Marketing & Sales funnel for startups B2B

Marketing & Sales funnel for startups B2B

Marketing and sales responsibilities are different, but the limits of each one are still confused by many people, especially new entrepreneurs. This article will help you to:

• Understand the difference between marketing and sales functions
• Understand the Marketing Funnel and the Sales Funnel
• Discover some tips for marketing funnel analysis
  
  

Difference between marketing and sales

Marketing is a set of activities that increase brand authority and generate sales demand. Sale is the act of exchanging products or services for money most of the time. Note that marketing activities function as a “support” for the final startups’ objective, executed by sales: obtain revenue.

Can sales generate demand? Yes!

Can marketing sell and generate revenue? Yes!

But here we are dealing with a B2B market, a process that tends to be more complex, time-consuming, and demanding.

In this B2B enterprise scenario, the marketing department creates authority and generates demand in various ways, online or offline. When we talk about online marketing, we’re referring to producing content for blogs, websites, social media… And offline, we’re talking about newspapers, magazines, events, and possible partnerships.

The marketing team of a B2B startup usually focuses on creating materials for authority and demand. When these materials are published, possible people interested in “knowing more” about the subject exchange their data for more information to be provided by the sales team in a call, meeting, or demonstration. The more “data” the marketing team generates, the more sales opportunities open up.

The Marketing Funnel and the Sales Funnel

In the B2B world, marketing is the area responsible for generating demand and sales, transforming this demand into a business proposal. Following this, we understand that the marketing funnel starts before the sales funnel.

As explained very well by Neil Patel, the marketing funnel consists of 4 phases:

1. Attention: A prospective customer sees your ad, social media post, or hears about you from a friend.
2. Interest: They think you can solve a problem and learn more.
3. Desire: The prospect has done their research and wants to convert.
4. Action: The prospect takes effort — they buy your item, schedule a demo, or take whatever other action you want them to take.
   
   

With the “data” in hands, after taking action, that “prospect” becomes a “lead,” and there we start the sales funnel, which is also composed of 4 phases:

1. Awareness – prospect wishes to know more from a specialist.
2. Interest – specialists identify genuine interest from that lead.
3. Desire – prospects desire to purchase and ask for a sales proposal.
4. Action – prospect decides to buy product/service
   
   

Both Marketing and Sales funnel are pretty similar and that’s why people can get confused about it. I hope this article can clarify the main differences between these funnels and areas’ responsibility. In a nutshell, the marketing funnel has very few contacts or even no contact with the buyer. In contrast, the sales funnel has direct contact, face-to-face, including aspects of negotiation and customization, if needed.

Some tips for marketing funnel analysis

Now that you understand the difference between the funnels let’s focus more on marketing. Digital marketing has become a powerful tool for awareness. With the digital world, you can access anywhere you want, segment your public, and generate that genuine interest in the correct people! 

Having a good strategy is not enough to keep a marketing funnel healthy. It would be best to analyze it within a specific periodicity, depending on your campaign. 

For a successful marketing funnel, keep an eye on: 

• KPIs. Have them super clear and understand what they mean.
• Conversation rate. Tracking that you can identify possible gaps and work on them more efficiently. 
• Benchmark. Talk to other people who run similar campaigns as your marketing team. Maybe what is good for you can increase by the expertise of a colleague. 
• Visual charts. Visual communication helps you to present the data more cohesively. Good presentations lead you to a better understanding. Remember, clear communication is everything.

These are simple tips for you not to lose track of your marketing funnel. But the success of marketing teams depends on a good marketing plan, many analyses, and market research. If you are interested in understanding more about a marketing plan, check out this article about the structure of a marketing plan. 

How do you see the sales and marketing funnel working together?

Let me know by sharing a comment!