A Guide to Mid-Funnel Marketing

Mid-funnel marketing plays an important role in the customer journey. It turns initial interest into genuine consideration, and it’s the bridge between broad awareness and the final decision to purchase. 

At the top of the funnel, you’re sparking curiosity about your brand. When potential customers start considering how your products or services can help them, mid-funnel marketing steps in to nurture that curiosity into real intent. Consumers begin comparing features and weighing options, so it’s important to address their concerns and highlight your unique value. 

In this article, you’ll learn more about mid-funnel marketing and how to use its various tactics for greater success.

What is Mid-Funnel Marketing?

Mid-funnel marketing, or the “consideration stage,” bridges the gap between general brand awareness and the final buying decision. The mission here is clear: to guide potential customers who know you exist but aren’t fully convinced to buy. That means creating effective marketing funnels, providing valuable information, building trust, and easing any doubts they might have.

As you educate and engage potential customers during this stage, you address their concerns and position your brand as a trusted advisor, which significantly increases the chance of them choosing your product or service over competitors. In your mid-funnel marketing efforts, think about offering success stories or expert insights tailored to what your audience needs.

However, mid-funnel marketing does have its challenges. Some businesses underinvest in this stage due to limited resources or misunderstanding its importance, which limits their ability to convert customers. 

But with the right approach, mid-funnel marketing will reduce customer acquisition costs and improve your overall marketing ROI.

In mid-funnel marketing, it’s important to align your messaging with the specific needs and concerns of your audience. By addressing their issues directly and demonstrating how your product meets their needs, you build trust and help them move closer to making a purchasing decision.

At this stage, provide educational content that tackles specific hurdles to pave the way for a smooth journey when they’re ready to commit.

Mid-Funnel Marketing Approaches and KPIs

After the initial awareness, the mid-funnel stage helps consumers compare options more carefully. The main goal is to build trust and guide them toward a purchase decision. This means answering questions, highlighting your product’s unique benefits, and standing out from competitors.

Some effective approaches include:

• Targeted content: Dive into your product’s features and advantages.
• Segmented email campaigns: Send personalized messages that resonate.
• Retargeting ads and social media engagement: Stay visible where your audience spends time.
• Customer reviews: Use testimonials to reinforce credibility.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Mid-Funnel Marketing

To gauge how effective your mid-funnel marketing efforts are, keep an eye on KPIs that show engagement:

• Consideration lift – Are more consumers showing intent to purchase after exposure to your campaign? (Measured via surveys, brand studies, or intent signals)
• Product page views per user – How many times does a user return to view product pages, signaling increased interest?
• Time spent on key pages – Are consumers engaging deeply with content that influences purchase decisions?
• Add-to-cart rate – What percentage of visitors add products to their cart, indicating strong purchase intent?
• Email/SMS engagement rate – Open rates, click rates, and responses to nurture campaigns that build intent.
• Video watch completion rate – If video is part of your strategy, how many viewers watch them to the end?
• Social saves & shares – Are users bookmarking, saving, or sharing your content, showing intent to revisit?
• Branded search volume – An increase in searches for your brand or products post-campaign indicates growing interest.

These KPIs help you refine your approach and move consumers toward the final stage of the funnel.

7 Mid-Funnel Marketing Tactics for Your Strategy

These tactics are designed to help you effectively engage and nurture consumers who are already aware of your brand but haven’t yet made a purchase. By implementing these strategies, you can guide potential customers through the consideration stage and increase your chances of converting and even turning them into brand advocates.

1. Craft Mid-Funnel Content That Speaks to The Customer Needs

At this point in the funnel, you need educational content because it carries more weight than direct sales pitches. Potential customers want proof that your product or service solves their challenges.

Providing valuable materials, like product demonstration videos, empowers consumers to make informed decisions. And it builds trust and positions you as a helpful resource, not just another company. For ideas on building mid-funnel content, consider using innovative AI tools like Pixis to easily generate and tailor creative to different platforms.

2. Leverage Social Proof to Build Trust

People tend to follow the crowd, especially when they’re uncertain. That’s why leveraging social proof is a powerful mid-funnel marketing tactic that builds trust with potential customers as they consider their options.

Consider these approaches:

• Customer reviews and testimonials: Genuine feedback from happy customers validates your quality. For example, you can use real reviews in emails to reassure would-be buyers.
• Media reviews and industry awards: Showcasing reputable coverage or awards bolsters your brand’s credibility.
• Social media mentions: Sharing positive user experiences on platforms like Reddit or Pinterest strengthens your reputation.
• On-site social proof: Displaying logos and review scores on your website reassures visitors they’re in the right place.

Combining different types of social proof reinforces trust as consumers move closer to a purchase. When you integrate social proof throughout your marketing channels, the chances are high that potential customers would consistently see evidence of your credibility and the satisfaction of your existing clients.

3. Implement Personalized Email and SMS Campaigns

Personalized campaigns over text and email allow you to nurture consumers with content that addresses their specific priorities and interests. This is a huge improvement compared to sending generic emails where you sometimes ”catch” a few customers, but miss many more.

It’s wise to segment your audience based on demographics, behaviors, or purchase history as this allows you to tailor messages. AI targeting tools are great at this, as they can dive deep into your customer data and create niche audience segments.

Building lookalike audiences can also help you reach new prospects similar to your existing customers, and incorporating dynamic content and personalized product recommendations can further improve the relevance of your emails.

4. Use Retargeting Ads to Stay Top-of-Mind

Retargeting ads help you stay top-of-mind with potential customers who’ve shown interest but haven’t yet converted. 

Have you ever looked at a product online and then seen ads for it everywhere online? That’s retargeting at work. It reminds potential customers about your brand after they’ve shown interest but didn’t make a purchase.

Here’s how you can use it:

• Click retargeting: Target individuals who clicked an ad but didn’t act. Serving them renewed calls-to-action excludes those who’ve already purchased, keeping your budget focused on the right leads.
• Site retargeting: Use pixel tracking to follow visitors who left without purchasing, showing ads for products they viewed.
• Emerging channels: Platforms like Connected TV (CTV) and programmatic audio expand your reach beyond traditional platforms.
• Cross-platform marketing strategies: Using cross-platform marketing helps ensure your retargeting efforts reach your audience wherever they are.

5. Offer Interactive Tools and Assessments

When you offer interactive tools and assessments, you engage potential customers and help them see the value in your products. 

For example, quizzes and product simulations are great at capturing customer’s attention. Also, live chats can offer real-time guidance and provide immediate answers to user questions.

Interactive experiences not only engage users but also provide valuable data insights, allowing you to further personalize your marketing efforts based on user responses and preferences.

6. Provide Transparent Comparisons

Transparent comparisons build trust by helping consumers evaluate your product against competitors. Straightforward comparisons let prospects weigh their options without guesswork. 

For example, you could publish a comparison chart on your site that reveals differences in features, pricing, and other product components with two to three of your main competitors.

In addition, buyer guides, influencer reviews, and candid testimonials add a human touch. Sharing real experiences, both positive and not-so-positive, helps prospective customers decide with confidence. It’s an honest approach that builds loyalty and sets you apart.

7. Offer Limited-Time Promotions to Drive Action

Offering limited-time promotions can motivate potential customers to take action. It’s all about creating a sense of urgency.

Flash sales or short-lived deals encourage buyers to commit, and scarcity increases perceived value. Time-sensitive offers can also reduce cart abandonment by reminding hesitant shoppers that a special price or bundle won’t last forever. For digital flair, countdown timers or personalized URLs emphasize urgency as well.

These promotions can also be targeted to specific segments, so that the offers are relevant and appealing to the recipients, and increase the likelihood of conversion.

Turn Interest Into Action With Smarter Mid-Funnel Marketing

Getting consumers from curiosity to commitment takes more than just brand awareness. It’s about delivering the right message at the right time, building trust, and making it easy for them to take the next step.

AI can help refine your mid-funnel strategy by personalizing engagement, optimizing content, and identifying what resonates most with your audience. With Pixis AI, you can automate and improve these efforts—no coding required.

To see how our platform works, book a demo today.