The new B to B funnel to adapt to market realities

the new b to b funnel to adapt to market realities

As the market and technology evolve, marketers must adopt a new approach to attracting consumers.

As a reminder, the concept of the “classic” B to B funnel assumed that a single buyer moved through a linear series of choices. Unfortunately, this way of thinking is no longer in line with current reality . From now on, it will be necessary to take into account the nuances in buyer behavior. Only in this way will you be able to stimulate the growth of your business.

The challenges of B to B professionals

People who purchase expensive products on behalf of their business face a real challenge. If they don't make the right decisions, it will affect their organization's ability to survive in an ultra-competitive environment. However, this same decision-making can take months or even years.

Concretely, therefore, the budgetary cycles of marketing will not often be synchronized with the market purchase cycles . Naturally, this "slowness" will not suit the financial services that scrutinize the short -term results. It will be the same for the sales , the actions of which will depend on the strategies set at the marketing . Moreover, to define customer expectations , marketing uses digital channels and enlightened leadership .

The B to B funnel model redesigned for today’s market

The funnel, as it existed, is now proving redundant. To remedy this, here is a new model divided into 5 stages – each representing a buyer profile . This takes into account that the buyer groups are different at each stage. Thanks to it, you will know where to focus your efforts to maximize your chances of success.

  1. Horizon analysts : Buyers assess how the market or technological innovation provides opportunities or threats to current business models. They are looking for opinions to develop their strategy;
  2. Explorers : Buyers know what they need to do and determine whether they should seek outside help in their decision-making . In other words, they need relevant external opinions from people who have been faced with similar choices;
  3. Hunters : Buyers know the service they need, understand their challenges and have several solutions of them. They have gone through the first two phases or have already purchased a solution. Now they want to check if they made the right choice ;
  4. Active buyers : Buyers are thorough and compare a small group of competing suppliers . They need specific answers to detailed questions;
  5. Established customers who have already purchased your products: this is an opportunity to build their loyalty and eliminate competitors. You can take advantage of this to sell them more solutions .

The advantages of this new funnel model

This new model will help you on several levels. In particular, it will allow you to:

Create strategies that match buyer needs

During their development, make sure you can achieve another objective: that of acquiring information about your buyer . More precisely, it will be a question of determining at which level of the funnel it is located.

Better present the return on investment

Before any action, you will have to present the return on investment of your project to the senior managers of your business. For example, it may take 9 months of activity for the analyst of the horizon, then 6 months to spend a hunter explorer. The purchasing process could spread over 4 months. In this case, there will be a return on investment only in the second year. However, a recent study by LinkedIn has shown that 77 % of marketing specialists are trying to demonstrate the return on investment of a campaign in the space of a month.

It will then be necessary to have visibility on the buyer's route . Otherwise, the marketing department runs the risk of devoting money to a short -term conversion of prospects . This also compromises the awareness of the many buyers who are in the horizon and exploration analysis phases.

Work on your brand image

The brand's question is a delicate subject in the B to B . In general, companies are looking for compromises between investment in the brand and the generation of leads . However, the brand has an impact on the choices of buyers at all stages , but just in a different way.

Define the priority of technology investments

funnel model makes it possible to assess the importance and priority order of technological investments. You will have to identify the areas in which you lack information on the buyer's process. Therefore, you can better choose the technological resources marketing actions more effective.

Clearly define the role of the marketing and sales teams

Today, buyers interact with the sales much later in the purchasing process. But thanks to this new funnel model, no part of the route is no longer 100 % marketing or 100 % sale . everyone's roles more precisely at each stage and determine the most important success factors It may be the efforts to be deployed for prospecting or for loyalty established customers.

We need a new way of thinking that accounts for the many nuances in buyer behavior. You will need to ensure that the strategy, tactics and metrics align with the buyer's objectives at each phase. This will allow you to build a real relationship with him over time, rather than just offering him goods and

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