A sales funnel is a visual representation of the customer journey. It depicts the stages your prospect goes through when they decide to purchase from you. It charts their progression from curious browsers to hopefully satisfied customers, along with every stage in between.
The typical sales funnel is shown as an inverted pyramid, with the bulk of potential buyers at the beginning shrinking in number as you draw closer to closing the deal. Although the concept of a sales funnel has been around for more than a hundred years (it was coined in 1924 in William W. Townsend’s book Bond Salesmanship), the modern sales funnel has to account for all the different ways people buy, which these days is a lot less sequential.
Both business-to-customer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) companies use sales funnels. Though the two approaches have similarities, they also have some important differences.
What is a B2B marketing funnel for, exactly? While useful in many regards, it has two chief purposes. The first one is to convert business prospects (or leads) into paying customers. The second is to increase return on investment (ROI). As flexible and personalised as B2B sales funnels may be, most of them follow the AIDA model (attention, interest, desire and action).
If you’re looking for more information on how a B2B Marketing sales funnel can help you achieve your business goals, you’re in the right place. The Anchor team has the skills and experience to show you how to build a B2B sales funnel and where it fits into your overall marketing strategy.
The Stages of a B2B Marketing Sales Funnel
B2B marketing funnels usually have six stages. While the names of the stages can vary depending on the brand or marketing professional behind the funnel, the intent remains much the same. These sequential phases are:
Awareness
During this stage, potential customers become aware of a need or desire they want fulfilled. This can occur naturally or be stirred by the right marketing campaign or their own research on a related topic. Content marketing, search engine optimisation (SEO), pay-per-click campaigns (PPC), and social media can all help you make an impression during this important stage.
Discovery
During this phase, your potential customers become more aware of the products or services you offer. They will start to look for more resources and information about your solutions, such as Googling, exploring websites and blogs, and reading reviews online. During this stage, your prospects move from being aware of the problem to being aware of the solution to being aware of the product.
Evaluation
During the evaluation stage, your potential customer is already familiar with a range of options. Based on the information presented, they’re likely weighing up the pros and cons of different businesses. This is the time to build trust and authority with your unique value proposition (UVP) and content that addresses their concerns.
Engagement
During the engagement stage, prospects are usually engaging with marketing teams in a more direct way, like trying free samples or attending webinars. This is your time to build a personal connection with the potential buyer through a strategy like a live demo, walkthrough, presentation, etc.
Sales
During the sales stage, customers are compelled to act on their desires and make a purchase. This is why providing a decent call to action and a contact method is so important: a cart, an e-mail address, a payment page, etc.
Loyalty
After a customer has made a purchase, the last stage of the process is retaining them through building brand loyalty. This is when measures like retention emails, follow-up surveys, and loyalty emails come into play.
How A B2B Differs From A B2C Sales Funnel
On a surface level, the difference between a B2B and a B2C marketing sales funnel is obvious: one targets a business, while the other targets a consumer. But the differences run deeper. A B2B funnel is almost always longer and more involved than a B2C one. While a B2C funnel can be completed in a single day, a B2B process can take up to a year and a half.
There are reasons for this. B2B funnels are frequently less linear, and customers can move up and down them over time. B2B purchases often require approval from multiple stakeholders, while it’s more common for B2B decisions to rest in one person’s hands. B2B purchases are complex and difficult decisions. Your B2B sales funnel needs to address that complexity and make your offer appealing enough.
Case studies, white papers, thought leadership articles, educational presentations, live demos, and walkthroughs are common elements of a B2B marketing sales funnel that aren’t typically included in a B2C funnel.
How To Build and Optimise Your B2B Marketing Sales Funnel
Your strategy for building a B2B marketing and sales funnel will differ in terms of techniques depending on the nature of your business and where you are in your growth cycle. But here’s a brief, general guide to how to build a B2B sales funnel that converts:
Know what your customers are after
Start with a clear idea of your target audience and their company size, intent and buying behaviour. You can identify your target audience by analysing your existing customer base, researching your competitors and examining your current website and social media data.
Create a buyer persona
Use your research and data to construct a buyer persona, including information such as pain points, social media platform preferences, and rank within the organisation.
Have strategies for every stage of the sales funnel
You can draw on a range of marketing tactics and strategies to strengthen your sales funnel from beginning to end. For example, in the awareness stage, you might use content marketing, SEO and social media. Later in the funnel, a streamlined sales process and a prompt response to enquiries will become more important.
Conduct market research and competitor analysis
Market research will help you establish your customers' pain points and provide solutions that meet their needs. It will also help you identify new market trends and your competitors' shortfalls.
Set clear goals for each stage of the sales funnel
Have clear objectives in mind for the Top of the Funnel, Middle of the Funnel and Bottom of the Funnel (ToFu, MoFu and BoFu stages). For example, MoFu content might explain why your product is better than the alternatives, while BoFu content is more directly focused on conversion.
Make sure your sales and marketing teams are on the same page
Your sales and marketing teams need to work together for the greater good, so make sure their goals and efforts align.
Effective Marketing Strategies with Anchor
Getting where you want to be takes planning. Anchor can make sure your marketing efforts (including your sales funnel) are built on solid strategy.
There’s room for many different approaches, and Anchor’s marketing strategy services help you get your messaging right. By becoming deeply familiar with your brand, your budget and your ideal clients, we strategically focus on the techniques that will provide you with the best return on investment at every stage of the sales funnel.
As a full-service creative marketing agency, our approach is both practical and creative. We can assist with a range of different services, from facilitating workshops to conducting in-depth customer and market research. The skills and services our team brings to the table allow us to nurture your sales funnel (and the rest of your marketing strategy) from beginning to end to get the results you want.
To become even better at what you do and build a sales marketing funnel that converts, contact the Anchor team.
