Why You Should Care About BOFU, MOFU, and TOFU

What is ToFu, MoFu, and BoFu? No, these are not a type of Oriental delicacy to be relished in an upscale restaurant, these three terms are shorthand references for the three stages of the inbound marketing sales funnel that are proven to supply great results. 

If you want data and statistics that prove how inbound marketing works, click here for the most recent version of HubSpot's State of Inbound Report. 

The terms, Top of the Funnel (ToFu), Middle of the Funnel (MoFu), and Bottom of the Funnel (BoFu) signify the three crucial steps of inbound marketing that help to convert potential leads into customers through helpful content.

Although we are talking about a different kind of TOFU, it's a fun play-on-words, so let's think of these three acronyms as the perfect three-course meal. During this meal, if one course is removed, your perfectly-planned dinner can be ruined, with your guests never making it to desert (BoFu) because they had an appetizer (ToFu) and never received the main course (MoFu), so they simply went somewhere else to get it.

According to research, only 3% of first-time visitors of a website visit to make a purchase. Publishing ToFu, MoFu, and BoFu content and giving away free information the person searching is looking for can help establish your website as an authoritative source that people can trust, leading them closer to buying from you. And since inbound marketing is all about “being found,” this content marketing strategy can be of significant help to attract the right people, rather than being overly pushy about closing a sale. By aligning your sales and marketing efforts through these stages, and ensuring your content is relevant to your customer's interests, you stand a great chance to nurture leads and convert them into customers naturally.

Creating Content for ToFu, MoFu, and BoFu

1. ToFu (Top-of-the-Funnel)

What do you think the website visitors want when they arrive on your company’s blog from Google for the first time? The obvious answer is they want helpful solutions to their problems without having to pay for it. For instance, if your business deals with organizing and planning weddings, your potential customers could be looking for information about when the best time is to make reservations for the reception venue. Writing a genuinely compelling ToFu is all about answering the potential buyer’s questions and getting them to take an interest in your business without you having to make a desperate attempt at the sale.

2. MoFu (Middle-of-the-Funnel)

If the first step of the process went well, then you’ve probably exchanged your prospect’s contact details in return for high-value content such as an eBook, tutorial videos, etc. Now is the time to focus on the middle of the funnel content that is to be distributed through email marketing. This is also known as lead nurturing or automation. Because of the fact that the sales cycle length can vary extensively within a single industry, you must get in touch with your sales team once again to understand how can you match MoFu content to your prospect’s concerns before they make sales.

3. BoFu (Bottom-of-the-Funnel)

In the final step, your aim would be to close the deal by judging your sales leads’ activities. If they have expressed an ongoing interest by revisiting your company website, opening emails, or talking with your sales representatives, then it’s time to close the deal by providing BoFu content. BoFU content could be something such as, sending personalized email offering an obligation free trial or a free demo or provide a sales kit or executive summary. BoFu content is the critical element to bridge the process of converting an inbound marketing lead into your clients.

ToFu, MoFu, and BoFu: The Perfect Sales Combination

If you haven’t implemented this content marketing strategy yet, then it might be the perfect time to consider doing so. The right combination of these three elements holds the secret recipe to the success of inbound marketing. This type of strategy helps to yield measurable ROI and provides insight into critical customer behavior that can be helpful in many spheres of your business.