How to Create Bottom of Funnel Content
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Even if you have a great website and thoughtful content, that may not be enough to get sales.
Why? If you’re not appealing to people the right way for the buying phase they’re in, it’s nearly impossible to gently push them to actually make a purchase.
The customer journey and marketing funnel content gently and methodically guide people down the path they take from needing a product or service to buying one.
And knowing which type of content to make at each stage of the funnel ensures that you’re providing what customers want at the moment.
The top of the funnel attracts attention. The middle of the funnel generates leads. But the bottom of the funnel is what drives conversions.
What is Bottom of Funnel Content?
By the end of the customer journey, people are in the decision stage, which means they’re ready to pick an option and make a purchase. Your job is to make it as easy as possible for the customer to buy from you. The fewer clicks and hassles at this stage, the better.
You also need to do the following:
- Put yourself ahead of the competition
- Handle customer objections
- Remove their hesitation
Customers are very interested at this point, and you want to create bottom of funnel content that will push them to buy, like this landing page from DoorDash.
The Decision Stage
The customer journey is broken down into three main parts:
- The awareness stage at the top of the funnel
- The consideration stage in the middle of the funnel
- The decision stage at the bottom of the funnel
By the time a buyer has reached the decision stage, they’ve selected a solution to their problem. They’re ready to make a purchase, but first, they need to figure out which vendors sell what they’re looking for. Often, customers will also compare different vendors during this stage, looking at specifics like pricing, return policies and customer reviews.
An example of a decision-stage Google search is “Columbia vs. Merrell hiking boots.”
Customers typically choose a seller they’re familiar with and trust. If your content has popped up for them during the awareness and consideration stages, they’re more likely to choose your shop when making a purchase.
Bottom of Funnel Content Keywords
Finding target keywords for bottom of funnel content is tricky because so many online searches are aimed at the top and middle parts of the funnel.
Bottom of funnel keywords typically focus on the following:
- Brand/Product Names: Merrell hiking boots for women
- Buying Process: top backcountry hiking gear
- Comparisons: Hydro Flask vs. Yeti
- Pricing: hiking backpack discounts
- Product Types: tents for cold weather
- Reviews: REI rain jacket reviews
Knowing how customers in the decision stage word queries can make it easier to appeal to what they’re looking for.
7+ Ideas for Bottom of Funnel Content
These are the most common and effective types of bottom of funnel content to focus on.
Consultations
Service providers don’t have anything physical they can give the buyer to test, but a short consultation is like offering a sample of what you offer.
The goal of a consultation is to remove the potential customer’s anxiety about working with you. And during your brief time together, if you can offer a highly valuable tip that will benefit them, they’ll be eager to work with you again.
Make sure it’s easy for the customer to schedule a free consultation. Directing them to a resource like Calendly lets them pick the date and time that’s convenient for them.
Coupons
If a customer is skittish about making a purchase, it almost doesn’t matter what the price is — it’s too high in their eyes. Yes, by this point, the customer knows how they want to solve their problem and that a purchase is necessary to do so. But that doesn’t make the act of spending hard-earned money any easier.
By offering a coupon, like the one from Peloton above, you lower their price concerns while also stoking the fear of missing out (FOMO). This could remove any remaining friction and close the sale.
Customer Reviews
There are few things more powerful for sales than customer reviews, and today’s buyers are far less likely to make a purchase if the product, service or brand has no reviews or poor ones.
Once a customer has decided that you’re most likely the company it wants to go with, they may check out your reviews to ensure they’re making the right decision.
While this isn’t a type of content you can create yourself, you can encourage your customers to leave reviews so they’re available when a buyer is looking for them.
You can also encourage customers to leave testimonials that you can then put on your website. Also, ask them to create user-generated content that shows them interacting with your product.
Free Trials
Nothing removes the hesitation to buy like getting what you want for free. That’s why you can try on clothing at retail stores and take cars for a drive before you buy anything.
You’ll see a lot of free trials with digital companies that offer SaaS. Customers can usually try out the software for free for up to a month.
There are also some physical products that can be tried before you buy. For example, Amazon Prime has a program where you can order clothing, try it on and then opt to send it back, all without paying for it.
However, remember that even freebies can be unappealing if you ask for too much from the customer. For example, a free trial that requires a credit card is less appealing than a free trial that doesn’t.
Pricing Pages
In some industries, such as SaaS, it’s common to hide or bury pricing information, forcing the customer to get in touch if they want to find out the cost. However, pricing-related queries are indicators that shoppers are in the decision stage. If they don’t find what they want, you could lose sales.
Also, keep this in mind: If you don’t create a pricing page, another site might, and they could get the information wrong about your pricing or not know how to frame it.
Product Demonstration Videos
Queries for product demos show that the customer wants to see how the item works before they buy it. Helping them explore the product’s features can push them closer to making a purchase.
Since we’re at the bottom of the funnel, you want to push your product a lot. Show off its features and strengths to convince viewers that they want what you sell.
Product Pages
Even if a customer has decided that they want your product, they may be gathering all information possible before taking that final step and buying it. A product overview on a landing page or product page should clearly lay out everything they get with their purchase, which can ease any lingering questions or concerns.
Check out the product page for this Stanley tumbler, which includes all the information you could want in an easy-to-read way.
Content for Existing Customers
Aside from getting a first sale from a new customer, this is also the stage where you want to appeal to existing customers to encourage more sales. Consider the following types of content:
- Answers to FAQ
- Educational content
- Knowledge base articles
- Upsell coupons
The idea is to create content that complements the products they already have or solves pain points they’re experiencing as a current customer.
More Bottom of Funnel Content Ideas
While these content types are typically reserved for the top and middle of the marketing funnel, you may find them helpful here, depending on what you’re selling.
- Alternative options
- Case studies
- Comparison pages
If you opt to use these at the bottom of the funnel, make sure to include strong CTAs that direct people to buy your product.
4 Best Practices for Bottom of Funnel Content
By the time your customer has reached the bottom of the funnel, you don’t have to be subtle when it comes to promoting your brand. Here are best practices to keep in mind when creating bottom of funnel content.
Add Social Proof
Including reviews from happy customers can ease any final concerns the buyer has about moving forward. You can also cleverly place these reviews to appeal to specific concerns. For example, you can use a testimonial that mentions value on the pricing page.
Conduct A/B Tests
Once your bottom of funnel content pages start getting a lot of traffic, set up A/B testing to determine which tactics work best for conversions. Use this article from Hubspot as a resource when you’re ready.
Include CTAs Throughout the Content
Your goal here is to get the sale, and the visitor’s goal is to make a purchase. Don’t be afraid to add CTAs throughout the page. Make it easy for them to do what they came here to do.
Pro Tip: Stick with one type of CTA per page. Otherwise, it can get confusing. For example, you don’t want one CTA to encourage a free trial and another one to ask for a newsletter subscription.
Measure Bottom of Funnel Performance Metrics
Bottom of funnel content metrics to pay attention to include:
- Content marketing ROI
- Conversions
- Requests for demos and free trials
- Revenue
While some customers will find your brand through organic search at this stage, most of them will already be on your email list, and your job is to nurture them to convert. Advertising is also an effective channel for reaching prospects in the decision stage.
Final Thoughts About Bottom of Funnel Content
Along with knowing how to create content for each stage of the funnel, you’ll also need to have the following in order:
- Understand your target audience’s challenges and goal
- Map out the buyer’s journey for your core audience
- Determine the marketing goals and KPIs you want to track
- Conduct competitor analysis to see what others in your niche are doing
- Create a content marketing strategy that incorporates all of these elements
When you check those boxes and create content for each part of the marketing funnel, you could have a winning strategy on your hands.