid funnel is overlooked
- Difficult to measure
While customers are considering their options in the middle of the funnel, you may find that your results from mid-funnel marketing are delayed. It’s often a non-linear journey, making it seem harder to definitively say that one mid-funnel ad or marketing tactic had a certain effect.
- Lower funnel tactics offer “quicker” results
Bottom of the funnel tactics, like coupon codes or discounts, can seem more appealing to some performance marketers because they’re easier to attribute and can directly result in a sale. Middle of the funnel tactics and brand-building can feel slower in comparison.
- Each customer journey is different
The middle of the funnel contains lots of touch points, and almost every journey will be unique as customers do their research and decision-making. This makes prediction and measurement a bit more messy.
A MOFU marketing example
Imagine we’ve set up a home decor shop. When we start our business, almost nobody knows about it, so there’s no reputation or trust to work with – we have to start from scratch. For our upper-funnel tactic, we run some branding Instagram ads that use great photography, a snappy brand message and our logo. Then, as a follow up for people who interact with our account, we add some middle funnel adverts with positive customer reviews. This helps add trust on top of general awareness.
Mid-funnel content marketing idea: How a review advert might look in Instagram stories.
The role of the middle funnel
Tricky it may be, middle of the funnel marketing is vital. At this stage in their journey, customers need to know the key features and benefits of all the brands under their consideration so they can make an informed decision. Today, comparison is a more important part of the decision-making process than ever before. Consumers in all areas are looking for the best solutions, and aren’t afraid to do some serious shopping around.
That’s why middle of the funnel marketing needs to be:
- Educational
Informing customers about their options and why your brand stands out.
- Value-driven
When you educate your customers, lead with concise and direct benefits.
- Trust-building
Foster connections by offering valuable resources and showing an interest in their needs.
Middle of funnel marketing - our top tips.
Why mid-funnel marketing matters
- Shortens the sales cycle
By providing valuable content and addressing customer concerns, you can move leads toward a purchase decision faster.
- Builds loyalty
Engaging with potential customers in the middle of the funnel fosters trust and positions your brand as a reliable resource.
- Increases conversion rates
High-quality content that educates and addresses pain points effectively increases the likelihood of conversion.
- Optimizes marketing ROI
By nurturing leads in the middle, you get more out of your marketing efforts and see a better return on investment in the long run.
The middle is messy
A few years back, Google did extensive research about the middle of the funnel and concluded that yes, what happens between the top and bottom of the funnel is messy. There are lots of touch points during the process, and people tend to be fairly unpredictable – each at the whim of their personal, psychological biases. But they managed to find six elements that marketers can focus on to get real results.
Two modes
The first thing to understand is that there are two parts of the middle: exploration, which is an expansive research-gathering mode; and evaluation, which is a reductive, comparison mode.
Consumers first go through the exploration phase, where they gather extensive information about various options. They read reviews, watch videos, and seek recommendations to understand their choices. Once they have enough information, they transition into the evaluation phase. Here, they compare the gathered options, weighing pros and cons to narrow down their choices, ultimately aiming to select the best option that meets their needs.
Six biases
During the mid-funnel phase, Google found six “biases” measurably affect the results of marketing.
Middle of funnel campaigns should focus on the six biases. Image: Alistair Rennie, Jonny Protheroe July 2020
Here is a short description of all of the biases:
- Category heuristics: short descriptions of key product benefits
- Power of now: the longer the wait, the lower chance of conversion
- Social proof: the persuasive power of reviews and testimonials
- Scarcity bias: the feeling that things will run out increases desire
- Authority bias: an expert opinion influences trustworthiness
- Power of free: free gifts are a powerful motivator for conversion
In testing, researchers found that they experienced 16x more sales attributed to mid-funnel channels, while simulations showed up to 87% preferences for fictional brands that were advertised with the six biases in focus.
Multi-touch attribution
Attribution tells marketers what impact and value a touchpoint has had along the customer journey. Last-click attribution gives the last customer interaction 100% of the credit for the conversion, regardless of what came before. Multi-touch attribution, however, divides the total value up so that all the touch points along the way take a share of the impact.
There are a number of different types of multi-touch attribution. Algorithmic attribution uses advanced statistics to analyze customer journeys and assign credit to different marketing channels for conversions.
Algorithmic attribution is the most accurate, but it’s also the most expensive option. Measurement tools like Funnel’s unique AI model offer an affordable alternative, particularly as they use attribution in combination with the other measurement techniques.
Understanding the ambiguity effect
People tend to favor the status quo and avoid perceived risks, a behavior known as the "ambiguity effect." Addressing this during the mid-funnel is crucial.
When consumers are loyal to another brand, they might hesitate to switch due to perceived risks. Your mid-funnel marketing should clearly highlight the benefits and unique advantages of your solution, providing reassurance and compelling reasons to consider switching. This helps reduce their uncertainty and gently nudges them away from complacency.
6 mid-funnel marketing tactics that convert
1. Case studies and testimonials
The power of social trust is difficult to overestimate. Consumers want to research a company or brand before committing to a purchase. What they are looking for is proof and reassurance that your brand is going to be a no-regret decision. Social proof like case studies, quotes, reviews and testimonials do exactly that – showcasing the impact your offering can make, and that you’re the best choice on the market.
Social proof can look like pages on your website that detail how you helped a client, using a 3rd party review service with star ratings or asking customers to leave native reviews on Google Maps or social media. Think about where your customer will look for social proof, and meet them there with it.
2. Information sharing
At the middle stage of the funnel, it’s time to flex your muscles a bit. Today’s potential customers are looking for the best. In fact, “best” has far outpaced “cheap” in search results for more than a decade. It’s time to show why you’re the best with thought leadership pieces, collaborations and valuable content that’s not available anywhere else.
What insights, knowledge and expertise do you have in-house that you can leverage? Think about how it’s best to share your expertise. Can your B2B business give away a white paper or master class in exchange for an email address? Or is it possible for your B2C brand to offer free consultations or styling advice in face-to-face or video meetings?
Of course, start with the target audience here. The information you decide to share, and the way you do it, should match the audience's needs.
3. Nurture leads with an email nurture campaign
Email marketing is a tried and tested way to follow up with your prospects and add a personal touch. A series of personalized emails can help current and potential customers feel understood, give them clarity on how to solve their pain points, demonstrate the value of your offering and lead them towards conversion.
4. High-quality content (social media and blogs)
While your informative content offers a more in-depth view, short- to medium-length content like social media and blogs can still be used in the middle of the funnel to help assist conversion. Think about taking a more informative, value-led approach with things like infographics, product walkthrough videos and key product benefit posts.
5. Product demos, trials and explainers
Skeptical prospects can be transformed into customers with a try-before-you-buy experience. Free trial periods, samples or a product walk through video can give potential customers an increased sense of confidence in your product – and if there’s one thing that converts, it’s confidence! Demos and trials help people make an informed decision and reduce their perception of risk. In the future, this could lead to higher conversion rates with less churn.
6. Real conversations
Yes, we know it’s 2024, but don’t forget the magic of a humble chat. Setting up a discovery call, inviting people in-store for a free consultation and showing interest in their needs can help build trust and loyalty.
Giving this personalized experience means you can tailor your offering to exactly what your customers need, and make sure they’re not left with any question marks influencing their decision.
TL;DR?
A little attention goes a long way, but remember to:
- Work holistically through your organization so that marketing efforts don’t become siloed.
- Implement multi-touch attribution to measure more accurately the impact of mid-funnel efforts.
- Focus on “messy middle” thinking biases to ensure maximum bang for your buck.
- Consider prioritizing a value-led, always-on approach.