Lead Funnel Automation for Successful Customer Acquisition

1. Lead Funnel (-Automation): Definition and Distinction
2. Many advantages with a pinch of challenge
3. Functionality and stages of a lead funnel
4. Lead Funnel Automation or traditional lead generation methods? Both are best!
5. Best practices and examples of successful lead funnel automation
6. Finding the right lead funnel automation software
7. Conclusion: The end of the lead

In a perfect online marketing world, the lead funnel would not be a funnel, but a cylinder: All visitors* simply slip through, become valuable leads and fall out again at the bottom as satisfied buyers*. The reality, however, is more funnel-shaped and often goes hand in hand with missing routines, unclear processes and missed opportunities. On their way to the symbolic Lead Cylinder, Lead Funnel Automations represent a real enrichment for marketing and sales teams. With the help of individually defined automations, not only can the general lead management be structured more efficiently, but also the collaboration between marketing and sales.

Our guest author Michael Kröner explains in the following article how to define lead funnels and their automations, what advantages and challenges they bring, and in which automation there is particularly high potential.

Lead Funnel (-Automation): Definition and Distinction

The term Lead Funnel (also Lead-Generation-Funnel or Lead-Magnet-Funnel in English: Contact Funnel) refers to the funnel-shaped representation of individual lead process stages from the first product or brand perception to the purchase or conclusion. The funnel traditionally consists of three elements: Top-of-the-Funnel (TOFU), Middle-of-the-Funnel (MUFO) and Buttom-of-the-Funnel (BOFU). Each element includes specific touchpoints and clearly defined steps for generating and segmenting leads, such as a lead-gen landing page, measures for more traffic or automated mailings.

When the individual steps are carried out automatically, for example using a Marketing Automation tool, like this is referred to as Lead-Funnel-Automation.

It is crucial to note that a clear and above all sharp definition of a Lead Funnel is hardly possible. The lead funnel is often used synonymously with marketing or sales funnel. The reason for this is their overlaps and a similar structure in terms of content: a lead usually undergoes a marketing funnel first and is passed on to the sales team as soon as they express a concrete purchase interest.

For products that require low involvement and where purchases are usually made quickly, going through a single marketing funnel is often enough.

Many advantages with a pinch of challenge

The creation and automation of a lead funnel offers numerous advantages, especially in the field of online marketing. Thus, the classification of leads into one of the funnel stages always comes with clearly defined responsibilities and to-dos. This not only facilitates internal team work, but can also avoid frustration in cross-departmental cooperation, for instance when it comes to the lead handover from marketing to sales.

Another bonus of lead funnel automation is the increased pace and timing of tasks. Especially when making contact with leads, the right timing is crucial and should not be missed because of missing deadlines or non-assigned to-dos.

On the plus side, there are also the centrally accessible insights that most lead funnel software can retrieve. For example, e-mail opening rates, conversion rates from stage to stage or bounce rates provide information on where and to what extent improvement is needed.

Of course, the active use of lead funnel automations also comes with some challenges: The initial creation must be preceded by a comprehensive target group analysis as well as thoughtful and clear definitions of the individual stages, responsibilities and workflows. Additionally, the implementation and automation of a lead generation funnel also means that new tools have to be set up and integrated into the ongoing workflow. If several departments - usually marketing and sales - are involved, the transition phase can be a bit bumpy.

Comparing the advantages and disadvantages of lead generation funnels and their automations, the former clearly outweigh: Especially online marketing teams benefit from the rapid and effective processes. They can use the saved time effectively to improve ongoing marketing measures and thus ensure better conversion rates and ultimately sales.

Functionality and stages of a lead funnel

As already mentioned in the definition, lead funnels are divided into three super categories and are closely connected with marketing and sales funnels. A simplified and ideal type representation looks like this: 

Source: ADLOC

Top-of-the-Funnel (TOFU) 

The top of the lead funnel, in accordance with its shape, is the widest. In this area, as large an audience as possible should be addressed and their attention directed to the product or brand. It is important that at this stage it is only about broadly based interested parties who want to inform themselves about a topic, product or service in general. This means that the measures in the upper funnel area should by no means be too promotional, but should rather convince with their informative or even entertaining character.

Here, landing pages or blog articles are often published that answer the questions of interested parties and thus establish a first indirect contact with the product or brand.

With regard to methodology, all measures come into question that increase the traffic and range of these pages, for example through target group analyses or search engine optimisation. The top of the funnel is usually entirely in the hands of the marketing team.

Middle-of-the-Funnel (MOFU) 

Since the first scatter loss has been set up during the TOFU phase, only those leads that have already dealt with the product or the brand enter the MOFU. The aim during this phase is to accompany the interested leads through the funnel with the help of the right measures collect contact data and establish a first “relationship”.

Similar to in the first phase, it makes sense to create suitable content, the themes of which are now no longer purely informative, but involve the relevant product or brand as a “problem solution”. This includes, among others, exclusive whitepaper, e-books or webinars, which become accessible after entering contact data (automatically). 

The middle funnel phase comes with a particular challenge in the B2B sector: In the course of the MOFU, interested parties first become Marketing Qualified Leads (MQL) and then Sales Qualified Leads (SQL). In other words: the leads are handed over from the marketing to the sales department. To avoid potential friction during the handover, collaborative work in suitable lead routing or marketing automation software, like for example . Depending on the scope of performance, customer data can be collected centrally, workflows automated and responsibilities assigned, which greatly simplifies cross-departmental cooperation.

Bottom-of-the-Funnel (BOFU) / Lower Funnel

During the lower and thus narrowest part of the lead funnel, the sales qualified leads are to be converted into customers. The focus is therefore on the compelling presentation of the respective products or services. Ideally, enough customer data was collected during the middle phase to play out personalized content that gives the decisive impetus to buy. This includes for example exclusive trial versions, discounts or testimonials.

As a rule, the BOFU, especially in the B2B sector, lies in the hands of sales. However, it is also worthwhile to continue to work closely with the marketing department. They know the leads well and can provide valuable input when it comes to clearing up last doubts.

If no purchase is made during the BOFU, retargeting measures can help convince the near-customer at a later time.

Lead Funnel Automation or traditional lead generation methods? Both are best!

Lead Generation Funnels and their automations - as the name suggests - belong to the group of lead generation methods. Most of these measures can be combined without any problems and are particularly effective. So are email, social media and content marketing measures a permanent part of every lead funnel automation. Compared to rather “traditional” lead generation methods such as trade fairs, telephone marketing or print ads, digital methods usually stand out due to their low costs and long-term usability.A once created lead funnel and its automations can be used by as many employees* as desired over many years, provided its functionality is constantly checked and if necessary improved. The digital generation methods also have the advantage that a wide range of potential leads can be addressed, segmented and converted with little effort and a small budget.

The costs of a lead funnel automation are limited to the software used, and the financial expense is usually offset by the time saved due to automation.

Of course, the success of the respective lead generation methodology always also depends on the industry, product or service, which is why classic (outbound) marketing strategies are by no means passé. However, for the reasons mentioned above, it can make sense to complement these with lead funnel automations – or other (inbound) marketing measures.

Best practices and examples of successful lead funnel automation

The possibilities for automating a lead funnel are limitless and can be created and combined according to individual needs. Nevertheless, there are some evergreens that are considered effective components of every lead funnel automation and should therefore not be missed:

CRM usage

Most Lead Funnel (or Marketing) Automation Tools include applications for Customer Relationship Management (CRM). This can store, sort and filter customer data. Automations help to enter and assign new data without errors and allows all participants access to relevant and current information.

Concrete examples of a successful lead funnel automation via CRM usage are among others the lead handover to sales, lead scoring and lead temperature. Here, automated notifications are sent to certain sales people as soon as a lead is active on the website or has interacted with an email.

E-mail automation

With the help of mailing automations, it can be ensured that not too much time goes by until a lead is contacted via e-mail. The possibilities for individualisation here are endless: mails can e.g. be sent when the lead status changes, after a certain period of time or in the event of abandoned shopping carts.

A clear example of E-mail automation,are classic nurturing mail campaigns,which start after inputting an email address, e.g. for downloading a whitepaper. Other emails can automatically be sent to the lead over a period of, for example, four weeks, which are based on the content that he was initially interested in, with a success story from a similar industry with a similar case would be ideal. It is important that each e-mail offers the possibility to contact .

Website tracking

Many lead funnels start with landing pages with lead magnets. By using a tracking tool insights can be (automatically) gained and evaluated, after which adjustments to the website and its content can be made. In addition, tracking is indispensable when it comes to creating retargeting ads. Ideally, a CRM software such as is used, with which activities on the website can be recorded and used as triggers for automation.

Lead Scoring and Nurturing

During the “journey” through the lead funnel, the status of the leads changes several times. In order to always keep in mind how a lead is currently defined and what measures make sense at this point, automations for scoring and nurturing the leads should be set up. The former help determine the qualitative value of the leads so that they can then be assigned to corresponding nurturing measures.

One concrete example of automating lead scoring and nurturing is the automatic assignation and rating of a contact-ready lead. The criteria for this are first discussed with the sales team. These usually include information such as job title, company size or industry as well as the activity of the lead. If a lead is then active, for example by requesting a demo, the sales team is automatically informed in order to arrange a timely appointment. In addition, the lead is automatically given a high score. If a lead signs up for the newsletter, however, it is (initially) of lower quality, receives a lower score and is not handed over to sales.

Smart content

The use of smart content provides another possibility to automate the lead funnel profitably. Many marketing automation tools, including HubSpot, allow individual “smart rules” for categorising leads, to play out personalised content and arouse the greatest possible interest..

For example, if a lead that could be categorised via Smart Content tool visits a website, parts of the content dynamically adapt. Depending on the category, a classic CTA could be replaced by a demo request. Furthermore, the collected knowledge about the content interests of a certain smart rule category can be used to automatically play out suitable lead magnets, e.g. in the form of use cases.

Tasks & Workflow automation

Last but not least: Lead funnel automations can make work more efficient - and this applies both within a team and across several departments. Individual automations not only allow tasks to be scheduled, but also assigned, thus reducing errors and time. They also facilitate the transfer of leads from marketing to sales. A successful workflow automation could look as follows: A new lead could be won and a deal has been created. The sales manager* assigned to the lead receives an automatic notification, summarising all previous touch points to promote the conclusion of the deal quickly and effectively.

Finding the right lead funnel automation software

Searching for the right lead funnel automation tool can pose a little challenge. Precisely for this reason, the right preparation is A and O: It is sensible to sit down with all the people involved and consider which functions are important, how they are prioritised and what budget is available. It should also be defined in advance what goals are to be achieved with the creation, use and automation of the lead funnel. Finally, it is worth taking a brief look beyond the horizon: Are there perhaps other marketing areas that would benefit from automation? Then look for an overarching marketing automation tool that includes all the desired applications.

A comprehensive overview of the most popular software and their functions, prices and reviews can be found at OMR Reviews.

Conclusion: The end of the lead

Creating and automating lead funnels is definitely not a no-brainer. Every funnel - whether related to leads, marketing or sales - requires intensive engagement with your own processes, workflows, and target groups. The fact that several people, teams, and departments are involved makes things no easier. But that's exactly where the potential lies: Once set in motion, lead funnels and their automations are an effective tool for increasing conversions, optimising marketing measures based on data, and making everyday work more effective.