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Working in the service industry, a personal brand is highly important. It's a trending slogan that, upon deeper reflection, has been with us all along. After all, a personal brand is nothing but reputation. Thanks to reputation, even in the medieval times, for instance, blacksmiths would secure better or worse commissions.
The phenomenon of recommending individuals who excel in their work on the market is nothing new. At the same time, consider how powerful this effect is and how much it aids in sales. Would you rather take a risk and buy a service from a stranger, or would you decide more quickly to spend more money on services from someone whose work's effects a friend has shown you?
The foundation of a personal brand is diligent work at the highest possible quality. Without this, you won't be able to build a strong and lasting network that allows you to earn more. However, I am confident that if you're reading this article, you are a person who can be considered an expert in your field. To provide some comfort, I'll add that in such a case, the worst is behind you. But what's next?
If you want to scale your business or simply seek clients beyond just acquaintances, it won't do without well-prepared social media. You need to build solid marketing and sales funnels for your business. However, let's start with the basics.
TOFU is the first stage in the marketing process where you try to reach the widest possible group of potential customers. The goal of this stage is to generate brand awareness and attract the attention of new audiences by providing valuable content, such as blog articles, infographics, instructional videos, free downloadable materials (e-books, for example), etc. The idea is to pique potential customers' interest and encourage them to interact with your brand.
MOFU is the second stage where you work on converting potential customers who have already shown some interest in your brand into potential buyers. In this stage, you provide more detailed and industry-related information and help potential clients understand how your products or services can solve their problems or fulfill their needs. This may include case studies, webinars, free consultations, expert materials, etc.
BOFU is the third stage where you focus on converting potential customers into actual customers. At this point, potential customers are well-informed about your offer and are considering making a purchase. You provide them with conversion-focused content such as special offers, persuasive sales arguments, discount codes, trial options, etc. The goal is to turn interest into a transaction and encourage customers to make a purchasing decision.
The purpose of the marketing funnel is to guide your customer through the entire process of TOFU → MOFU → BOFU until the point where a conversion, i.e., a sale, can take place. An ideal place to direct your potential customers is a profile page, which you can easily create for free in Zencal.
Next, if you have a Zencal Pro account, you can prepare a list of your services that your clients can purchase along with a convenient appointment reservation.
Remember that if you're just beginning your journey with a personal brand, offering free service samples that you sell to your new clients can be a good strategy. This way, they'll get to know you better and assess whether they want to collaborate with you. If you acquire a customer with a genuine need that your service fulfills, they'll be much more valuable to you in the context of word-of-mouth marketing than customers who buy just because they think they have that need.
In summary, TOFU, MOFU, and BOFU are the three main stages in the marketing process: from generating brand awareness through delivering valuable content, to educating potential customers, and ultimately transforming them into real customers by delivering targeted conversion content.
Acquiring customers who genuinely appreciate the value of your service will be your best and free marketing carriers. On the other hand, it's not worth selling services to individuals who won't derive maximum value from them. Such sales usually end up with payment disputes, dissatisfaction (sometimes apparent), and a lack of referrals among acquaintances, or even negative word-of-mouth. Such individuals might feel deceived by you due to a lack of perceived necessity to use your service.
