B2B Inbound Marketing Funnel is Maturing speedily in Houston- Are You All Set for the Challenge?

The new-age b2b marketers are well acquainted with the classic b2b inbound marketing funnel in Houston awareness, foster, convert and amuse. But do you have any idea that the whole concept of a sales funnel is not brand new. 

The conventional b2b marketers were well-versed with Mr. Elmo’s four-step buying model-AIDA, which means Awareness, Interest, Desire and Action-:

• Awareness: The customer gets attentive about a product or service.

• Interest: The customer enthusiastically communicates their interest in a specific product or service.

• Desire: The customer aims to obtain the product or service.

• Action: The customer finally buys the product or service.

Undoubtedly, it was a brilliant idea, which never really became obsolete; rather it just took on new structures with the passing years as the inbound marketing landscape changed. Numerous variations have been done to it for accommodating the speedily surfacing modes of digital marketing for B2B businesses.

Decoding The New-Age B2B Inbound Marketing Funnel:

When we speak of the present marketing and sales models, the internet has just revolutionized everything and led to important shifts in marketing strategy, thereby massively altering and developing the original AIDA model.  

This has grown the modern b2b inbound marketing funnel, a method which concentrates on brand engagement, learning and taking on the non-linear approach wherein online customers experience to do shopping like never before.

Here is a brief overview on the 10 steps that are an integral part of the new-age digital marketing funnels in Houston-:

• Engagement: 

    At present, brand awareness usually starts online on the popular social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube etc., wherein the customers find new brands. The primary objective here is to get in touch with a huge number of individuals and start drawing prospective customers out of the masses. Engagement can take many different forms like free offers for enlightening content and social media posts or advertisements or reviews by relatives, friends and family.

• Learning: 

     The innovation phase which begun with engagement prolongs with enlightening the customers about the brand, which includes evidently finding customers’ issues and giving insights to assist solve them.

• Analysis: 

    The b2b inbound marketing funnel continues with performing customer analysis. Visitors usually concentrate on consuming the content and knowing more regarding the company and their offerings. They try to figure out why they must pick a specific company. In this step, the objective is not to overpower the customer with offers, rather give them the required information to be measured.

• Assessment: 

     This is the phase to present a set solution to the issues. Customers would be looking at multiple challenging solutions to their difficulties, so the concentration must be on telling them why a specific product is the best solution to their problem.

• Explanation: 

     Usually, b2b marketers in Houston succeed to convince the prospects that their products are the best solution for them, but still do not make a sale because of customers’ protests, hindrances or disinterest. This stage is all about figuring out the right ways to rise above these problems.

• Purchase: 

    One day, few of the prospects will become your customers and this stage is all about sales. B2B marketers must support the sales process through replying back to all of their queries and making them feel 100% convinced with the product’s worth.

• Implementation: 

    

      After the purchase is time to offer everything that the company has assured to their new customers. It is also important that the discussions continue even after the purchase through execution, constant support and brilliant customer service.

• Retention: 

     Converting a prospective customer into a permanent customer is a big achievement nowadays. But the new-age b2b marketers must retain them as contented customers. Brands achieve this is with enduring high-value interactions.

• Growth: 

     Customers must not just get happy with their original purchases; rather they should become repeat customers. Houston inbound marketing campaigns must be created around upselling customers with higher-end products and cross-selling them with complementary products. Growing your bond with consumers is quite easy if they look at your brand as a reliable and powerful source to buy a product. Your constant interactions must announce this message loudly and evidently.

• Loyalty: 

     

      This is the most ignored stages in the digital marketing funnel, but brands that work to transform their happy customers into supporters usually score important rewards for their efforts. Happy customers can spread the word to the entirely new landscape of prospects such as their friends, peers, colleagues and family.  

The Future of Inbound Marketing-Rotate the Funnel:

The modern-age inbound marketing sales funnel is very impactful for b2b marketers, few of them are speaking about an entirely new approach towards inbound marketing. Rather than following the funnel as all the b2b marketers know it, they are now saying that we should rotate the funnel for making room for a totally new approach to marketing known as Account-Based Marketing (ABM).

The ABM strategy starts with finding out and targeting the best-fit accounts. B2B marketers then offer customized messaging to every decision-maker at the accounts. People now rarely make their buying decisions on their own anymore rather a team of 7 to 20 individuals are engaged in the whole decision-making process, which means that the b2b marketers should reach every decision maker inside a specific company. For advocating this approach, the modern b2b marketers have discovered five phases in the ABM model, which are as follows-:

• Recognize: B2B inbound marketing and sales teams should work together on a list of targeted accounts or organization which are just perfect for the solution. For making this happen, it is essential that they agree on their perfect customer profile and individual purchaser personas.

• Nurture: Take the list of target accounts and spread out the company profiles by the contact information of important stakeholders and decision makers. 

• Engage: After this, implement an omni-channel inbound marketing strategy and start engaging the contacts in the target accounts through employing a wide assortment of sales and marketing approaches like content marketing, customized emails, events and phone calls.

• Promote: Once your sales team effectively closes a deal, the marketing team requires working to change happy customers into brand supporters.

• Assess: Assess the success of the ABM campaigns through concentrating on the account-level KPIs, which reflect the inbound marketing team’s contribution to channel and profits.

Evidently, when it comes to the b2b inbound marketing funnels, one size never fit all, rather it is on the b2b marketers to comprehend their niche, products and target audiences and then formulate the inbound marketing plan and funnel which meets their requirements to reach their prospective new customers in the best possible manner.