B2B—business to business—simple, right? Not quite. B2B businesses operate within larger industries and understand their marketing funnel is unique to both their company and the industry in which their business lives. B2B marketing funnels are based on understanding the pains of each decision-maker within the buying journey, and knowing how to uniquely market to leads depending on where they’re at in their buying stage. It’s complex. But understanding the larger umbrellas under which B2B marketing takes place, can help better clarify how B2B marketing works.
What is an Example of B2B?
Granular examples include:
- Car parts are sold to car manufacturers.
- Medical equipment suppliers sell products to hospitals.
- Communication software, like Teams and Level365, sell their software to businesses who use electronic communication tools.
- Software as a service (SaaS) companies, like Salesforce, sell to a variety of retailers and businesses such as banks, stores, and universities.
- HVAC systems and products are sold to servicing companies.
- Regulation-compliant medical marijuana growers and transporters sell to distributors.
- Building materials are sold to contractors and architects.
- Point-of-sale (POS) providers sell POS systems to retailers.
Sector examples include:
- Construction
- Education
- Engineering
- Manufacturing
- Healthcare
- Retail
- Hospitality
- Financial Services and Insurance
- Agriculture
- Salons, Offices, and Other Storefronts
- Restaurants
B2B transactions among these and other companies and/or industries occur as sales in the supply chain before the end consumer. Typically, B2B sales are primary or secondary sales. Primary sales take place when a manufacturer sells a product to a distributor, in the first movement of goods. Materials that make other products, for instance, usually constitute a primary sale point. Secondary sales happen when a distributor sells to a retailer. Salon products, for example, are sold in bulk to a retailer in a secondary sale point. Secondary sales move the needle closer to tertiary sales, which are between retailers and the final consumer.
How Does B2B Work?
TOFU
With the B2B marketing funnel in mind, think of the top of the funnel (TOFU) as the space where leads are made aware of your business for the first time. Before potential customers consider your products, they’ll want to get a feel of who you are as a brand. Marketing tactics that support this stage of the funnel include your website, social media, SEO, and paid advertising. Leads in this stage have a pain that your business can help solve, but you’ll want to make sure that your marketing content clearly—and convincingly—promotes your brand, so that potential customers will want to work with you rather than your competitors.
MOFU
The middle of the B2B marketing funnel (MOFU) is where leads take interest in your business and consider purchasing your products and/or services. This is the evaluation stage. While it’s imperative to garner leads down to this space through the above-mentioned tactics, most potential customers in B2B industries are considering making purchases with other decision-makers, and are persuaded by marketing content like white papers, videos, infographics, etc., in this stage. It’s important to strengthen the middle of your marketing funnel by showing potential customers how exceptionally well you provide only what you uniquely can.
BOFU
The bottom of the marketing funnel (BOFU) stage is where we get down to business, literally. This is the decision stage where action takes place. The goal of this stage is to convert leads to customers. Product samples, case studies, free trials, influencer marketing, and email reminders and campaigns execute best in this stage.
From the moment your leads are made aware of your business, they are exposed to your brand—the most human/intimate part of your company. After that, they learn what products and services you provide, how well those offers perform within your market, and other details like packaging and pricing. Here in the BOFU, all of that comes together.
B2B Digital Marketing with Miller Brooks
Miller Brooks can help your business create content that clearly depicts the practical benefits of your products and/or services, as well as the personal and professional benefits of your brand. It’s about selling yourself as much as it’s about selling what you offer.
Because B2B industries are complex, involve large capital investments, and include niche business markets, it takes a marketing agency adept in B2B specifically, to best support your business. Each of the above examples of industries and buying processes circle back to the importance of building relationships between your company and its customers.
No matter which B2B industry your company is a part of, your customers want to be assured that you offer the best product and customer service. From sustainability to community involvement, there are a myriad of ways you can highlight both what you sell and what you contribute. Turning customers into brand loyalists is the ultimate stage of the marketing funnel—and that is the secret to success that Miller Brooks can help you achieve.
