When it comes to marketing your practice, the communications funnel is an integral part of planning. The communications funnel is made up of three tiers: TOFU (top of the funnel), MOFU (middle of the funnel), and BOFU (bottom of the funnel). Each stage plays a specific role and has a specific goal in the communications to your audience in generating new patients.
Benefits of a Clean Communications Funnel
There are many benefits to having a clean communications funnel. A clean communications funnel allows for quick reporting, an organized and segmented audience, and clear outward content and messaging. Keeping a clean and organized communications funnel allows your team to cater to each individual specifically and more accurately as they progress through each stage.
Build a Communications Strategy Based on Funnel Stages
Our minds like to play tricks on us. We live in a society where we are quick to say sorry and think negatively about ourselves even if it means we are doing the best. During the shoot, there are going to be times when there will be retakes or do-overs. Don’t take this personally, it’s part of the process. The producer may just want to get the best answer or response out of you so that your story pieces together both consistently and confidently. Being gentle with yourself to make mistakes helps get the best delivery out of yourself. The producer will always be patient with you no matter what because at the end of the day, they want your When building a communications strategy, it’s important to remember what content and messaging should be included in each stage and pushed out through which channel. Below are the three stages of the communications funnel, the goal of the stage, and an example to help further your understanding of ways to generate new patients.story to shine the best.
TOFU
- The top of the communications funnel is the largest part. This stage is where you will send a more broad message to your entire audience. You will make them aware of your practice, the different offerings you provide, and options (solutions) on how to learn more or make an appointment.
- Example: Ways to generate awareness can be: ads, boosted posts, landing pages, videos, and infographics/flyers.
- Goal: Facilitate awareness
MOFU
- The middle of the communications funnel has a more direct and specific message towards the audience that has shown some interest from the TOFU stage. This is one of the more critical stages because you are now responsible for encouraging them to move from the awareness stage to the evaluation stage. In other words, converting them from just knowing about your practice to now showing true interest in wanting to learn more about offerings, doctors, appointment openings, etc.
- Example: Ways to facilitate the evaluation stage can be: blogs, social media posts, white papers, patient testimonials, and emails.
- Goal: Facilitate audience to evaluate
BOFU
- The bottom of the communications funnel is the most narrow portion of the funnel. The bottom of the funnel is where you begin to learn more about each audience member and their needs. You have a more tailored message to each individual to try and gain that final step towards converting them from a prospective patient/client to actually making an appointment and becoming a patient/client.
- Example: Ways to facilitate the conversion can be: More doctor/patient testimonial videos, events, demos, and success stories.
- Goal: Facilitate conversion
Organizing Audience Segments
When it comes to your audience, it is important to segment them as much as possible. Segmenting your audience into different groups and stages allows you to send individuals more personalized communication tailored to their interests and needs.
It is recommended that you segment your audience based on the stage they are in within the process.
This can include:
- Subscriber
- Lead
- Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)
- Sales Qualified Lead (SQL)
- Opportunity
- Client/Customer
- Other
Each one of these segments would alter the messaging and content directed toward them. You wouldn’t send the same email to a lead that you would send to a current patient, would you? Segmenting them into different groups allows you to know exactly what stage they are in and what type of messaging you need to send them in order to progress them to the next stage in the process.
Schedule Communications Calendar in Advance
Schedule your communications ahead! Planning ahead ensures that you do not miss a beat when it comes to staying in contact with your audience. It encourages you to organize the content you want to convey to your audience and distinguish what information needs to go out first and what to follow it up with. When creating a communications plan, it’s important to tackle it in stages and ask yourself a set of questions.
- What’s the purpose or goal of the plan? What are you hoping to achieve?
- Who is the target audience?
- What am I trying to communicate to them?
- What channel of communication am I going to use to maximize my efforts?
Using these 4 questions will help you plan out your communications schedule effectively and efficiently.
Keeping an organized communications funnel is an integral part of your practice’s marketing strategy. Continue to segment your audience, plan your communication schedule ahead, and tailor your message based on your audience’s interests and stages and you will find more success in gathering new patients.
Points Group is a healthcare marketing agency that dedicates itself to staying on the cutting edge of healthcare marketing and provides you with an in-depth approach to measuring and reporting on your success.
