What is a B2B Marketing Funnel and How Does It Work?

Sometimes when you are running a B2B business there are phrases and bits of marketing jargon that get used as if everybody already knows exactly what they are.
‘Marketing Funnel’ is one of them.
You get told you need one.
You get told that certain things should be a part of yours.
But, often the basic explanation gets left out and that can easily leave you feeling lost and confused.
As always, at Approved Business we like to make things simple and easy for you, so take a moment to read this simple guide to B2B marketing funnels. We begin with how marketing funnels differ from sales funnels and lead on to how they work by focusing on the 4 stages of a marketing funnel.

What is the Difference Between a Sales Funnel and a Marketing Funnel?

All B2B businesses should have both a sales funnel AND a marketing funnel. They are similar and are easily confused. But, here’s the difference:
The Marketing funnel is the first step where strangers become prospective buyers. They find out about your business and your brand and, through interactions with your content, they begin their journey towards becoming a customer.
The sales funnel is the next stage and is all about their journey as a customer.

What are the Different Stages of a Marketing Funnel?

There are 4 key stages to a marketing funnel. We go through them all here.

1. Top of Funnel: Awareness

Sometimes given the shortened name of TOFU this is how people discover your business. It’s all about making people aware of you, your business and your brand sometimes BEFORE they even need you and definitely when they have a problem commonly called a ‘pain point’ that you can solve.
Within this stage are:

• Social media marketing; regularly posting and engaging on the right channels for your ideal customers.
• Advertising; such as Google Ads and business directories.
• Content marketing e.g. blogs and video marketing.

2. Middle of Funnel: Consideration

Sometimes shortened to MOFU, this is the stage where your potential customer knows they have a problem and knows you might be able to help them. This means you now have to show them (not just tell them) that you can.
During this stage, it is important to build trust and demonstrate your expertise and experience.
The types of marketing that are particularly useful in this stage of your marketing funnel include:

• Reviews and testimonials.
• Educational content such as ‘How to’ posts and videos.
• Email marketing and delivering a blend of education and entertainment to increase that open rate.
• Case studies that show you understand their problem and are in the perfect position to solve it.
• Content that shows your values and your personality – this is what can give you the edge over your competition.

3. Bottom of the Funnel: Action

This is the stage where you convert that potential customer into a customer.
They might need one of several things to get them moving. These include:

• Special offers or free trials.
• An easily visible and strong call to action might include a time-limited offer, to give the sense of urgency and must be clear as to what they need to do ‘click here’ for example.
• A personal touch – if someone has visited your website but not made a purchase following up with a call or email can be just the gentle push they need. Website tracking tools such as Web Traffic Revealer are invaluable for this.

4. Post Funnel: Repeat

At this stage of your marketing funnel, you want to be ensuring that you turn your customer into a repeat or returning customer. You can help to do this with:

• Keeping the relationship and the conversation going; post-sales check-ins via email or phone or questionnaires to check they are happy with their products or services.
• Upselling and upgrading.
• Showing how another product works well with what they have already bought.
• Letting them know when new products or services or improvements to old ones are happening so they are the first to know (and hopefully the first to buy).

We’re Here to Help

At Approved Business, we have tools and services to assist you at every stage of your marketing funnel from informative blog posts, to our email marketing, social media and video marketing services, our business listing AND the UK’s number one website tracking tool. Whatever you need, we’ve got you.