A marketing funnel is a lead generation tool that guides a client’s hand from the first to the last point of the purchase. By moving through the funnel, the target audience gets acquainted with their problem and potential ways to solve it. Besides being vital for lead generation and conversion, marketing funnels are also fantastic for retaining clients and increasing their purchase satisfaction.
To create a marketing funnel, a company needs to create content that would “speak” to the ideal buyer persona. Each piece of content must serve a particular purpose, helping increase users’ problem awareness through different funnel stages. Not only should posts come in certain formats and be strategically placed, but they also need to be connected to each other in a thoughtful manner.
In this guide, we talk about the B2B content marketing funnel basics and strategies that would help you create one.
Why do companies need B2B marketing funnels?
Consumers rarely make purchases on a whim. This is especially true for expensive B2B products and services, which have a long buyer’s journey. During the purchasing process, there are numerous touchpoints between a seller and a buyer, ranging from the initial inquiries to negotiations and signing the contract.
Due to the complexity of the process, there are several chances for the deal to fall apart. This is why the consumers need to be hand-held throughout, ensuring they reach the final purchasing stage as quickly and easily as possible. So, the process of consumer guiding is called a marketing funnel.
In a nutshell, marketing funnels are fantastic for lead generation. Companies use them to make users realize they have a problem at their hands. Among others, brands push potential customer’s pain points, increasing the urgency for making a purchase.
As the target audiences progress through the funnel, they slowly warm up to the idea of purchasing from the company. They’re seen as a trusted advisor who can solve all their headaches. As there’s already interaction between the two sides, it’s not that hard for a client to make the final decision.
What are B2B content marketing funnels?
As the name implies, a B2B content marketing funnel is a type of funnel that relies on content to build awareness and sell products. The seller can use blog content, social media posts, white papers, case studies, and paid ads to attract users to their brand and, ultimately, convert them.
Despite being a straightforward idea, creating a content marketing funnel is extremely hard in practice. Not only does a B2B company need an effective content marketing strategy, but they also need to have a keen understanding of various marketing channels. Otherwise, they’re running a risk of their content falling flat.
4 Stages of the B2B content marketing funnel
When executing a marketing funnel, a B2B company needs to create content for different stages of the customer journey. Although there are several ways to classify funnel stages, we’ll go with one of the more basic categorizations:
Ideally, you should try to get as much possible free, organic traffic through search engines. Once people land on your pages, it’s much easier to put them into a B2B content funnel. Make sure you have a well-organized site with great sitemaps, fast page speed, and good mobile-friendliness. Otherwise, it will be hard for clients to progress through different funnel stages.
While paid ads are a great method to increase brand awareness, they can be expensive if you don’t make the sale. On the other hand, they’re fantastic for targeting B2B clients due to their sophisticated demographic options.
Phone calls and emails can also be nice, although they’re usually reserved for the later stages of the process. Direct communication is vital for B2B clients during negotiation as it helps the seller customize the offer.
5 Steps of B2B content marketing funnel
Although the B2B marketing and sales process is extremely complex, we can break everything down into 5 stages.
1. Analyzing target audience
Before you start creating content, it’s vital to understand who you’re marketing to. While most B2B brands inherently know their clients, you need to take a deep dive into demographic data to create a better content strategy. Specifically, you need to use various tools to learn more about their:
4. Promoting content
Content promotion is important for all content types but is a necessity for certain formats. For example, once you create a paid ad, you need to pay Facebook or Google Ads to share the message. In other words, if you don’t use the promotional channel, the message won’t exist.
When using a specific promotional method, analyze how it affects a single piece but also the funnel as a whole. Create a promotional plan where you should start by focusing on TOFU articles, then transition to MOFU studies, and ultimately, reach out to clients with BOFU techniques.
The way you promote the content will affect how your audience will receive the message. Starting from the wrong end will spell disaster, as your target audience won’t know how to “use” the more advanced content.
5. Tracking results
Due to the complexity of marketing funnels, it’s common for companies to tweak their approach along the way. The brand might be forced to revisit posts numerous times, to analyze why they’re underperforming and how to improve them. A small mistake can drag down the entire funnel, so make sure to address any issues as soon as you notice them.
Among others, the tracking data can tell you which channels and content types are performing the best, so you can focus on them. Still, that doesn’t necessarily mean you should eliminate other tactics, as they might be vital for certain parts of the funnel. For example, testimonials mainly work for BOFU but are crucial for conversion at this stage.