When you’re in the business of marketing B2B products or services, it’s crucial to create a B2B marketing funnel that will guide potential customers through the buying process. A well-constructed funnel will help qualify leads and precisely target those who are most likely to buy from you.
However, if you’re a B2B digital marketer, then you know that the customer journey is not always linear. In fact, it’s often quite complicated, with multiple touchpoints and interactions along the way.
That’s why it’s so important to have a well-defined digital marketing funnel in place. That way, you can track and measure each step of the journey and make sure your leads are moving through the funnel towards a conversion.
What Is a B2B Marketing Funnel?
A B2B content marketing funnel is a process that businesses use to identify and qualify potential customers. The funnel is usually divided into three stages: awareness, interest, and decision.
The first stage of the funnel (or “top of the funnel”) is awareness, and it’s when businesses make their potential customers aware of their products or services. This can be done through marketing campaigns, online ads, or word-of-mouth.
The second stage of the funnel, interest, is when potential customers start to show interest in what the business has to offer. They may visit the business’s website, request more information, or sign up for a newsletter.
The third stage of the funnel, decision, is when potential customers decide whether to buy the product or service. This is usually the point at which they contact the business to make a purchase or sign a contract.
The B2B SaaS marketing funnel is a useful tool for businesses to identify and qualify potential customers. By understanding the funnel, businesses can create more effective marketing campaigns and improve their sales conversions.
What Can a Marketing Funnel Help You Accomplish?
A B2B digital marketing funnel is a tool that can be used to help you achieve your marketing and sales goals. By understanding how a marketing funnel works, you can more effectively create and execute your marketing strategy.
A marketing funnel is essentially a process that leads potential customers through your marketing efforts towards becoming paying customers. The idea behind a marketing funnel is that not every person who comes into contact with your brand will become a customer – however, if you can guide them through the funnel, then you have a better chance of conversion.
A marketing funnel can help you to accomplish a variety of marketing objectives. For example, a funnel can be used to:
- Generate leads: By targeting potential customers at the awareness and interest stages, you can introduce them to your product or service and encourage them to sign up for more information.
- Convert prospects into customers: By providing valuable content and offers at each stage of the funnel, you can nurture prospects until they’re ready to make a purchase decision.
- Increase brand awareness: By targeting potential customers at the awareness stage, you can introduce them to your product or service and build a relationship with them through customer service.
As you can see, a marketing funnel can be a valuable tool for achieving a variety of marketing objectives. When used effectively, a funnel can help you to generate leads, convert prospects into customers, and increase brand awareness.
If you’re not using a B2B marketing funnel in your business, then you’re missing out on a valuable tool that can help you achieve your marketing and sales goals. Use a marketing funnel to more effectively reach your target audience and convert them into paying customers.
How Can You Build a B2B Marketing Funnel?
Building a B2B marketing funnel doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming. In fact, it can be quite simple if you follow these 6 steps:
- Awareness: Getting your target market to become aware of your product or service is the first step in the marketing funnel. This can be done through various marketing channels such as online advertising, social media, PR, or content marketing.
- Interest: Once your target market is aware of your product or service, you need to generate interest. This can be done by creating compelling content that educates and informs your target market about your product or service.
- Desire: The next step is to generate desire for your product or service. This can be done by highlighting the benefits of your product or service and how it can solve the problems of your target market.
- Intent: The next step is to get your target market to take action and show interest in your product or service. This can be done by providing a free trial or demo of your product or service.
- Evaluation: The next step is to get your target market to evaluate your product or service. This can be done by providing testimonials or case studies of your product or service.
- Action: The final step is to get your target market to take action and purchase your product or service. This can be done by offering a discount or special offer on your product or service.
Let’s break these steps down a bit further by providing a few scenarios and must-have tips.
Awareness
The first stage of a digital marketing funnel is awareness. In order to raise awareness for your product or service, you can use a variety of tactics – like paid campaigns on platforms like LinkedIn and Google Ads. The goal of these campaigns is to reach as many people as possible and to get them engaged with your brand.
One way to do this is by creating a video campaign that introduces your product or service. With this campaign, you can build an engaged audience and then, create a separate campaign that targets them with ads that drive them towards engagement and awareness.
Engagement
Once you have captured leads, it is time to engage with them. This can be done through email campaigns that provide valuable content that is relevant to their needs. It is important to score your leads in order to determine which ones are ready to be contacted by a sales representative.
Lead Scoring
Lead scoring is a way to prioritize prospects based on their likelihood of converting into customers. By assigning a score to each lead, you can prioritize which leads should receive follow-up from your sales team. Prospects who are further along in the buying cycle and have shown more interest in your product or service are typically given a higher score.
Sales Follow-Up
After a lead has been qualified, it’s time to start the sales process. The first step is to follow up with the lead and see if they’re interested in learning more about your product or service. If they are, you can then provide them with additional information or set up a meeting to discuss it further. If you’re able to successfully convert a lead into a customer, congrats! You’ve just successfully completed every stage of the B2B marketing funnel.
Looking for more marketing tips, guides, and resources?
The principles behind creating a digital marketing funnel are universal and can be adapted to any business or industry. By understanding the different stages of the purchasing process and what motivates customers at each stage, you can create a sales and marketing strategy that is more effective in reaching your target audience and driving conversions.
Are you ready to start increasing your sales with a well-crafted marketing funnel? Check out our other resources for more tips and advice on how to build an effective digital marketing strategy.
