Well, you’ve done a good job getting some engagement from your target audience at the top of the funnel. What’s next?
The middle of the funnel (MOFU) stage is where potential customers, who have already shown some interest in your brand, are guided towards deeper engagement and consideration. For instance, they might be wondering about how your product works in practice, if customization is an option, what pricing plans and options exist and how it compares with what the competitors offer. The MOFU is where you provide additional value to prospects by educating and supporting them in evaluating your products or services in greater granularity as a potential solution to their problems.
While top-of-the-funnel (TOFU) tactics generate awareness and interest, MOFU is where you start building relationships that lead to conversion. In this stage, it’s essential to address your audience’s specific challenges, educate them further, and present compelling reasons for choosing your solutions.
For most companies in Life Sciences, there are long sales cycles, which means that prospects could spend anything upwards of six months in this stage of the funnel. Having a wide range of accessible, educational content that keeps your audience engaged and answers all their questions is essential.
“Get closer than ever to your customers. So close that you tell them what they need well before they realize it themselves.” – Steve Jobs
Key metrics for MOFU evaluation
To understand the effectiveness of your MOFU efforts, it is useful to keep an eye on these key metrics:
- Lead nurture engagement rates: The percentage of prospects interacting with your nurture emails or educational content. Tools like HubSpot or Marketo can help track email click-to-open rate (CTOR), engagement, bounce and unsubscribe rates. Lead nurture engagement rates: The percentage of prospects interacting with your nurture emails or educational content. Tools like HubSpot or Marketo can help track email click-to-open rate (CTOR), engagement, bounce and unsubscribe rates.
- Content engagement metrics: Analyze the performance of resources such as whitepapers, case studies, and webinars by measuring downloads, views, and time spent engaging with content. Platforms like Google Analytics, UTM tracking, or your content management system (CMS) can provide insights.
- Conversion rates: This is the percentage of MOFU prospects who advance to the next stage of the funnel. This could include registering for a demo, attending a workshop, or moving towards a trial phase. Understanding this conversion rate helps you assess the efficacy of your nurturing efforts. To calculate it, you can use the following formula: Conversion Rate = (Total MOFU Prospects (TMOFU)/Advanced MOFU Prospects (AMOFU))×100. Advanced MOFU prospects are those who take the next step (register for a demo, attend a workshop, or sign up for a trial). Total MOFU prospects are the people who have engaged with content (e.g., whitepapers, case studies, webinars) but have not yet taken the next step.
“MOFU is where you separate the tire-kickers from the serious buyers. It’s about providing value and building credibility.” – Gary Vaynerchuk, entrepreneur and internet personality
Effective MOFU tactics for science marketers
- Case studies and application notes
For Life Science professionals, the proof is crucial. Detailed case studies and application notes showcasing how your product or service has solved a similar problem in the industry are most effective at building credibility. Showcase how your customers have used your product by highlighting use cases such as the successful implementation of a new assay in a leading research lab or a pharmaceutical company reducing costs by using your solution.
- Example: A biotechnology company working with a pharmaceutical client to enhance drug discovery processes. Developing a case study that details how your technology improved workflow efficiency or data accuracy will resonate with potential buyers facing similar challenges.
- Webinars and virtual workshops
MOFU prospects are generally open to longer engagements to gather insights. Hosting webinars, virtual workshops or masterclasses led by experts in the field can help build trust and position your brand as a knowledgeable partner.
- Example: A workshop on “Optimizing PCR workflows” for molecular biology researchers. Invite notable scientists who can share practical tips or discuss their experiences using your instrument. These sessions would also provide the perfect opportunity to collect questions from your would-be customers, offering insights into their specific pain points.
- Whitepapers and research reports
You can position your company as a thought leader by offering high-value, in-depth content like whitepapers or industry-specific research reports. Even showcasing publications featuring your products adds credibility. In the Life Science industry, customers appreciate technical depth and clear data
- Example: Publish a whitepaper on “Trends in CRISPR Technology” that includes data from your own research and real-life examples of how your products support this area. This content helps to establish authority and demonstrates your company’s involvement in cutting-edge research.
- Product comparison guides
Prospects in the MOFU stage are often weighing their options. Creating comparison guides that outline the differences between your product and others in the market helps your audience make informed decisions.
- Example: Develop a downloadable guide comparing your lab automation solution with competitors, including specific benefits for genomics research facilities, such as time savings and increased throughput.
- Interactive tools (ROI calculators, decision trees, product configurators)
Interactive tools help prospects visualize how your product will benefit their specific situation. ROI calculators, for instance, provide potential customers with a tangible way to see the value they can expect, crucial in an industry with high equipment costs.
- Example: Create and promote an ROI calculator highlighting how much time and money a lab could save by switching to your automated cell analysis platform.
- Email nurture campaigns with segmentation
Segmentation that allows for personalized, targeted nurture campaigns is critical at this stage. Personalization goes beyond using their name or other details known about the prospect but rather extends to sending out content tailored to their known buying intent or an action that they have taken in the past. This will keep your leads engaged and moving further down the funnel. By segmenting your audience based on their specific interests or the challenges they’ve expressed, you can create email content that speaks directly to their needs.
- Example: If a customer has previously downloaded an eBook on antibody production, follow up with additional content like a case study on antibody screening optimization or an invitation to a related webinar. This targeted approach keeps your prospects engaged and moving down the funnel.
- Collaborations with key opinion leaders (KOLs)
Partnering with KOLs who are recognized in the Life Sciences community adds a layer of authority to your brand. Utilize these collaborations to create interviews, co-host webinars, or develop thought leadership content, like editorials, videos, case studies and reports.
- Example: An interview series with prominent immunologists discussing how your products facilitate groundbreaking research in the field of immunotherapy. Such collaborations help you reach an audience that trusts the opinions of these industry experts and immediately opens a window onto your brand within their own networks or communities.
“The goal of middle-funnel content is to help prospects evaluate your solution and move them closer to a buying decision.” – Joe Pulizzi, founder of the Content Marketing Institute
MOFU best practices
- Address specific challenges: Focus on providing solutions to the exact problems that your target audience faces. Ensure that your content dives deep into the applications and benefits of your product.
- Provide multiple touchpoints: Use a variety of content formats—emails, webinars, whitepapers— and channels to cater to different preferences and offer your audience multiple opportunities to engage with your brand. It is a good idea to expand reach and visibility of your MOFU assets by working with third-party media partners to use their lists and networks too.
- Leverage data-driven insights: Track engagement metrics closely. If you note that certain topics resonate more with your target audience, double down on those areas to further engage your prospects.
Industry examples of successful MOFU campaigns
- QIAGEN’s webinar series on genomics
QIAGEN has had great success with their MOFU webinar campaigns, particularly in the genomics research space. They launched a series of webinars covering specific applications like gene expression analysis, personalized medicine, and next-generation sequencing (NGS). The webinars were hosted by both internal experts and external thought leaders from academia and industry.
- Why this works: The webinars provide valuable educational content that speaks directly to the needs of QIAGEN’s audience. By focusing on application-specific knowledge and offering a chance for live Q&A, QIAGEN not only build trust but also engage researchers with real-world examples of how their solutions can be applied. This engagement helps move prospects from consideration to trial or demo requests.
- Waters Corporation’s expert interview series
Waters Corporation, known for its chromatography and mass spectrometry solutions, created an interview series featuring industry experts discussing their research and how Waters’ technology supported their scientific advancements. The interviews were shared through blogs, social media, and email newsletters, each focusing on specific challenges faced in different research areas, such as pharmaceutical development and environmental analysis.
- Why this works: A series like this, positions Waters Corporation as a thought leader while providing prospects with insights into how their technologies are making a difference in the field. Prospective buyers can relate to the challenges discussed by experts, which helps them envision Waters’ solutions in their own workflows.
“The middle of the funnel is all about engagement. It’s where you turn interest into consideration and consideration into intent.” – Seth Godin, author and entrepreneur
Stick around for part 3 of this blog series, where we tackle the bottom-of-the-funnel (BOFU) tactics for life science marketers.
Read Part 1, all about TOFU marketing or skip to Part 3 on BOFU tactics and approaches
