All That You Should Know About The B2B Sales Funnel

Sales Funnel

Every lead follows a certain path to becoming a customer – this journey can be captured as a sales funnel. A B2B Sales Funnel then, is the visual representation of the customer journey from initial awareness of a product or service to the final purchase. It outlines the various stages a potential customer goes through before making a purchase decision.?

Just like you would picture a funnel to be: wide at the top, narrow at the bottom – the sales funnel works on the same principle. At the top, there’s a large pool of potential customers called leads. As they move through the funnel, their number decreases as they become more qualified and interested.?

However, this concept of the sales funnel has not been the same since it was first developed. It has evolved, reflecting changes in consumer behavior and advancements in marketing strategies. Here’s an overview of its history:

The History of Sales Funnel – Sales Funnel Stages

The sales funnel is also referred to as the Purchase funnel, customer funnel, conversion funnel, and SaaS marketing funnel.

The first representation: The 4-stage AIDA model

• 1898: Yes, marketing and sales go back a long time! The earliest form of the sales funnel was introduced by E. St. Elmo Lewis, a pioneer in advertising, who developed the AIDA model. E. St. Elmo Lewis was an American advertising champion who strived enthusiastically through his words and actions.?

AIDA stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action, representing the stages a customer goes through before making a purchase. We have crossed over a century but the model still stands relevant in marketing.

Evolving with time: The 6-Stage AICCRA model

1. Awareness: Building brand visibility and attracting potential customers through content marketing, social media, SEO, and paid advertising.
2. Interest: Engaging with potential customers and nurturing their interest through valuable content, email marketing, and lead magnets.
3. Consideration: Providing information and resources to help customers evaluate options and make informed decisions.
4. Conversion: Guiding customers towards purchasing through clear calls to action, compelling offers, and a seamless checkout process.
5. Retention: Building strong customer relationships, encouraging repeat purchases, and driving customer loyalty.
6. Advocacy: Transforming satisfied customers into brand advocates through referral programs and positive experiences.

The sales funnel continues to evolve as technology advances and consumer behaviors change. Today’s businesses use a mix of traditional and digital marketing strategies to optimize their sales funnels and improve conversion rates.

Digital Age: A non-linear approach

The integration of digital technology has further added online channels and data-driven optimization. Today, the customer journey has become more complex and less linear. The reasons being:

• Customer Empowerment: Customers gained access to information and could research products independently.
• Multiple Touchpoints: The customer journey involved multiple touchpoints across various channels (websites, social media, email, etc.).
• Funnel Widening: The top of the funnel expanded as more potential customers were exposed to the brand.

The rise of social media, mobile marketing, and big data analytics have played a key role in the modern sales funnel. Modern sales funnels are now highly sophisticated, integrating multiple touchpoints and channels. They emphasize customer experience and often include post-purchase stages such as retention and advocacy. The modern-day sales funnels are more dynamic and customer-centric.?

Stages in a Flywheel

Concepts like the flywheel model, introduced by HubSpot, emphasize a more holistic approach where customer satisfaction and engagement drive growth. Here are the stages in a flywheel.?

• Attract: Here, you use your expertise to create content that attracts the right customers and ignites meaningful conversations.
• Engage: You sustain this attraction with your consistent insights and solutions helping prospects in their problem-solving journey.
• Delight: Your solutions go beyond satisfying your customers and add real value to their business making them advocates of your company and keeping the wheel spinning.?
• Customer: In the center of the flywheel model are ‘customers’ symbolizing every team has to work keeping customers at the center of all their activities.