As a marketer, you’re always looking for ways to grow your business and achieve your growth marketing goals — or at least you should. You may already be familiar with the content conversion funnel, but if not, there are multiple steps in the process that you may focus on strengthening. In its most basic form, a funnel has three main components.
At the top of your marketing funnel, you should prioritize attracting high-quality traffic. This is really where you build awareness. In the middle of the funnel is where you want to build trust. Your audience will evaluate you and your product or service. The bottom of the funnel is where mutual value is created, your audience will either make a purchase or follow up with another call to action. Some methods add an extra step to prioritize retention or referrals, which we agree is very important.
Be sure to consider whether you want to focus on top-of-funnel organic traffic or bottom-of-funnel converted traffic to drive growth. You need to decide which method will work best for your organization. Sometimes, this varies by industry. It will also vary based on your stated growth marketing goals.
Should you prioritize the top or bottom of the funnel?
To help you make this decision, it’s important to understand the difference between top-of-funnel and bottom-of-funnel traffic, and how they can affect your growth marketing goals.
Top-of-funnel traffic refers to the early stages of the customer journey. At this stage, potential customers become aware of your brand and consider engaging with you. This traffic is often generated through promotional campaigns such as content marketing and social media.
The bottom-of-the-funnel traffic refers to the later stages in the customer journey. Here, the prospect is actively considering making a purchase or taking other desired actions. This traffic is often generated through conversion campaigns such as email marketing, retargeting, and paid search advertising.
For both, SEO and content can play a role in helping you surface important terms at the top or bottom of the funnel. You just have to decide which to focus on first.
So, how do you decide?
Honestly, the decision on what to prioritize varies by industry, your overall scoring methodology is also a big factor. Here are a few factors to consider:
Your business goals:
When making any strategic decision, you need to ask yourself what you want to achieve with your marketing efforts. If your goal is to increase brand awareness and reach a wider audience, then focusing on TOF traffic might be the best option for you. This is a common top priority for new businesses that need to be known.
Keep in mind that TOF traffic is typically earned by targeting search terms that are widely searched for. When you start ranking well for these terms, you’ll see your website’s traffic go up, which means a bigger potential for potential clients. However, if you don’t have a strong conversion path in place, this probably won’t do you much good.
Assuming your goal is to increase sales or conversions, transition traffic may be a better fit. If you’re in your fourth sales quarter and your numbers are down, prioritizing conversions might be the best use of your time. Focusing on customers who already know and trust your company can be an easy way to boost sales, but it’s important to maintain a personal connection with your customer base to leverage this successfully.
Contrary to TOF, BOF traffic usually lower search volume but higher quality searchers. You probably won’t see a satisfying spike in traffic, but ideally, if you have a strong path and CTA, you’ll see an increase in conversions.
Your target audience:
Second, ask yourself who you want to reach through your marketing efforts. Understanding the needs, desires, and behaviors of your target audience can help you determine the most effective way to engage with them.
If your target audience consists mostly of first-time buyers or people unfamiliar with your brand, then focusing on TOF traffic may be the best approach. A witty social media campaign or working with a fun influencer can put your business in a new light.
BOF traffic may be more effective if your target audience consists of repeat customers or people who are already familiar with your brand. This might look like sending a personalized email marketing campaign to previous customers. You can even send them promo codes or coupons to thank them for previous purchases and encourage repeat sales.
Your marketing budget:
How much money do you need to allocate for marketing efforts? TOF traffic tends to be more expensive than BOF traffic because it requires a long-term investment in content creation and SEO strategies.
On the other hand, BOF traffic can be cheaper because you know your audience and how to reach them. It also allows for more direct approaches, such as email tagging discussed earlier. Another benefit of this approach is that email is an owned medium, so you’ll be using resources like time and energy instead of cutting into your budget.
Your marketing resources:
It’s important to take stock of your inventory before making too many plans. Do you have the time, talent and resources to execute a TOF or BOF marketing strategy? If you have a small team or limited resources, it may be more feasible to focus on only one side of the marketing funnel. This can mean creating high-quality content that doesn’t require much follow-up. Or conversely, you really prioritize making past clients feel special.
On the other hand, if you have a larger team and more resources at your disposal, you might be able to focus on both TOF and BOF traffic. Honestly, there are added benefits to combining both strategies. However, you have to decide if it’s worth the cost for your business. Not all organizations can prioritize both, and in some cases, getting too skinny can do more harm than good. Marketing requires balance.
In the end, it’s up to you
Using these two methods is especially effective in helping grow your business. However, not all budgets or team configurations allow for this approach. Focusing on TOF traffic helps build your brand and reach a wider audience, while a BOF strategy converts those leads into paying customers.
These strategies can help you increase awareness and conversions, resulting in sustainable growth for your business. However, the final decision on whether to focus on TOF or BOF is up to you. If you’re really unsure, it might be time to consider a growth marketing agency. By considering these factors, you can determine the best way to achieve your growth marketing goals.
