The sales funnel is crucial in guiding potential customers through their purchasing decisions, reaching the end goal of a sale. Choosing the best CTA will have an positive impact on this.
Call to actions should influence visitors to take a desired action, so therefore the right CTA should be chosen depending on where they are in the funnel.
Too many businesses select a less desirable CTA for the particular buying stage, for example a high-intent BOFU CTA at the start of a user's journey when they are still in the nurturing stage and should instead be guiding them through the awareness and consideration stage.
- Defining the key terms
- The problem with choosing the wrong CTAs
- What is TOFU customer behaviour?
- What is MOFU customer behaviour?
- What is BOFU customer behaviour?
Let's start with defining what the key terms mean…
The buyer's journey: this is the process whereby a buyer goes through each stage of the decision making process, from awareness, consideration to the decision stage of making a purchase.
TOFU: Top of the funnel - within the first stage of the sales funnel, people will become aware of their pain points or problems and CTAs should be created to target those in the awareness stage.
MOFU: Middle of the Funnel - after the TOFU stage comes MOFU, whereby people start to weigh up their options to find a solution to their problem. CTAs should be created to target those in the consideration stage.
BOFU: Bottom of the Funnel - the last stage of the funnel is the point where visitors have made up their mind and are ready to to buy a good or service. CTAs should be created to target those in the decision stage.
The problem with choosing the wrong CTAs
There are many reasons why choosing the wrong CTA can negatively impact your business, including breaking the sales funnel. Often businesses decide to use the same CTA no matter what stage of the buyer's journey a person is in, however this may result in the business losing valuable leads.
For example, let's say that your company sells a software helping customers to manage their payments. Within the first stage, the awareness stage, prospects are not yet aware of your product offerings and how it can solve their problem. Therefore, educating them and offering value will help move them on to the next stage of consideration.
If you choose to use a BOFU call to action such as ‘Book a demonstration’, you may potentially lose the lead because they are not ready to make the purchase, this should instead be used in the final stage. Instead a TOFU CTA should be for example, ‘Read our blog to find out more’. This content would be more valuable to them, as well as nurture them throughout their buying journey. CTAs should provide a positive solution to what type of content a particular visitor is currently interested in. Ensure the CTAs are fun and compelling and draw in the reader to click and find out more.
What is TOFU customer behaviour?
In this first stage of the sales funnel, prospects have not yet made a decision so are therefore not ready to purchase, however they are seeking out information to help with this decision, this should include educational and informative content to help build brand awareness. Blog posts, social media and guides are very valuable in this stage. Once the visitor has understood a little more about the business, they will be ready for more sales targeted messages in the form of a CTA, these may include:
- Read out blog
- Watch the webinar
- Learn more about…
- Follow us on…
- Sign up now
- Download out guide
- Listen to our podcast
What is MOFU customer behaviour?
During the middle stage, prospects have more of an idea of what their problem is and are searching for a solution. They may be weighing up the pros and cons of your service or product, as well as comparing them to competitors. The aim here is to educate those prospects, to help them reduce their options and help them come to the conclusion that what you are offering is most suitable to them. Blogs, webinars and eBooks are great ways to do this. Once they have completed more research and understood more about what your business offers, they will be in a better position to see how your product or service is the perfect solution. Call to actions that you could use in this stage include:
- Download the eBook
- Read the FAQs
- View the webinar
- Read this case study
- View our testimonials
What is BOFU customer behaviour?
In the final stage of the sales funnel, customers have gathered all of the information and are almost ready to make a decision. They may be comparing products or services and are searching for a good deal, targeted content should come into play here including pricing information, product comparisons and reviews. Ensuring the customer has all of the right information will increase conversion rates and sales. CTAs to use in the BOFU stage include:
- Get in touch
- Request a demo
- Purchase now
- Add to basket
- Start a free trial
- Book a consultation
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