Analyzing data is critical during every stage of the sales funnel (top, mid, and bottom), but which type of analysis is most valuable — and actionable — at each stage can vary.
Today, we’re focusing on the mid-funnel stage of RevOps strategy — and why qualitative analysis is the best way to analyze website data during this step of the process.
Remember: RevOps (revenue operations) is the B2B strategic framework that aligns your sales and marketing teams to target the most qualified potential customers and personalize their buyer’s journey.
Here’s why qualitative analysis can have an edge over quantitative analysis in mid-funnel — and how you can maximize this data to your advantage.
Defining Mid-Funnel in RevOps
Mid-funnel — sometimes referred to as middle-of-the-funnel or MOFU — is the stage in the RevOps process where your prospective customers (your leads) are nurtured and further qualified. Here, the goal is for leads to convert into MQLs (marketing-qualified leads) and eventually to SQLs (sales-qualified leads).
As such, this mid-funnel phase is an integral step to achieve RevOps digital growth in marketing — and the focus should be on how to provide value to each lead while building relationships with them and moving them closer to making a purchase.
However, the mid-funnel can also be considered difficult to measure. It’s sometimes referred to as the “messy middle” because results may be delayed, and it can be harder to identify which marketing tactics are moving the needle and if you’re reaching your intended goals.
That’s where qualitative analytics enters the chat.
The Power of Qualitative Analysis in Mid-Funnel
You may be wondering how quantitative analysis differs from qualitative analysis. Here’s a quick primer.
Qualitative analysis is a type of analysis that focuses on the behavior patterns of prospects. For example, it could analyze how long users stay on your site, what pages they browse and click on, how they engage on social media, what they click on an email, and how they interact in a webinar.
This is different from quantitative analysis, which focuses just on numbers. For example, it would look at how many users visited your site or landing page, how many impressions a social media post received, email open rates, and how many people registered for an event or webinar.
In the case of the murky mid-funnel, you can see why getting the story behind the statistics through qualitative analytics is powerful.
Strategies for Measuring Qualitative Analytics
Qualitative analytics’ focus on identifying behavior patterns and characteristics can be helpful in continuing to move prospects through the funnel and in knowing what marketing campaigns resonate with them.
Here are some strategies to capture these metrics:
Google Metrics
Tools like Google Analytics (GA) can provide a range of insights for both quantitative and qualitative analysis. Beyond time on site, bounce rate, and conversion rates, the qualitative metrics of GA’s Behavior Flow report can be particularly useful because it shows how engaged users are with your content and the path they take through your site. This report can also indicate if there is an event that is commonly triggered first while also revealing if there are any abandon or drop-off points. Using Google Analytics to evaluate users’ site behavior can help you make any site modifications necessary or simply plan better for future content.
SEO Metrics
When it comes to applying a qualitative approach to organic site traffic, it’s important to look at keywords as they could be indicative of where the user is in the funnel. Pixels are another powerful tool for SEO; placing them on a website will help indicate who is visiting the site, where they’re coming from, which keywords they’re commonly using, and what pages they viewed. All this data can help determine purchase intent and further qualify prospects in mid-funnel.
Social Metrics
If your brand is active on social media, social listening tools like Hootsuite can be instrumental in qualitatively analyzing your mid-funnel efforts. Not only can these tools reveal how people are engaging with your business through comments and shares, but they can also indicate what your prospects are talking about in the wider social media universe, their needs and pain points, brand sentiment, and more.
Event Metrics
Included in your mid-funnel campaign strategy may be event content like webinars and tutorials to nurture prospects. By looking at event metrics through the lens of qualitative analysis, you’ll want to evaluate the attendees and their questions, feedback, and engagement to further uncover if you’re reaching the right audiences.
Making the Most of Your Metrics
With these qualitative metrics, you can evaluate how well your mid-funnel campaign strategies and ads are performing while also creating targeted emails, calls, and messaging for MQLs and SQLs. Prospect developers and sales development representatives (SDRs) can likewise reach out to their contacts, equipped with more information about the behavior patterns and characteristics of each lead, which will be helpful in moving them to the bottom of the funnel and closing the deal.
How to Support Your Qualitative Analysis
To best support your qualitative analysis efforts in mid-funnel — and your overarching goals for the entire sales funnel — tools like Dealfront, Leadfeeder, ZoomInfo, and Websights can all be helpful in targeting leads and gaining deeper insights on prospects.
You may also want to bring in a team that has specialized expertise. Well Qualified helps B2B companies achieve their marketing and revenue goals through a strategic RevOps approach across the entire sales funnel. Our clear mission is to be the indispensable technology ally that businesses need, helping them master digital technology rather than struggling with it. WellQualified is more than an agency. We’re architects of demand, facilitators of meetings, and aligners of well-qualified accounts.
Our expert prospect developer teams, tools, and infrastructure serve as an extension of your team and will close hidden gaps that plague most companies — including the intricacies of effective qualitative analysis. We designed our award-winning process to deliver qualified leads that meet your sales team’s custom criteria — and make the sales funnel as streamlined as possible.
Join us as we redefine B2B marketing. Learn more here or by visiting wellqualified.com.