Setting up a B2B funnel will allow you to get many more customers and increase your sales. Like? That’s what I’m going to tell you about in this article, but first I want to give you some essential information that will help you familiarize yourself with the subject and its importance to your business.
What Is A B2B Funnel?
The B2B funnel, or B2B sales funnel, describes the process that potential customers go through from the moment they learn about a business until they make the purchase decision. It is a multi-stage process, which we will see in the next paragraphs, in which each of your business or your salespeople interact with customers differently. The aim is to connect with them to proceed along the path until the sale is concluded and beyond.
Imagine a funnel structure: in the upper part, it is wider and then tightens going downwards, precisely because it represents a tool for making Lead Generation in which, on the one hand, users enter, and customers leave on the other. This indicates that you need to intercept as many leads to get actual customers at the end of the process.
At the top ( Top of Funnel ), a large number of leads interact with your brand. In the Middle of Funnel, you will start to lose someone, but you will know that those who move forward are interested. Finally, in the Bottom of Funnel, the funnel’s neck tightens, and only some of the initial leads will turn into actual sales.
Therefore, the success of your B2B funnel depends on the ability to: You cannot allow your sales to be dictated by chance, which is why a B2B marketing funnel process will help you structure an effective and repeatable system over time.
Phases Of B2B Funnel
Let’s see what it means by analyzing the 5 phases of the B2B Funnel.
Awareness Phase
Step number one is related to higher sales of the funnel. Right now, the challenge is to showcase your company to attract the greatest number of users and expand your pool of potential leads. It is called the awareness phase because it is precisely when you need to inform consumers and make them aware that you exist and that you have offers for them. Users browse the web mainly in two ways: searching to find specific information or on social media without having any particular purchase in mind.
Either way, you need to make sure they connect with your brand. Like? Your company must be visible online to a target audience. That is, you must create content that intercepts users who are potentially interested in your products or services. At this stage, you can work with organic growth or paid online advertising on both Google and social media. The first is useful in the long term, while the second allows results in the short term. Without delving into the online visibility methods on this occasion, you need to know that the users you attract should be brought to your website or to a specific page to deepen your knowledge.
Keep in mind that the lead value is still low at this stage because there is no guarantee that they will choose to continue through your funnel. However, you aim to maximize results and lead consumers, step by step, to purchase. This is possible by better managing the information you get about potential customers and the content you offer them at each stage of the funnel. Let’s move on to the second phase.
Phase Of Interest
Potential customers have been attracted to your content and have decided to continue browsing your website. At this moment, they enter the second phase of the B2B Funnel, that of interest. The prospect has chosen to listen to you, and now you need to give them more information about your brand and your solutions. It’s time to find a way to attract him even more, to keep him from retracing his steps.
The purpose at this stage is to take him from being a visitor to your website to being a lead, i.e., an interested user who gets in touch with your company. By providing him with more information and answers to his questions, the goal is to get him to leave you his email address. This is usually done by providing them with free valuable content that they can download and keep with them.
For example, We refer to an e-book, a guide, a card, or an infographic that better explains the functions of a product or service, a video, and so on. If he chooses to leave his email to get your content, it means that the consumer has turned into your lead. He wants to know even more about you, your products/services, and what you can do for him.
Evaluation Phase
The user is giving you a chance to trust. He is ready to see better how your product or service works and adapt to his needs. Even in this third evaluation phase, your communication will make the difference, passing through specific and valuable content. Keep in mind that the prospect is also reviewing other companies that offer solutions similar to yours or lead in a different way to the possible resolution of his problem.
In simple terms, leads are now used to comparing your offer with others they find on the web. They could evaluate the price, the brand values, the way the product is presented, additional benefits, etc. The company that, according to them, best meets their needs will be the one they decide to rely on. When it comes to the B2B sector, the evaluation and decision-making process is longer than in the B2C sector. It happens because the goods or services are more expensive or the closure of business contracts for projects lasting up to several months.
B2C customers usually complete this evaluation phase completely independently, while in B2B, the figure of the salesperson could come into play. Potential customers select yours and other companies and request face-to-face business meetings with you or your salespeople. At this stage, the B2B Funnel goes from online to offline, and the transition to the next stage also depends on the skill of your sales representatives.
Action Phase
When all the previous phases have been built strategically, and your communication has worked from start to finish, you get to the action phase, that is, the purchase. It is a moment not to be underestimated in which the sale is almost concluded, but there is no signature or economic transaction to agree. As you get closer to this moment, the customer may have the last doubts.
Then, he could search online for other reviews about your company or the opinions of other customers or evaluate companies you have worked with before. Or, he could raise further objections directly to your sales representatives, ask for clarification or additional assurances. He needs all this to make sure he is making the right choice and, above all, to find the solution to his problem.
The best thing at this stage is to lower the barriers to purchase and make the final process as simple as possible. Your client must overcome the fear that makes him think, “And if I make the wrong choice, then how do I resolve the situation?”. For example, the “Satisfied or Reimbursed” formula is often used. This concept has to be applied to your reality and the type of product or service you offer. Giving away something for free, additional benefits, or assistance with problems are great ways to provide security.
Follow-Up Phase
It is called the last phase, but since it is a follow-up, I like to consider it a new phase of opening and not a closing. Always keeping in mind the benefits for your customer, by having his contact, you can send him emails with new offers just for them. These could be products that are usually purchased together or after your previous purchase or items that may interest them.
Or again, if you have a collaboration agreement for a project before the end of the agreement, you could offer him further services to improve the work already done. In short, it all depends on what type of company you have and what you do, but if the concept is clear, all you have to do is decline it concerning your case history.
But the follow-up can also be done for all potential customers who have not concluded their purchase with you. If they said no once, maybe it wasn’t the right time, or they chose a cheaper solution that didn’t achieve the desired results. Either way, they might reevaluate your proposal and solutions. So, keep the communication channels open with your prospects and actual customers. The former may be converted at another time. The latter may buy from you more than once.
Set Up The B2B Funnel For Your Business
If you probably grandstand your organization, bring issues to light of your image, and increment clients and deals, a B2B Funnel process is the thing that you wanted. Making and improving a business channel takes responsibility, work, and some speculation. However, they construct a situation that will head out differently, bringing you transformations when done right. A channel, when executed effectively, is a machine for computerizing the business cycle, denoting the circumstance of the procurement, and expanding client trust and maintenance.
Also Read: Use A SaaS Business Model For The Future