ToFu, MoFu, BoFu: The Funnel Stages Your Sustainability Marketing Needs
Let’s face it: much of marketing is selling. For climate-conscious businesses, it’s an uncomfortable truth. But what are you selling, exactly? More things to use up our resources and clutter up the world? No.
You’re selling the promise of a reduced environmental impact. Of cutting down on plastic waste, or lowering carbon emissions.
And while this might seem like an easy sell for climate-conscious customers, it can be harder for skeptics who don’t see the urgency. In some cases, people may not even be aware that there is an issue that needs to be solved at all.
That’s where your content comes in.
To turn potential customers into paying ones, you need to target all three buying stages – from awareness to consideration to decision-making.
After all, your product or service is designed to make a change in the world. Time to revamp your sales funnel to get your message out there and start making a difference.
What is the sales funnel?
The sales funnel is a crucial part of any inbound marketing strategy. And if you’re not sure what inbound marketing means, I can help you there.
It’s a business strategy that attracts customers with valuable content tailored to them. Think blog posts, Instagram ads, emails. Each one of these serves a purpose and has a time when it’s most impactful, depending on the customer.
So, with hundreds to millions of potential customers, how do you tailor content to each one of them?
You don’t! Instead, you group them into three categories that reflect where they are in the buying stage. This is where the funnel comes in.
Spoiler alert: it looks like a funnel. And it works just like one too – who knew? The goal of the funnel is to sort out which prospects can be converted into customers.
As potential customers move down the funnel, they become more engaged with your brand and start considering whether they need what you offer. Essentially, you want to take the right ones from the top of the funnel to the bottom.
What does top of the funnel mean?
When potential customers first become aware of your brand, they’re in the “top of the funnel” stage, or ToFu. Here, buyers are pain/problem aware – they know they have a problem and are looking for answers, resources, education, research data, opinions, and insight.
Their search intent is educational. They want to know what information or solutions to their problem exist. But this is not the time to push them into a sale – they’re not ready yet.
Instead, your goal is to create content that lets them know you’ exist and show that ‘re out there and you have a solution for them. You need to earn their trust by showing up as an authority in your niche.
For example, if you sell reusable coffee cups, you could create a blog post on “Why Using Reusable Coffee Cups is Important for the Environment”.
This works because you’re not trying to sell readers anything, so there’s no risk for them in clicking on your content and giving it a read.
This way, you’ll attract ToFu customers who are interested in reducing their environmental footprint but don’t quite know how yet. They know they have a problem and you’re educating them on how to solve it. Over time, they’ll learn that your product can help them.
Check out the ToFu examples below.
pact’s Instagram post is putting them in front of potential customers, letting them know they exist.
The Conscious Insider’s infographic helpfully explains terms that the prospects will come across in their search. This builds The Conscious Insider’s authority and creates trust between the brand and the reader.
What does middle of the funnel mean?
The next stage is the middle of the funnel, or “MoFu”. Whether thanks to your content or information found elsewhere, your prospects have moved down from the top of the funnel.
At the MoFu stage, they’re actively searching for solutions to their problem and are starting to compare options.
So, for example, your prospects now understand that one way they could reduce their environmental impact is by using a reusable coffee cup. Now, they might be comparing the pros and cons of a silicone travel cup versus a ceramic one.
At the MoFu stage, there’s a good chance that prospects will buy. They’re not just browsing anymore – they’re doing heavy research to determine whether your product or service is the right fit for them.
This example from Ecobnb is helping prospects make a decision (in the company’s favour) about whether they want to invest in eco tourism or not. Even though it’s weighing up the pros and cons, it’s still moving prospects down the funnel towards buying their product.
What does bottom of the funnel mean?
Welcome to the bottom of the funnel, or ‘BoFu’, the final stage in the customer journey. At this stage, your prospects have done their research and compared their options. They’re ready to buy – the only question is, who from?
So, you want to make it easy for them to make a decision in your favor. One effective way to do this is by making specific comparisons between your brand and your competitors.
For example, let’s say your prospects are in the market for a new jacket for their outdoor adventures. They’ve narrowed their options down to Patagonia, The North Face, and your brand. Now, they’re weighing up the pros and cons of each.
So, you might produce content that highlights your products or services, your higher quality materials, better performance, or a more compelling sustainability story.
You can also target your prospects directly. Check out the email from Pangaia highlighting their new products. The discount is a trigger to get the customer to act now and buy.
Chatbots, like this one from the Body Shop, are another BoFu type of content. They’re engage with potential customers at the bottom of the funnel, providing them with personalized assistance and guidance to make a purchase decision.
Tofu vs MoFu vs Bofu content
Now you know what the stages of the funnel are and that you need to move the right prospects from the top to the bottom. And this is where that tailored content we talked about earlier comes in.
By creating content aimed at all three funnel stages, you’ve got your whole prospective customer base covered.
The sales funnel is an essential tool for any business, including those in sustainability. By understanding the stages of the funnel and tailoring your content to each one, you can attract potential customers, build trust and authority, and ultimately convert them into customers.
Remember that not everyone is aware of the problems that you solve. So it’s important to create content that educates and informs from the top of the funnel right down converting customers at the bottom.
With the right content and a solid sales funnel, you can make a positive impact and drive real change.
