What Is a B2B Marketing Funnel? Stages & Tactics

All set to stop chasing leads and start building a funnel that works while you sleep? The right sales funnel software doesn't just move leads through the pipeline — it helps you truly understand your customers. Finally, a tailored approach makes customers feel valued, increasing satisfaction and loyalty.

B2B buyers want proof, product specifics and clear use cases before they buy. There are plenty of ways to learn Pardot including self-guided learning, instructor-led training, and official certifications that are globally recognized credentials. However, if you have used both tools, you will quickly get to know where they shine. This tool acts as a middleman between unknown visitors (who have been captured and converted to known prospects), and your Salesforce CRM. Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (formerly Pardot) is a go-to choice for Salesforce customers looking for a B2B marketing automation tool.

Check out our guide to search intent if you want to learn more. Then, target those keywords with valuable content that naturally draws potential customers to your business. According to Semrush’s Organic Rankings tool, the cleaning article from Casper gets around 10.2K visitors per month. The goal of this article is not to sell a product.

Companies that offer referral programs benefit from higher lifetime value at lower advertising costs. Higher retention reflects alignment between expectations and experience. When buyers arrive through recommendations, skepticism decreases and loyalty increases. Educational articles, videos, and case studies attract prospects searching for solutions. Sales teams that track engagement signals can distinguish between disinterest and inconvenience. A segment of buyers appreciates persistence when interest exists but schedules conflict.

Use Social Proof

Top-of-funnel content is lighter educational content, middle-of-funnel content is deeper, more applied learning, and bottom-of-funnel content is for those who are ready to buy and implement. For startups, it’s healthy to scale over time rather than invest in an expensive sales team too early. You can mix and match these strategies based on industry or customer size (i.e., number of licenses or seats). The core marketing team would likely include growth marketing, performance marketing, and content marketing experts, though there will likely be other team members as well.

To target customers at the middle of the funnel, you can use the Shopify Audiences’ Retargeting Boost list, which helps you reach people who previously engaged with your brand but haven’t purchased from your store yet. You can also run ads through Shopify Audiences, a tool that lets you target customers on social media. Use informative content marketing (such as tutorials and explainer videos) to answer potential customers’ questions preemptively.

ToFu marketing tactics

In the middle of the funnel, you can use micro-influencers to teach viewers about your brand. So how do you set up a creator marketing funnel that takes customers through the funnel? In MOFU, influencers present the USPs of your product or service. Customers start at the top of the tunnel after becoming aware of your brand. A recent study from Sprout Social found that nearly half of all consumers make regular purchases due to influencer posts. Developments in social media platforms mean today’s influencers are effective in all areas of the sales funnel.

At first glance, the Owala brand of water bottles doesn’t seem much different from its competitors. These devices compete with Apple’s macOS offerings and are designed to seamlessly integrate with all the features of Windows OS. Microsoft realized that laptop buyers may not purchase a Windows laptop because there are so many manufacturers to choose from. Now, the Microsoft Surface line has expanded to include laptops and desktops. Compared to the Apple iPad, its principal competitor, the Surface tablet offered more functionality at the same price.

Provide Incentives for Purchase

Moreover, tracking keyword performance of our old web content helps us add trendy phrases and remove those that no longer serve the purpose. Where the keywords design marketing funnel, regular keyword research is necessary to optimize it. Building a high-value funnel demands consistent evaluation and intent-driven planning, a principle echoed by industry practitioners who treat the funnel as a living strategy rather than a one-time setup. Then, find a seed keyword, and look for keywords that include 'for, how, why, where, with, lower, increase, remove, fix, grow, issue, etc.' in the query. Jordan Schneider, Director of Digital Marketing at Soundstripe, nicely explains how it helps them to have so many purchase-intent-rich keywords that people are searching for every day in Google that they can go out and rank for.

• Developing relationships with blogs, influencers, and media publications in your niche can help you reach your target audience, and attract new customer leads that you otherwise might not have discovered.
• The goal with the top of your conversion funnel is to generate interest, capture attention, and initiate the customer journey.
• So how do you set up a creator marketing funnel that takes customers through the funnel?
• A well-measured funnel is only as powerful as the ongoing practices that keep it sharp, aligned, and performing at its peak, and that is exactly what the following pro tips to keep the content marketing funnel on track are designed to help you achieve your business goals.
• Stages include discovery, engagement, transaction, retention, advocacy.

Tablets were primarily mobile devices; while they were convenient to carry, they didn’t offer the full functionality of a laptop. Below, I’ve included a few more examples of go-to-market strategies that can help you inspire your own. That’s why HubSpot created a complete go-to-market kit to help you get started.

Businesses thriving in this competitive environment are guided by top digital marketing agencies that apply the smartest content marketing funnel. Today's buyers do most of their research independently, often using social media and AI, and are typically through their decision before speaking to sales. With consistent visibility into friction points and high-intent behaviors, teams can adapt faster and keep buyers moving. HubSpot’s platform supports this work with integrated tools for content creation, lead capture, scoring, and measurement. When teams map the journey clearly and build content, forms, and follow-up around what buyers need at each stage, progression becomes far more predictable. Modern funnels aren’t linear; they include loops, self-serve paths, and intent signals that reveal when prospects are actively evaluating.

That Middle of the sales funnel would mean missing out on opportunities to drive engagement and conversions further down the funnel. Later helps you find, manage, and scale high-performing campaigns that convert. Use this full-funnel guide to update your approach to creator performance in 2025.Turn creator partnerships into full-funnel growth.