Which came first—sales or marketing? Ah yes, a question as old as time. While we may never know the true answer to this question, there is something we know for certain: you can’t have a predictable B2B sales process without a B2B lead generation marketing funnel in place.
Sure, you may be able to get sales without marketing, but it’s not going to set you up for long-term, sustainable success. Therefore, you must have a B2B lead generation funnel in place if you want to achieve a positive ROI.
In this blog, we will explore the basics of a B2B lead generation and marketing funnel, including:
Definition of a B2B Lead Generation Funnel
A B2B lead generation funnel, or a B2B marketing funnel, is a systematic sales process designed to attract and nurture potential customers, encouraging them to take specific actions so they can learn more about your company and, ideally, convert into closed business. It is a part of the overall B2B sales funnel, taking account for Stages 1 to 3 of the process.
While B2B lead generation is often seen as an inbound marketing strategy that brings potential buyers to your business, it can also be a kind of outbound outreach effort, like cold calling and emailing. Through an outbound approach to lead generation, sales development representatives (SDRs) can get in front of decision-makers in your target market and show them the product or services your company has to offer.
As a result of their sales development efforts, the qualified prospect would ideally convert from a lead into a customer, resulting in more closed revenue.
Why Is Having a Strong B2B Lead Generation Funnel Important?
Creating an optimized B2B lead generation and marketing funnel is crucial because it:
- Helps businesses identify their target audience, enabling them to provide valuable content tailored to their potential customers’ needs
- Organizes the sales process into distinct funnel stages, allowing businesses to track their lead gen progress and consistently improve their lead generation strategy, reducing the amount of time a prospect spends in the sales cycle
- Establishes a long-term connection with the audience by capturing their contact information, allowing for continuous communication and nurturing through warm phone calls and email marketing efforts
While a prospect may convert at any stage of the B2B lead generation funnel, understanding what stage they were in can help see the likelihood they could close. Observing this data can help B2B marketing teams figure out better ways to push leads through the B2B sales funnel and get the best, most qualified leads to buy.
When it comes down to it, the three primary funnel stages of the B2B lead generation funnel are Top of Funnel (TOFU), Middle of Funnel (MOFU), and Bottom of Funnel (BOFU), representing the awareness, consideration, and conversion stage of the B2B sales funnel.
Top of Funnel (Awareness)
At the Top of Funnel stage of the B2B marketing funnel, businesses can practice either outbound or inbound lead generation strategies, from cold calling to organic SEO and social media marketing, to drive brand awareness and bring more traffic to their websites.
The goal of the TOFU stage is to attract the attention of your target audience and provide them with a taste of valuable insight through one-on-one conversations between an SDR and a decision-maker, or content that’s engaging and encourages the user to continue learning about your business.
Here’s an example of a TOFU social media post that can pique the interest of users:
Middle of Funnel (Consideration)
In the Middle of Funnel stage of the B2B lead generation funnel, businesses provide their potential customers with more in-depth, targeted content. This could include making warm phone calls or sending lead nurturing emails full of insights that aligns with what they’re looking for in a product or service provider. Overall, the aim of the MOFU stage is to educate potential customers about how to solve their problems using your company’s products or services.
Here’s an example of a MOFU lead nurturing email marketing campaign we send to potential buyers who aren’t quite ready to secure a sale yet:
Middle of Funnel (Consideration)
In the Middle of Funnel stage of the B2B lead generation funnel, businesses provide their potential customers with more in-depth, targeted content. This could include making warm phone calls or sending lead nurturing emails full of insights that aligns with what they’re looking for in a product or service provider. Overall, the aim of the MOFU stage is to educate potential customers about how to solve their problems using your company’s products or services.
Here’s an example of a MOFU lead nurturing email marketing campaign we send to potential buyers who aren’t quite ready to secure a sale yet:
Bottom of Funnel (Conversion)
At the Bottom of Funnel stage of the B2B marketing funnel, businesses must drive the final nudge that convinces potential customers to make a purchase, sign a contract, or convert from a lead into a sales opportunity. This can be achieved through ongoing email nurture sequences, making warm phone calls, offering personalized experiences, or providing incentives like exclusive discounts on their products or services.
From here, it’s up to your sales team to present the sales opportunity with an offer they can’t refuse, converting them to a customer and retaining them for long-term satisfaction.
Abstrakt specializes in helping B2B businesses optimize the way they approach their B2B marketing funnels—with the impact to prove it. Reach out today to learn how we can be your partner in B2B lead generation!
Steps to Create an Effective B2B Marketing Funnel
Decision-makers don’t convert from a prospect to a sales opportunity at the snap of a finger; therefore, it’s important to know them through and through to understand what encourages them to buy, effectively guiding them through the B2B lead generation funnel.
Here is a step-by-step guide to help you create an effective B2B marketing funnel:
- Step 1. Identify Your Target Audience
- Step 2. Offer Valuable and Relevant Content
- Step 3. Optimize Your Landing Page
- Step 4. Use Conversion-Driven Calls to Action (CTAs)
Step 1. Identify Your Target Audience
Having a clear understanding of your target audience is crucial in designing an effective B2B lead generation funnel. Businesses should develop detailed buyer personas to identify their ideal customers, outlining demographic and psychographic information. This information shapes the content strategy, messaging, and overall direction of the B2B lead generation funnel.
Step 2. Offer Valuable and Relevant Content
One of the essential elements of a successful B2B lead generation process is offering valuable and relevant content at each stage of the funnel. Companies can use blog posts, case studies, webinars, eBooks, and other formats to provide potential customers with information that addresses their pain points and educates them about solutions in an engaging and helpful manner.
Step 3. Optimize Your Landing Page
An essential component of a B2B marketing funnel is having great content on your landing page. Businesses should focus on optimizing their landing page to maximize the number of potential customers who sign up to receive their content offering and join their email list. Effective landing page optimization practices include using personalized images, ensuring mobile responsiveness, using clear and persuasive headlines, and simplifying the sign-up process.
Step 4. Use Conversion-Driven Calls to Action (CTAs)
To maximize B2B lead generation marketing efforts, businesses should have clear and compelling CTAs throughout their content and website. Whether it be a sticky CTA in a blog post that encourages readers to download a related eBook or a CTA at the end of an email nurture sequence that offers a free trial of their product, well-designed CTAs help guide potential customers through the funnel and increase conversion rates.
To optimize CTAs for B2B lead generation, it is important to first ensure that they are visually appealing and easily noticeable on the page they are placed on. The wording of the CTA should clearly state the value proposition and what the user will receive by clicking on it. It is also important to make sure that the landing page the CTA leads to is relevant and matches the message from the CTA.
By tracking and analyzing the performance of CTAs, businesses can determine which designs, wording, and placement are most effective for generating leads and adjust accordingly. Additionally, A/B testing can be used to compare different versions of the CTA to determine the most effective option.
Ways to Analyze and Improve Your B2B Marketing Funnel
Understanding how to build a B2B marketing funnel is vital for businesses that want to capture potential customers and help them on a journey that turns into sales. The B2B lead generation process consists of creating a lead magnet funnel through which people interested in your product or service can progress. A successful sales lead funnel takes into consideration the customer journey map, so potential customers are guided effortlessly from one stage to another. Let’s delve into the ways you can analyze and improve your lead generation funnel to optimize your sales process.
Track Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
One crucial aspect of B2B lead generation analysis is having a comprehensive understanding of your funnel lead metrics. By tracking key performance indicators (KPIs), you can measure the success of your lead magnet funnel and make data-driven decisions to improve the overall process. Some critical KPIs for funnel leads include the number of new sales leads (email address contacts, free trials, etc.), the conversion rates throughout each stage of the funnel, and the overall effectiveness of different lead gen strategies such as affiliate marketing, email marketing, and social media promotion.
For example, you may notice that people coming to your blog post landing pages for a lead magnet are not converting at a high rate. By tracking the KPIs for blog post conversions, you can identify areas for improvement and test different strategic tweaks to improve those conversion rates. As an added benefit, focusing on KPIs helps with E.A.T. (Expertise, Authority, Trust) principles and enhances your content’s SEO performance.
Adjust Strategies Based on Data and Insights
An effective B2B marketing process involves continually fine-tuning your customer journey and sales pipeline based on real-world data and insights. For instance, conducting a case study can provide valuable information that helps you refine your B2B lead generation funnel based on specific customer feedback. By getting into the mindset of your audience, you can identify pain points and areas of friction in your lead funnel that may be hindering the overall sales process.
Another way to use data and insights is by analyzing your email list and determining which segments are the most engaged and responsive. By targeting those segments with highly relevant, personalized content, you can better nurture your prospects and move them through your funnel. Sticky CTA buttons and personalized images are just a few effective tactics that can help increase engagement and conversion rates.
For example, let’s say that you have a lot of traffic being driven to a specific blog on your website. However, a lot of users end their journey on that page rather than further navigating the website. Analyzing the blog through heat mapping tools like CrazyEgg allows marketing teams to see how users navigate the blog and explore what they’re most interested in learning about, giving marketers the opportunity to make adjustments as needed to convert more users into customers.
Continue to Optimize Your Funnel for Better Results
Taking a data-driven approach to your B2B sales and marketing strategy is essential for ongoing optimization. By understanding what strategies and tactics yield the best results for your specific business, you can make informed decisions about your outbound lead generation and organic search efforts. Whether it’s adjusting your cold email strategy or improving blog posts to drive traffic, continuous analysis and performance optimization can help better guide potential customers through your sales funnel.
Remember that the customer journey map must evolve with your audience. Keep an ear to the ground and listen to feedback from your customers. Adapting your offerings and lead magnets to match the changing needs of your buyer persona can make your lead generation funnel even more successful in driving sales.
Lastly, maximizing the use of personalized experiences within your lead generation funnels helps to drive brand awareness and pull prospect data. By implementing tactics such as personalized email nurture sequences and content recommendations, you can offer a more bespoke touch that can enhance the overall customer experience and improve conversion rates.
Key Takeaways
Effectively analyzing and improving your B2B lead generation marketing funnel can tremendously benefit your business. By focusing on data-driven KPIs and making informed decisions based on industry insights and target audience feedback, you can adjust your lead generation strategies to optimize your funnel for better results. Remember to continually test, iterate and refine your funnel to ensure the best possible return on investment for your lead generation efforts.
At Abstrakt Marketing Group, we’ve developed a proven-effective B2B lead generation process that empowers sales teams to spend more time selling rather than finding their next big sales opportunity. If you need a hand moving qualified leads through Your B2B marketing and sales funnel, contact the business growth experts at Abstrakt!
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