How do you design and implement a demand generation funnel that matches your buyer's journey?

Designing a demand generation funnel that matches your buyer’s journey is like mapping out a road trip—you need to guide them step by step! Start by understanding each stage of the buyer's journey (awareness, consideration, decision). Create content tailored to each phase, like educational blogs for awareness, case studies for consideration, and demos or trials for decision. Implement nurturing strategies like email sequences and retargeting ads to keep prospects engaged throughout the funnel. For one of our UK based client, we used blog posts to raise awareness, then followed up with case studies and demo offers to move leads through the funnel efficiently!

Go beyond traditional demographics and pain points—uncover emotional triggers. Tailoring content to address not just the rational but also emotional motivators (e.g., fear of failure) can deepen resonance and increase engagement, making your funnel much more effective.

1.Understand Your Audience: Know their journey from awareness to purchase. 2.Create Buyer Personas: Detailed profiles of your target audience segments. 3.Content Mapping: Align content with each stage of the journey. 4.Channel Selection: Use channels where your audience is most active.

Ah, the eternal quest for the perfect demand generation funnel! It's like crafting a custom-made suit for your buyer's journey. Tailoring each step to fit seamlessly, ensuring they glide through effortlessly towards conversion. Let's just say it's part art, part science, and a sprinkle of magic!" 🎩✨

1. Understand Your Buyer's Journey: - ICP: Develop detailed profiles of your ideal customer. This includes main use cases, jobs to be done, demographics, pain points, goals, and how they find information; - Journey Stages: Map the stages your buyer goes through, from awareness to action 2. Design your Demand Generation strategy and look for growth loops - Budget: at least 70-80% for Demand capture and 30/20% for Demand Gen (pro-tip: try to allocate at least 5% for experiments) - Growth Loops: self-perpetuating cycle that drives long-term, sustainable growth. Identify underlying motivation and triggers 3. Implement and Analyse: - Test, iterate and scale

Creating a successful demand-gen funnel means not only getting through to prospects during with that initial piece of content, it means anticipating what the prospect will do next: -- How will they check you out? -- Where will they check you out? -- What kind of questions will they ask? So have these questions answered and be ready.

If you subscribe to the 95:5 rule, you build two buyer journeys. 1. Journey 1 should focus on 95% of the market rather than looking for a solution or being unaware of the problem or how big it is from a quantifiable (tangible and intangible) perspective. In essence, you will be engaged in demand generation to capture that demand when they are in the market. 2. The second part of the buyer's journey is the 5%. This cohort of buyers is actively searching for a solution; thus, their journey will be moire fast-paced than Journey 1

The concept of a linear buyer journey is nothing more than an oversimplified metaphor or a mere wish. Segments can be defined in terms of problem awareness, solution awareness, and product awareness but this does not represent a path to demand. The important thing is intent. Curiosity is not buying intent. Product awareness is not interest. Artificially leading prospects through a funnel with nurturing activities is also wishful thinking, unless such prospects go through the processes autonomously (pain, research solutions, compare solutions, shortlist solutions, reach out to know more, due diligence, consideration...). It's essential to map all the external resources prospects access when evaluating solutions.

Now that you've got your buyer persona down, it's time to map their journey. Picture it as a road trip with three main stops: awareness, consideration, and decision. At each stage, your potential customer has different needs and questions. Your job? Be their trusty GPS, guiding them with the right content at the right time. Use tools like customer interviews and website analytics to understand how they move through these stages. Remember, it's not a one-size-fits-all approach – be prepared to adapt your map as you learn more about your audience's behavior.

Don't forget the locals. Often, I hear that marketers in EMEA (and APAC) have to use content that feels 'too American.' We need to do it a bit more than just translate. This means local relevancy, insights, examples, and success stories are a must. It's the only way to create real connections cross borders, enhancing engagement and conversions in a way that feels authentic.

In building a demand generation funnel, my focus is on creating content that resonates with each stage of the buyer's journey: ⇢ Awareness Stage: I start with educational content like blog posts and podcasts to address the initial curiosity and questions of potential buyers. It's about drawing them in with insights. ⇢ Consideration Stage: As prospects move further, I introduce more in-depth materials such as case studies and white papers. These resources build trust by showcasing expertise and providing comparative insights. ⇢ Decision Stage: To nudge prospects towards a decision, I use compelling content like free trials and demos, backed by persuasive testimonials. This stage is about providing that final push with proof of value.

Top-of-Funnel (TOFU) content, like blog posts and social media content, should address common challenges. eBooks and webinars offer valuable resources in exchange for minimal commitment. Moving on to the Middle-of-Funnel (MOFU) content, such as case studies and comparison guides, helps potential leads compare solutions and understand how your product has benefited others. Finally, the Bottom-of-Funnel (BOFU) content, including free trials and personalized offers, allows leads to experience your product firsthand, supported by customer testimonials and ROI calculators.

My experience with B2B tech, energy and business service providers has taught me this is where we need to put our content planning skills. Demand marketing needs an effective content management process that not only provides a regular cadence aimed at the right audience, it must resonate with that audience at exactly the right level. Too simplistic and you’ve destroyed your brand credibility with a prospect who considers your organisation too facile. Too complex and you’ve lost your prospect with jargon, and they'll seek clarity elsewhere. Plan, review and keep planning some more before you launch and make sure to check market and industry trends first.

Designing and executing a demand generation funnel that resonates with your audience involves diving deep into understanding the unique needs and aspirations of your customers. By crafting personalized messages tailored to each stage of their journey, we elevate their experience and foster meaningful connections. Nurturing leads with compelling content and value-driven interactions paves the path towards conversion, enriching their relationship with our brand. Drawing upon years of expertise, I've witnessed the profound impact of aligning our strategies with the customer's evolution, culminating in enriched engagements and meaningful conversions.

In my experience the laser focus beats shotgun blasts. Pain Point Precision: People crave solutions, not generic pitches. A page targeting 1 pain point for 1 audience speaks their language, addresses their anxieties, and offers the perfect escape. Conversion Confidence: When your page whispers directly to someone's needs, they lean in, trust you, and convert with ease. Data Delight: With multiple focused pages, A/B testing becomes a treasure hunt. Test headlines, CTAs, visuals into what resonates with that specific audience. So, don't fear multiple landing pages for different needs. Each is a targeted treasure map, guiding the right users to your conversion oasis. Embrace the focus, watch the clicks, and revel in the conversion bliss!

Let's talk about making a great first impression! Your landing pages are like the front door to your funnel – make them inviting and easy to navigate. Keep your messaging clear, highlight benefits, and use compelling CTAs. As for forms, think of them as a first date – don't ask for too much info too soon. According to Unbounce, using videos on landing pages can increase conversions by 86%. So, why not add a snappy explainer video? Remember, every element should guide your visitor towards taking action.

Creating a demand funnel matching your buyer's journey is crucial. To enhance it, include buyer intent signals. These signals reveal customer interests, allowing for personalized marketing. It's like adding a compass to guide your strategy, connecting with your audience more effectively.

Use headlines and text that grab attention, make everything look nice and match, have clear instructions on what to do next, and only ask for the info you really need.

Regularly monitor and analyze important metrics such as the rate of generating leads, converting leads into customers, the cost incurred for acquiring each lead, and the overall cost of acquiring new customers. Implement A/B testing across various elements such as email campaigns, landing pages, and CTA to identify and capitalize on the most effective strategies. Consistently review performance data, gather and incorporate user feedback, and make informed, data-driven adjustments to optimize the effectiveness of the sales funnel.

Nurturing = value, spamming = annoyance. Thin line in email marketing! Segment, automate, but don't overstep. Each email, offer a nugget: stat, case study, tip. That's how you truly nurture, not just pester.

El email marketing es un arma de doble filo, ya que si no se utiliza eficientemente, puede convertirse en una herramienta para generar Spam. Implementar adecuadamente los mensajes en los horarios pertinentes, puede ser una de las mejores estrategias para tener un acercamiento con el cliente, y lo mas importante, nos permite verificar y actualizar nuestras bases de datos. Para lograr que estas estrategias trabajen para nosotros y no nosotros para ellas, es indispensable conocer primero la industria, el cliente y sus necesidades para no caer en los templates de mensajes genéricos que la mayoría de las veces son los culpables del optout de las personas

Make your audience feel rather than think. All of our prospects are busy, especially in their own minds. Messaging that asks these individuals to think too heavily and too soon will often get immediate rejection and no attention. Use content that provokes emotion and feeling. These responses are automatic and capture attention much more efficiently. If you can provide value after emoting feelings, you're onto something great!

We’ve all read those awful, poorly written, non-personalised sequences that you just know are automated. How does it make you feel? Used? Bad taste in your mouth? It’s amateurish at best and while some aspects of reply-automation or calendar booking confirmation are acceptable, please be careful when it comes to automating whole paragraphs of automated content bilge, that we’re rapidly losing our tolerance for. You’ve worked hard to hunt down their contact details and researched where your prospect is at. If you can, take a well-received, proven template and for the sake of a few minutes per prospect, please personalise it with some degree of relevant and professionalism. It will pay off.

The premise of lead nurturing needs a renaissance. For lead nurturing to be effective, organizations need to bring together many data points to offer each member of the buying committee personalized outreach. Elements such as company news, trends, social posts (company and individual), and analyst reports must be analyzed and critical messages discerned to create an immersive experience that builds trust and, ultimately, a relationship. While email and all the other GTM tactics help lay the groundwork for trust and long-term relationships, we must remember that People buy from People they trust and who help them amplify their careers personally and professionally.

Arguably one of the biggest challengers for sales success. Once sales are disengaged from marketing there’s a big void to close. Simply, sales want leads that when they call they’re ready to go. Marketing try to educate on the funnel and warming leads. Repairing this relationship and aligning for success is crucial. Set expectations from leads and sales right at the start, get sales onboarded in the beginning and feel involved in the campaign. I’d always recommend if you’re stretched for resource, pick one seller and their territory, do a brilliant job. Then the next. Don’t try and do a one size fits all, this is what causes rubbish leads and sellers that won’t follow up.

Bridge the Gap: Marketing & Sales Alignment for Lead Success! Unified Lead Definition: Agree on what constitutes a qualified lead. Lead Scoring System: Implement a system to prioritize leads for sales. Streamlined Lead Management: Establish a smooth handoff and follow-up process. Shared Knowledge & Goals: Foster communication of goals, metrics, and insights. Content & Offer Collaboration: Create compelling content & offers tailored to nurture prospects.

Align Marketing and Sales should number 1 or 2. This will continue to be a work in progress. I have used OKRs as a way to align and mobilize action between the two groups.

Ever stumbled upon those "Sales vs. Marketing" memes? They're funny... until they're playing out in your own office. I've witnessed it firsthand: teams working in silos, speaking different languages, and measuring success in different ways. It's like watching a game of tug-of-war. When Sales and Marketing align, it's like discovering a secret superpower. Shared vocabulary: No more debates over what a "MQL/SQL" truly means. Unified goals: Everyone aiming for the same destination, not rowing toward separate islands. Harmonious metrics: KPI's that celebrate collaboration, not competition. When these elements align, the memes fade away, replaced by real-world results: Sales cycles shorten, Customer relationships deepen & Revenue soars.

In any campaign or program, if marketing is not aligned with sales and sales goals, the leads/demand/etc generated by marketing may not match the desired outcome expected by sales. As an example: Partnering with sales for a campaign/program launch: - objective (overall desire) and expectations of each party - ICP and target audience - goals (not objective - this is more granular and specific) - MQL/MQA/SQL/Pipeline/$/etc. - and a common definition of each agreed upon by all parties - metrics to review and when - feedback loop and insights - duration and sprints - assets to use - why, what, and with who - hand-off and follow-up - lessons learned - how to improve

This is a great way to describe a buyer's journey in the moment of needing a solution. However, the reality of demand generation is that only a small percentage of buyers are in the active buying phase. So the name of the game is to stay relevant during the other 80% of time when ideal customers are not in a position to buy and be the first name to come to mind, when and where they are. So yes, content and nurture are important, but so are timely triggers and understanding the signs of buying readiness. And then building a funnel to map to their buying team and process and build that as a funnel for every step of their buying journey.

Buyer's journeys are rarely linear. Instead of focusing on the journey itself, it is more important to focus on providing relevant content that offers an answer to a question, or a solution to a problem, at each stage of the funnel. Regardless of when a prospect enters a funnel, they will be engaged with the content, and be more likely to move onto the next stage.

Demand-gen is a grow-the-pie tactic. And so, contrary to what this article says, demand-gen doesn't need to be aligned with the buyer's journey, because it is the buyer's journey. And your main alignment concern is making sure your demand-gen marketing efforts align with later sales efforts, because often they don't.

Use Technology and Automation CRM and Marketing Automation: Implement CRM and marketing automation platforms to track and manage leads, automate nurturing campaigns, and measure performance. Analytics and Insights: Utilize analytics tools to monitor funnel performance, track key metrics, and gain insights into buyer behavior.