Customer funnel
Conversion funnel, acquisition funnel. Terms that are part of the language that revolves around the best advanced marketing strategies adopted by companies that operate in the digital sector and beyond. The discussion of B2B and B2C marketing funnels is often mistakenly introduced by incorporating the two concepts into a single customer journey . In this article, we will try to understand what marketing funnels are and why it would be appropriate to talk about B2B customer funnels and B2C marketing funnels .
Customer Funnel: User Phases and Channeling
Simply put, the Marketing Funnel is the process that leads the user to become a customer of a company.
The four stages of the classic Marketing Funnel model – which we will simplify from now on with Customer Funnel – are:
- awareness (awareness);
- interest (interest);
- decision (decision);
- action (action).
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Conversion Funnel
The user who is online looking for a product or service has a need, but does not yet know how to solve it: it is at this moment that he becomes Идеи дизайна интерьера, которые вдохновят вас на создание индивидуальных кухонных … aware of and interacts with your brand for the first time ( awareness phase ).
When the user arrives at the company’s website and begins to analyze it, he is interested in understanding if this is the right offer for his needs ( interest phase ). It is easy to understand how this is a very delicate phase because if the information is not well organized, clear and fast, the user will abandon navigation.
The third phase is about choosing. The user has all the cards on the table, is ready to make his choice ( decision phase ) and is really close to the last phase, the one in which he could decide to contact us or buy one of our products ( action phase ). These two phases are strictly connected to each other and the final success of our marketing actions will depend on how we present ourselves at this moment and what we offer the user.
We are not just talking about products or services but also about the navigation experience . Only in this way will it be possible for us to really help a B2B or B2C company that wants to be contacted by new potential customers.
B2B and B2C Customer Funnel: Similarities and Differences
In the preamble of this article we talked bi lists about strategy. Knowing the acquisition funnel of our digital reality and therefore analyzing the user’s behavior from the initial phase to the final action is essential to be able to create a digital marketing strategy that allows us to:
- get to know our users;
- improve the customer journey;
- increase conversions.
Here is the first similarity between B2B or B2C marketers: the objectives can be the same.
When it comes to B2B or B2C customer funnels
it is essential to understand the customer journey and how to create a positive experience for customers. A successful customer funnel must be designed to engage customers and keep them coming back. It must be tailored to their needs and provide a seamless experience. By understanding this, companies can create a customer funnel that is tailored to their customers and provide a positive navigation experience. This will help increase customer engagement and loyalty, resulting in increased sales and satisfaction.
But there are also differences
For B2B customers , the customer journey is often longer and more complex. It involves more decision makers and requires a more personalized approach to customer segmentation. B2B funnels are more complex because the sales cycle in this industry is longer. This means there are more stages during the sales process where buyers need to evaluate whether the product is a good fit for their company.
The length of a sales cycle depends mainly on the cost of the product or service . Typically, expensive offers require more time to be evaluated before making a purchase.
In the context of business-to-business (B2B) business, products and services are generally more expensive than in business-to-consumer (B2C) business, which leads to much longer sales cycles. The difference can range from one day in the case of B2C to six months in the case of B2B.
Another reason for this difference is the fact that the purchasing process in the B2B context is often much more structured and controlled.
For B2C customers, the customer journey is often shorter and simpler, but still requires special attention. It involves fewer decision makers and requires a more general approach to segmentation.
Digital Goals
Can B2B and B2C companies have common goals? Absolutely, or rather, there can be affinity but also contrast. Let’s think about subscribing to the newsletter, lead generation more generally or downloading a catalog. These are all conversions, or measurable goals that can sometimes adapt to both realities.
Audience segments
When we talk about B2B and B2C we must remember that the target market involves completely different audience segments . Even if the customer journey – and therefore the 4 phases mentioned above – are potentially the same, the difference lies in the behavior.
Let’s think about : in order to proceed with the purchase of the red zip-up t-shirt chosen in the appropriate category, the user will presumably not need to go through any particular decision-making stages or – except in certain circumstances – ask for further information or assistance on the product before proceeding with the purchase. The channeling and purchasing phase is quite quick.
On the contrary, if we think about the website of the user will not access the site ready for conversion or with the intention of completing it. The decision-making phase that precedes the action in this case will be quite long and elaborate. Let’s not forget that often, behind the B2B consumer there is actually a group of consumers, which makes the timing longer and more complex.
Motivation behind the conversion
What is the motivation that drives a B2B user and a B2C user in the marketing funnel? The B2C user makes a purchase to satisfy a completely personal need as in the example in the previous paragraph. On the contrary, the B2B audience bases its evaluation on a business need. This is perhaps the main difference or at least the one that helps us better understand the behavior along the funnel process.
Relationship with the potential customer
We end our article with one last important difference, the one concerning the relationship with the potential customer . When we talk about B2C marketing funnels, the user between the decision and purchase phases will not, in most cases, need to ask for assistance from customer care and therefore extend the times too much. Let’s think about the fashion e-commerce that we mentioned before: they could ask for additional information on the product regarding material, shipping or perhaps the size. We know the B2C customer well, they love to solve their needs quickly. If instead we return to the discussion of the B2B public, here a comparison with a company collaborator or a representative will almost be necessary before making a purchase. The times consequently lengthen considerably.
How can I analyze my Customer Funnel?
To explain how to perform a marketing funnel analysis would require at least a new article. However, we can mention that there is no standard formula applicable to all situations, each case has its own peculiarities. What does this mean?
To understand the behavior of users who navigate your website, depending on the objectives you have set out to achieve, we can say that there are 2 macro analyses that can be activated:
- user experience analysis ;
- web analytics analysis .
The first takes into account all those dynamics that concern the user’s behavior during navigation, for example heat maps, qualitative data of behavior and study of calls to action. But not only. This phase also includes the analysis of the performance of our website or e-commerce: is the site fast? Is there room for improvement?
The second one instead examines all the navigational data of the site, both quantitative and qualitative, leaving nothing to chance. This category also includes the analysis of abandoned carts or statistics related to advertising campaigns or sending DEMs.
Clearly the outcome of the macro analysis will bring with it potential technical, graphic or commercial changes that can help us increase the number of contacts or turnover.
If yours is a B2C company that wants to increase sales on the site
