From Siloed to Strategic: How to Remove B2B Funnel Friction by Improving Team Communication

Capturing the attention of fickle customers is hard enough, right? The only thing more frustrating than mediocre B2B funnel results is realizing that the root of the problem is the internal lack of communication between your teams. 

Unfortunately, internal communication gaps between teams often create customer friction, leading to inefficiencies and missed opportunities. If you wonder how to remove B2B funnel friction by improving team communication, this post is for you. 

We will explore the common symptoms of a disjointed conversion funnel, the negative impacts of siloed teams, and how a full-funnel conversion optimization approach can improve performance and boost sales and marketing funnel conversions.

Symptoms of a Disjointed Funnel

A disjointed funnel can show several signs of distress. Some of the symptoms of poor internal collaboration include:

Inconsistent Messaging

When marketing and sales teams are not aligned, the messaging conveyed to potential clients can become inconsistent, leading to confusion and mistrust. 

For instance, the marketing team might promote a product as a comprehensive solution while the sales team focuses on cost-effectiveness. This discrepancy can make prospects question the reliability of the information provided, causing them to lose confidence in the company. 

Organizations must establish a unified messaging strategy that all departments adhere to to avoid this, ensuring that potential customers receive a coherent and persuasive message at every touchpoint.

Disjointed User Experience

A lack of coordination across touchpoints can result in a fragmented user experience for your target audience, reducing engagement and increasing drop-off rates. Imagine a scenario where a prospect engages with a company’s content on social media, only to find a completely different narrative when they visit the website or talk to a sales representative. 

This inconsistency can create a jarring experience, making it difficult for the prospect to trust the company. If businesses want to mitigate this, they must map out the ideal customer journey and try to reduce friction in every interaction. From the initial contact to website design, customer service, and final purchase, they should provide a seamless and consistent experience.

Misaligned Goals

Without shared objectives, departments may work towards different goals, hindering overall funnel efficiency and success. For example, the marketing team might focus on generating a high volume of leads via search engine optimization, while the sales team prioritizes closing high-quality leads. 

This misalignment can lead to frustration and inefficiencies, as one team’s efforts may not support the goals of the other. To address this issue, companies need to establish clear, company-wide goals and KPIs that all teams can work towards. This transparency ensures that every department is aligned and contributes to the overall success of the funnel.

Data Silos

Isolated data systems prevent a holistic view of the prospect journey, making it challenging to optimize marketing strategies effectively. When data is scattered across different systems and departments, gaining insights into customer behavior and preferences becomes challenging. 

Integrating data systems and promoting data sharing across departments can help companies obtain a comprehensive view. This enables more effective analysis and decision-making, ultimately enhancing the funnel’s efficiency and effectiveness.

Lack of Attribution

When teams don’t communicate, attributing success to specific actions becomes challenging, leading to inefficient resource allocation. If marketing and sales teams operate in silos, it can be challenging to determine which efforts, such as email marketing, are driving conversions and which are not. 

A lack of visibility can result in resources being allocated to less effective strategies, while more successful initiatives receive less funding than they need. If businesses want to improve attribution, they should implement integrated analytics tools that provide insights into the performance of different approaches across the entire funnel. Integration allows for more informed decision-making and better resource allocation.

The Problem of Siloed Teams and Departments

As the chart below shows, improved collaboration positively affects company results.

How to Remove B2B Funnel Friction

Source: Frost and Sullivan, Zippia.com

On the flip side, siloed teams undermine the overall company performance in numerous ways, including: 

Inefficient Use of Resources

Siloed teams often duplicate efforts or miss out on synergies, wasting time and resources. For instance, the marketing team might conduct separate research on customer needs and preferences, while the sales team gathers similar information through their interactions with prospects. 

Duplication of effort wastes time and leads to inconsistencies in the collected data. To prevent this, companies should encourage cross-departmental collaboration and data sharing. By working together, teams can leverage each other’s insights and expertise, leading to more efficient and effective resource use.

Missed Opportunities

Lack of collaboration means that occasionally, key team members or departments aren’t privy to vital information, which can result in missed opportunities to nurture leads effectively. For example, suppose the marketing team identifies a potential lead’s interest in a specific product feature but fails to communicate this to the sales team. In that case, the sales team may miss the opportunity to tailor their pitch accordingly, resulting in lost sales and a frustrated prospect.

Businesses should address this by establishing processes and systems that facilitate the seamless transfer of information between departments. These processes ensure all teams know critical insights and can act on them to nurture leads effectively.

Frustrated Customers

Disjointed interactions can frustrate customers, driving them away and damaging your brand’s reputation. When prospects encounter inconsistent messaging and a fragmented user experience, they may become frustrated and lose trust in the company, leading to higher drop-off rates and negative word-of-mouth. 

Companies should focus on creating a seamless and consistent experience across all touchpoints to improve customer satisfaction. Creating this experience can involve aligning messaging, enhancing team communication, and ensuring that every interaction contributes to a positive overall experience.

How Conversion Funnel Optimization Can Help

A holistic approach to funnel optimization bridges gaps between teams and stages, ensuring a cohesive strategy. Here’s how it works:

Facilitating Communication and Collaboration 

Effective communication between marketing, sales, and other relevant departments is essential. By encouraging regular inter-departmental meetings and using collaborative tools, teams can align their strategies and share insights more efficiently.

Implementing collaboration tools is essential to mitigate the friction caused by siloed teams. Solutions like Kayako, which offers an internal customer service database, can significantly enhance department communication and collaboration. These tools provide a centralized platform where teams can share insights, track customer interactions, and manage tasks collectively.

For instance, an internal customer service database allows marketing, sales, and support teams to access real-time information about customer inquiries, preferences, and feedback. This transparency ensures everyone is on the same page, leading to more consistent messaging and a cohesive user experience.

Project management tools like Asana or Trello can help teams coordinate efforts, manage workflows, and monitor progress, ensuring that all tasks align with the overall business objectives. By leveraging such tools, businesses can break down silos, improve efficiency, and create a more integrated approach to managing the sales funnel.

Providing a Unified View of the Customer Experience 

Utilizing comprehensive data analysis tools helps create a unified view of the customer’s experience moving through the funnel, enabling teams to identify and remove friction points.

Developing a Data-Driven Strategy 

Integrating data from all funnel stages aligns with overall business goals.  Implementing alternatives for a/b testing for landing and web pages can also optimize results. This approach ensures that every team works towards a common objective, optimizing the entire funnel’s performance.

How to Remove B2B Funnel Friction with FunnelEnvy

Achieving seamless marketing funnel performance in a B2B setting is complex, but with the right approach, it’s achievable. FunnelEnvy specializes in data-driven growth systems that eliminate internal friction, facilitating better communication, collaboration, and higher conversion rates.

By partnering with FunnelEnvy, B2B companies can transform their disjointed funnels into strategic, efficient systems that drive growth and maximize marketing ROI. Contact us today about our full funnel audit to reveal critical conversion bottlenecks and develop an optimized funnel blueprint in 21 Days.

By |2025-05-12T04:37:14-07:00August 19th, 2024|Full-Funnel Optimization|0 Comments
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Forest for the Trees: How to Fix a Stagnant B2B Funnel

Have you seen the lines at the grocery store self-checkout, even when the checkout lanes with human sales associates are available? Today’s customers want a fast, friction-free, DIY sales experience. 

Studies from top-tier management consultants tell us the same dynamic exists with online B2B sales today. Customers want a smooth, simple, primarily DIY sales experience.

Now more than ever, a healthy marketing funnel is your sales engine. But what happens when that flow stagnates and leads diminish? That’s the telltale sign of a stagnant B2B funnel. 

The challenge for marketing teams is that it can be hard to see the forest for the trees—there are so many potential details to check that it’s difficult to diagnose the entire funnel efficiently.

The good news is that once you identify the problem, you can tweak, test, and improve results. Let’s look at some background, common symptoms, and solutions. We’ll also look at the best diagnostic tool for a stagnant funnel—the funnel audit. 

Warning Signs: Is Your B2B Funnel Stalled?

Ignoring a stagnant funnel is like treating a leaky boat with a bucket – you’ll constantly be playing catch-up. Here are some red flags that indicate it’s time for a comprehensive funnel audit:

  1. Stalled lead gen and conversions
  2. High abandonment rates
  3. Inconsistent data and feedback

These are just a few warning signs. Let’s look at some common reasons for funnel traffic stagnates and possible solutions.

5 Friction Points on Your Website Sabotaging Your B2B Funnel

A well-designed B2B marketing and sales funnel should feel seamless to potential customers at every touch point toward a purchase. Perhaps one of the most famous examples from the pre-internet brick-and-mortar era was people lining up for the latest iPhone release. 

While that kind of demand can be hard to replicate, we can at least work to eliminate as much friction as possible in our website experience. Website friction acts like unexpected roadblocks, and visitors have very little patience for frustrating experiences on websites; they are quick to abandon the journey altogether. 

The other insight we have that Apple didn’t back in the day is granular data about customer behavior on the website. A data-driven funnel audit can pinpoint the exact areas of friction on your website and provide actionable recommendations for optimization. Here are the most common metrics that digital marketers track:

Stagnant B2B Funnel

Source: RulerAnalytics

Let’s explore five common sources of friction that can disrupt your B2B funnel and how to eliminate them for a seamless customer experience:

Unclear Value Proposition 

Visitors arrive on your website only to be bombarded with text and information that still leaves them unsure of how your product solves their problem. A confusing or missing value proposition creates friction right from the start.

Solution: Craft a concise, impactful value proposition that speaks directly to your target audience’s pain points. Use clear headlines, benefit-driven messaging, and visuals that instantly communicate the value you offer.

Confusing Navigation and CTAs 

Imagine driving on a highway with missing signs. A website with unclear navigation and confusing CTAs creates a similar experience, leaving visitors lost, unsure of where to go next, and making a beeline for the “click away” exit ramp.

Solution: Simplify your website’s structure and navigation. Clear menus and subcategories should guide visitors intuitively. Use strong, action-oriented CTAs that tell visitors exactly what to do next, whether it’s “Download Our Whitepaper,” “Schedule a Demo,” or “Contact Us Today.”

Slow Loading Times and Technical Issues 

Nobody enjoys waiting in traffic. Similarly, slow loading times and technical glitches frustrate visitors and erode trust. This impatience can lead to them abandoning their journey.

Solution: Optimize your website for speed. Compress images, minify code, and consider a reliable web hosting provider to ensure smooth and fast performance. Implement a standard operating procedure (SOP) to test all website functionalities regularly and promptly address technical issues.

Uninformative or Generic Content 

Thin, generic content offers no value to potential customers. It creates friction by failing to educate, engage, or answer their specific questions.

Solution: Invest in high-quality, targeted content. Evergreen content such as blog posts, case studies, white papers, and other resources will personalize your brand, showcase your expertise, and address your ideal customer’s unique needs. 

Forms With Excessive Friction Can Lead to a Stagnant B2B Funnel

Filling out lengthy forms filled with unnecessary fields feels like being stuck in crawling traffic at the toll booth. Complex or overly demanding forms deter visitors and prevent them from completing desired actions.

Solution: Streamline your forms, collect only the essential information, use clear and concise language, and consider offering progressive forms that collect information in stages. 

Integrating AI

AI can now help personalize the UX with forms on your website. AI can enable dynamic question display, pre-populate fields, conditional branching, and smart error detection and validation. 

It’s easy to see how these improvements improve the user experience and enhance customer engagement. Are you unsure how to augment your funnel with AI? We can help you with that. At Funnel Envy, we have the expertise to explain how everything works. 

These are just a few examples of possible friction points. By identifying and eliminating problems, you can create a smooth, engaging website experience that keeps visitors flowing seamlessly through your B2B funnel. 

Why a B2B Funnel Audit is Crucial for a Stagnant B2B Funnel

Say you go to the doctor because you don’t know what’s wrong, but something just doesn’t feel right. What is the first thing the nurse does? He takes your vitals. The doctor then systematically reviews your symptoms to help rule out some diagnoses and highlight others. In other words, she is performing an audit on your health. 

That’s exactly the purpose of a funnel audit—it’s a systematic checkup that helps identify the source of your funnel’s problems. 

Many businesses might hesitate to invest in a funnel audit. Here, we’ll address some common objections and demonstrate why an audit is vital for maximizing your B2B sales potential, even if you already have existing solutions.

Myth 1: We already have a dedicated sales team and automation tools.

Reality: Your marketing funnel is meant to support your sales funnel performance by providing marketing-qualified leads (MQLs) and ultimately helping sales reps close deals. An audit is a diagnostic tool that identifies hidden leaks and inefficiencies within your current marketing and sales process.

Myth 2: Our industry is too specific for a generic audit.

Reality: A good funnel audit is tailored to your business. While industry best practices are considered, the audit dives deep into your unique target customer and buying process, ensuring the recommendations are actionable and address your needs directly.

Myth 3: We don’t see the need for an audit – things seem to be running smoothly.

Reality: Like a wellness physical for you, funnel audits are like regular check-ups for your sales engine. They uncover hidden issues before they become major roadblocks – issues you might not even be aware of. 

Apart from that, how about incremental improvements? Dissecting the touchpoints in a funnel that “seems to be running smoothly” is a great opportunity to surface small tweaks that can improve conversion results.  

Unlocking Growth: How a Marketing Funnel Audit Drives Results

So, how exactly can a B2B funnel audit benefit your business? Here are some key ways it helps you achieve sustainable growth:

Uncover Hidden Leaks: These leaks could be anything from confusing blog CTAs to poorly designed landing pages that deter visitors from signing up for your free trial. The audit identifies these leaks and provides actionable steps to plug them.

Data-Driven Insights: Forget the guesswork. A funnel audit pinpoints where leads are dropping off and identifies the specific funnel stages that need optimization. 

Prioritized Action Plan: An audit doesn’t just identify problems—it provides solutions. You’ll receive a prioritized action plan outlining specific steps to optimize your funnel. This plan could include recommendations for improving your email marketing campaigns, refining your social media strategy, or even revamping your website content to convert leads better.

By investing in a B2B marketing funnel audit, you can gain valuable insight into your overall sales engine and unlock the potential for significant growth. With a healthy, optimized funnel, you’ll see increased lead generation, improved conversion rates, and more sales. 

Transforming a Stagnant B2B Marketing Funnel into a Robust Sales Engine

Are your funnel results sluggish? Don’t wait for your sales pipeline to suffer. At FunnelEnvy, we’ve packed a decade of experience into our industry-leading funnel audit, which will reveal critical conversion bottlenecks and develop an optimized funnel blueprint in 21 days. Schedule a funnel audit today and turn your funnel around in as little as three weeks.

By |2025-05-12T04:37:14-07:00July 8th, 2024|Full-Funnel Optimization|0 Comments
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Penny Wise or Pound Foolish? When is the Cost of A SaaS Funnel Audit Worth It?

Imagine pouring hours and dollars into crafting targeted campaigns, nurturing leads, and refining your messaging for your SaaS business. Yet, a nagging doubt lingers: how do you know if website visitors convert optimally? Why exactly is engagement lagging? Evaluating your SaaS marketing conversion rate can feel like peering into a black box. You may be considering a funnel audit, but how do you know when the cost of a funnel audit is justified? Let’s start with the symptoms. What are the warning signs of problems in your funnel? 

5 Signs Your Marketing Funnel is Leaking

A well-optimized marketing funnel should seamlessly guide website visitors toward conversion, but leaks can develop over time. These leaks represent missed growth opportunities, hindering your ability to convert leads into paying customers. Here are 5 signs your marketing funnel might be leaking:

  1. Dwindling Lead Generation. Is the flow of qualified leads into your funnel slowing down? If so, it could indicate a problem at the top of the funnel, such as ineffective content marketing, targeting the wrong audience, or a lack of brand awareness.
  2. High Abandonment Rates. Are website visitors dropping off at crucial points in your funnel, like landing pages or opt-in forms? High abandonment rates suggest friction or confusion within the funnel, preventing users from taking the desired action.
  3. Low Conversion Rates. A low conversion rate is the ultimate indicator of a leaky funnel. Low performance means leads who enter your funnel never convert into paying customers. Analyze conversion rates at each funnel stage to pinpoint where leads are slipping away.
  4. Unengaged Audience. Do your social media posts and email campaigns generate minimal engagement? A lack of engagement suggests that your messaging misaligns your audience’s needs or that you’re not reaching the right people.
  5. Increased Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC). Is acquiring each new customer costing you more and more? This high cost could indicate that your marketing efforts attract unqualified leads or that leaks within the funnel prevent qualified leads from converting.

The more of these issues you experience, the more you need a funnel audit. A comprehensive audit can help identify the specific leaks within your funnel, provide action items to patch them up and optimize your marketing efforts for sustainable growth.

Two Key Challenges with SaaS Funnel Optimization

In our experience, we’ve seen that many B2B marketers, especially in the fast-paced SaaS industry, struggle with two key challenges:

  1. Gauging Funnel Performance: Accurately assessing the health of your marketing funnel requires expertise and specialized tools. Without a clear picture of leaks and bottlenecks in your SaaS sales funnel, it isn’t easy to pinpoint areas for improvement in funnel optimization.
  2. Justifying a Funnel Analysis: Investing in a funnel audit to diagnose problem areas can feel like an unnecessary expense. However, the potential cost of neglecting a sub-optimal conversion funnel can be far greater. How do you know when to pull the trigger?

A shift in perspective is helpful when faced with these challenges. The SaaS model requires an optimized sales funnel as the cornerstone of success. While the upfront cost of a funnel audit might raise initial concerns, the potential return on investment (ROI) of fixing problems in the funnel can outweigh the expense.

Understanding the ROI of a SaaS Funnel Audit

Think of your funnel as the engine of your business. Your funnel should seamlessly guide potential customers (aka qualified leads) through the customer journey toward conversion, ultimately driving revenue and customer acquisition.

However, even the most successful funnels can develop leaks over time. Funnel audits are helpful because a seemingly minor tweak to your landing page copy or a strategic adjustment to your email marketing campaign can significantly increase conversions. 

Funnel leaks represent missed opportunities, bleeding your SaaS business dry in several ways:

Lost Leads and Sales

A broken funnel is like a leaky pipe – qualified leads enter your top-of-funnel stages but never reach the conversion stage, like a free trial or paid subscription. This loss translates to missed sales opportunities and lost potential recurring revenue.

Inefficient Marketing Budget Spend 

Are you pouring money into social media campaigns, organic traffic lead gen, or Google Ads that aren’t resonating with your target audience? An audit can identify marketing budget drains, allowing you to reallocate resources toward more impactful initiatives that improve acquisition costs.

Wasted Resources on Outdated Tactics 

It’s easy to fall into the trap of clinging to tactics that once delivered results. An audit can expose outdated or ineffective strategies, freeing resources to invest in high-performing approaches more suited to your target audience.

By viewing a funnel audit as an investment in identifying and plugging these leaks, you’re investing in the future growth of your business. The potential return on investment (ROI) can significantly outweigh the initial cost, leading to revenue growth and decreased customer churn.

Addressing Specific Cost Concerns

There are some specifics every marketer should ask about when considering a funnel audit. Here’s a breakdown of the costs involved in a funnel audit:

  • Upfront cost. The price of a funnel audit can vary depending on the scope and experience of the auditor. 
  • Implementation Costs. A funnel audit report will naturally include some recommendations. Following the audit recommendations may involve additional costs, such as website tweaks, marketing automation adjustments, or content creation. 

For example, imagine a scenario where your landing page copy is deterring conversions. A good audit will identify this issue, and the cost of revamping the copy pales compared to the ongoing revenue you’re losing due to a sub-optimal landing page.

Think of implementation costs as fine-tuning your sales funnel for peak performance. While there might be an initial investment, the long-term benefits outweigh the short-term expense.

Demonstrating the Value Beyond Cost 

While the cost concerns surrounding a funnel audit are valid, the actual value can extend far beyond the immediate price tag. Here’s a look at some of the intangible benefits that can significantly enhance your marketing efforts:

Gaining a Deeper Understanding of Your Target Audience

One of the most powerful outcomes of a comprehensive audit is a deeper understanding of your target audience. During the audit process, funnel analysis tools and user experience (UX) evaluations shed light on how potential customers interact with your marketing materials and navigate your sales funnel.

This newfound knowledge empowers you to create highly targeted messaging that resonates with your ideal customer’s pain points and desires. A deeper understanding of your customer’s journey helps you create content that fosters trust, leading to higher conversion rates.

Identifying Hidden Opportunities

A fresh perspective on your marketing funnel can be a game-changer. A skilled auditor can identify hidden opportunities you might have missed. An audit could involve uncovering new channels to reach your target audience, optimizing landing pages for significant conversion uplifts, or suggesting adjustments to your sales process that streamline the path to conversion.

For example, the audit might reveal a hidden gem within your customer base. By analyzing data, the audit could uncover upsell or cross-sell opportunities you didn’t previously capitalize on, translating to increased revenue potential without significant acquisition efforts.

Remember, a well-optimized funnel isn’t static. A funnel audit is a springboard for continuous improvement, helping you identify and leverage hidden opportunities to achieve sustainable growth.

What about AI for SaaS Funnel Performance?

We all know that AI tools are quickly changing the funnel optimization landscape. A comprehensive audit can pinpoint areas where AI tools can update your funnel to personalize the customer journey, optimize ad targeting, and automate repetitive tasks.

Moving Ahead: Reframing the Cost of a Saas Funnel Audit

Do you have more questions about the audit process with an experienced provider? 

For a deeper dive, check out our CEO, Arun Sivashankaran’s YouTube Video series. In these short videos, Arun describes FunnelEnvy’s Method for conducting a Full-Funnel CRO Audit, discusses some helpful mindsets when conducting such an audit, and reveals an important keystone habit that can make CRO efforts easier and more effective.

At Funnel Envy, we are a team of growth experts specializing in data-driven funnel optimization for B2B, lead generation, and SaaS companies. We utilize a combination of closed-loop analytics, website experimentation, predictive models, and marketing automation to ensure your funnel is firing on all cylinders.

Contact Funnel Envy today for a free consultation and discover how a funnel audit can propel your business towards sustainable growth and long-term success.

By |2025-05-12T04:37:13-07:00May 27th, 2024|Full-Funnel Optimization|0 Comments
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Fire Up Demand Gen and Sales: Best Practices for SaaS Landing Pages 2024

As global unrest and economic uncertainty persist, belts are tightening in most business sectors. While ChartMogul takes the optimistic spin that SaaS growth has “stabilized,” in reality, that translates to the fact that growth in many specific SaaS sectors is stalling or declining.

Best Practices for SaaS Landing Pages 2024

Source: ChartMogul

Optimizing consumer touchpoints is more crucial than ever. High-converting landing pages are strategic assets that transform curious visitors into engaged users and paying customers. 

Imagine a visitor landing on your website after clicking on a targeted ad. Their initial impression, shaped by your B2B SaaS landing pages, determines whether they become a lead or bounce away. Technology and consumer trends are changing, so we’ve adapted our best practices for SaaS landing pages in 2024 to reflect changing buyer expectations and new AI tools. 

Effective landing pages take time to optimize. They are part of strategic SaaS marketing campaigns that understand the different stages of the sales funnel. If you invest in ads, nailing your PPC landing page best practices is essential!

Just like buyers, landing pages are not one-size-fits-all. This post explores landing pages in the context of the SaaS funnel buyer stages: Awareness, Activation/Purchase, and Expansion/Upsell. But first, let’s look at some basics that every landing page should have, regardless of buyer stage. 

Global SaaS Landing Page Best Practices

Regardless of the prospect phase, the best SaaS landing pages share some common attributes. For inspiration, HubSpot offers many examples of best practices for landing pages. Additional tips include:

Regardless of the prospect phase, the best SaaS landing pages share some common attributes. Share on X
  1. Understand the importance of customer journey and intent.
  2. Use strong visuals and compelling copy throughout the landing page. Be sure your landing pages integrate with the website design to keep the customer journey on-brand.
  3. Ensure an optimal experience for mobile landing pages to ensure happy mobile users across devices.
  4. Prioritize page load time for quick access and improved engagement. Slow pages lead to an increased bounce rate.
  5. A/B testing at all phases helps optimize page elements to improve conversion rates continuously. You can optimize everything on the page with testing, from the CTA button color to your headlines. With multiple pages and stages, A/B testing can get overwhelming. At Funnel Envy, we’re used to dealing with that complexity. Reach out if you have questions.
  6. Closely track upgrade metrics. Monitor conversions, upgrade paths, and churn rates to understand what resonates with your user base and optimize your expansion landing pages accordingly.
  7. Measure performance metrics and track key funnel stages.

Sparking Interest: SaaS Landing Pages for the Awareness Stage

The awareness stage represents the first encounter between potential customers and your SaaS product.

At this point, visitors are likely unfamiliar with your brand, and their main focus is understanding how you can solve their pain points. The awareness stage can be the best landing page for lead generation. A common desired conversion is to capture email addresses for email marketing.

Key Strategies for High-Converting Awareness Landing Page

  • Hook Them with a Captivating Headline. Use clear, concise language that addresses your target audience’s pain points. Think benefit-driven statements that pique curiosity and promise a solution.
  • Showcase Solutions, Not Features. Don’t get bogged down in technical jargon. Instead, focus on your product’s benefits and how it makes users’ lives easier.
  • Visuals Tell a Story. Include high-quality images and videos that resonate with your audience and visually represent the value proposition. Think hero images, screenshots, or explainer videos.
  • Social Proof Builds Trust. Feature testimonials, case studies, and logos from satisfied customers to establish credibility and build trust with first-time visitors.
  • Frictionless Lead Capture. Offer valuable, downloadable content like e-books, white papers, or webinars in exchange for email addresses. Keep form fields minimal and focus on capturing essential information.
  • Clear Call to Action (CTA). A clear CTA button is essential. Tell visitors exactly what you want them to do next, whether signing up for a free trial, scheduling a demo, or subscribing to your newsletter. Use strong, action-oriented CTA buttons that stand out visually.

Key Tips for Awareness Landing Pages

  • Target Your Messaging. Personalize your landing page content to different audience segments for increased relevance and engagement.
  • Mobile-First Design. Ensure your landing page is responsive and optimized for mobile devices, where a significant portion of your traffic will likely originate.

Landing Pages for the Activation/Purchase Stage

Congratulations! You’ve successfully captured attention and ignited interest in your product during the awareness stage. Now comes the crucial activation stage, where you need to transform those intrigued visitors into engaged users and paying customers.

Best Practices for SaaS Landing Pages in 2024 to Generate Sales

Focus on Early Wins

  • Highlight Quick Value. Showcase how users can achieve tangible results and solve minor problems within the first few minutes or days of using your product.
  • Frictionless Onboarding. Streamline the signup, login, and onboarding process to minimize friction and ensure a smooth user experience.
  • Demo the Power. Utilize product demos, explainer and demo videos, and interactive walkthroughs to visually demonstrate your product’s key features and functionalities.

Drive Product Engagement

  • Showcase User Achievements. Display progress trackers, badges, or gamification elements to keep users motivated and engaged as they explore the product.
  • Offer Personalized Tutorials. Based on user actions and preferences, suggest relevant tutorials, knowledge base articles, or contextual help menus to guide them further.
  • Live Chat Support. Offer available chat support to address user questions and concerns in real time, fostering trust and a sense of community.

Nurture User Satisfaction

  • Gather Feedback. Implement in-app surveys, feedback forms, or satisfaction ratings to understand user experiences and identify areas for improvement.
  • Highlight User Success Stories. Showcase testimonials, case studies, and success stories from existing users to demonstrate your product’s positive impact on real people.
  • Personalized Communication. Leverage AI tools to trigger customized email campaigns, in-app notifications, or targeted recommendations, keeping users engaged and interested.

Key Tips for Landing Pages That Drive Sales

  • Track Key Metrics. Monitor user behavior, engagement rates, and conversion points to identify areas for optimization and ensure your landing pages are effectively driving activation.
  • Leverage Data-Driven Insights. Use the data you gather to personalize your landing pages and tailor your messaging to resonate with each user’s unique needs and journey.

Level Up Growth: Pages for the Expansion/Upsell Stage

Your users are now familiar with your SaaS product and experiencing its value. The expansion/upsell stage presents an exciting opportunity to encourage upgrades, promote premium features, and cultivate long-term customer loyalty.

Key Strategies for High-Converting Expansion Landing Pages

Quantify Achieved Value

  • Highlight User Progress. Showcase user dashboards, progress reports, or data visualizations that demonstrate the tangible benefits they’ve achieved with your product.
  • Personalize Milestones. Identify critical moments within the user journey and trigger targeted landing pages highlighting relevant premium features that can enhance their progress.
  • Social Proof for Premium Users. Feature testimonials and success stories from users who have upgraded to premium plans showcasing the additional value they unlocked.

Introduce Premium Features

  • Clearly Communicate Benefits. Don’t just list features; focus on how they solve specific pain points, unlock new capabilities, and accelerate user goals.
  • Personalized Feature Recommendations. Based on user data and activity, suggest relevant premium features directly addressing their needs and aspirations.

Motivate Upgrade Action

  • Limited-Time Offers. Trigger scarcity and urgency with limited-time discounts, exclusive bundles, or early access opportunities for premium plans.
  • Frictionless Upgrade Flow. Make the upgrade process as simple and seamless as possible with clear CTAs, minimal fields, and secure payment options.
  • Support. Offer readily available support to address users’ questions or concerns during the upgrade process.

Key Tips for Conversion Stage Pages

  • Maintain Trust and Transparency. Communicate the value proposition of each plan and avoid misleading tactics. 
  • Social Proof Markers. These can do the talking for you. Focus on building long-term customer relationships based on trust and mutual benefit.

By implementing these best practices, you can craft upsell landing pages that effectively showcase the enhanced value of premium plans, motivate users to upgrade, and unlock the full potential of your existing customer base. 

Moving Ahead with Best Practices for SaaS Landing Pages 2024

This year, 2024, promises to be challenging for SaaS companies. However, don’t forget that challenge means opportunity for those who keep current and keep moving! 

We hope these tips help you implement some best practices for SaaS landing pages in 2024 that are free of jargon, clutter, and distractions.

If you want to know where to start improving, testing, and optimizing your SaaS landing pages, Funnel Envy can help. We have used AI tools long before the ChatGTP era and are experts in new integration and possibilities. You don’t have to do this alone. Reach out today to get started.

By |2025-05-12T04:37:12-07:00February 19th, 2024|Full-Funnel Optimization|0 Comments
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Powering On-Page SEO and PPC to Boost SaaS Website Traffic

The rise of AI set off a series of shockwaves in the SEO services industry while handing Google the first serious threat in years to its preeminence. In response, the search and web ads giant is revamping its search engine results page (SERP).

Many companies are re-evaluating their marketing strategies, from social media marketing to SaaS SEO strategy. From this point on, it will be all the more essential to acknowledge Google’s changes and the role of AI in powering on-page search engine optimization (SEO) and Pay-per-click (PPC) ads to boost SaaS website traffic.

Google’s New SERP and Search Generative Experience (SGE) 

Google’s new AI search experience, Google Search Generative Experience (SGE), integrates AI into the SERP. Instead of offering organic search results and featured snippets above the fold, organic results are further down the page and may impact non-paid search traffic and click-through rates.

While changes are still in play, the upshot for SaaS businesses is that Google’s search results pages will probably send less direct traffic to websites. At the same time, increased use of AI in an already competitive space will likely drive up keyword and ad prices.

Let’s look at an update.

What is On-Page SEO?

On-page SEO refers to optimizing elements on a website to improve its visibility, technical performance, and ranking in search engine results. On-page SEO now leverages AI tools for optimizing keywords, content relevance, and enhancing user experience.

Improving On-Page Search Rankings 

With so much pressure to adapt to an AI marketing strategy, it can feel overwhelming where to start. A good strategy is to focus on shoring up the SEO basics, starting with technical SEO. The good thing about technical SEO techniques is that they give marketers a checklist of specific actions to improve SEO.

Technical SEO checklist for better search engine rankings

Technical SEO focuses on improving a website’s speed, security, mobile-friendliness, and user experience. Here are a few website elements that search engine bots evaluate:

  1. Positive user experience: A positive user experience can lead to better search engine rankings; a poor user experience can negatively impact SEO efforts.
  1. SaaS Content optimization: Optimizing content for organic traffic from specific search engines can help you rank higher in search results.
  2. Canonicalization: This technical SEO approach involves choosing a preferred URL for a website’s content to avoid duplicate content issues, which can harm search engine rankings.
  3. Mobile-friendliness: Good mobile UX is a ranking signal on most search engines, including Google and Bing. Mobile-friendly sites will show up higher in search results.
  1. Page speed: Page and site speed are primary considerations for search engines. A technical SEO audit can help pinpoint where to improve on-page optimization.
  2. Crawling and indexing: When search engines can crawl your website easily and quickly, it leads to better indexing and ranking of your website in search engine results pages (SERPs). Create XML sitemaps, use formatting and correct url structure to help search engines quickly glean and index content.

With an optimized on-page experience, your pay-per-click conversions should improve, too. Let’s go over some basics.

Effective SaaS Content Marketing and SEO

Content marketing is essential to online marketing efforts. Here are some tips for building strategies and creating content to fuel SaaS growth.

  • Design a content strategy with high-quality content conforming to Google’s EEAT framework.
  • Content creation should include blog posts, guides, webinars, and a case study of your ideal client’s success. Produce an “ultimate guide” of informative content addressing your target audience’s common questions. Be intentional about link building and internal links.
  • Optimize content for users and search engines: Use relevant keywords naturally throughout your content in meta tags, title tags, and meta descriptions. Ensure content is well-structured and easy to read. Avoid keyword stuffing. 
  • Promote content across channels: Besides internal linking, share your content on social media, guest blog on industry websites, share case studies, and utilize email marketing to reach a wider audience.

What is PPC? 

PPC is a digital advertising model that drives paid website traffic. Instead of free organic traffic, advertisers pay a fee each time someone clicks one of their ads. PPC strategies are evolving to leverage AI’s ability to analyze large data sets for precise targeting and bid management. 

AI and PPC Marketing – Good and Bad News

AI makes some things harder even as it helps with other tasks. Keyword strategies are what fuel PPC marketing. The bad news is that AI is fueling more keyword competition, which drives costs. The good news is that all marketers can access new tools to help improve targeting, ad copy, and ad campaign efficiency. 

PPC Strategies: Keyword Ideas for Targeting High-Intent Buyers

Different keywords map the buyer persona’s different awareness stages in the marketing funnel. Organizing content topics and long-tail keywords around search intent is a simple way to organize your approach.

SaaS SEO and PPC

Source: Penheel Marketing

Using Google Ads for High-Buying Intent Terms

By carefully selecting keywords and terms that prospective customers use when they’re ready to buy, a SaaS company or SEO agency can position your ads to capture this valuable audience. 

Generally, it’s more cost-effective to run paid ads in the transactional phase of awareness when the prospect is highly intent to purchase. Use high-intent seed keywords within keyword phrases to attract users ready to pull out their credit cards. Examples include words such as buy, price, deals, and shipping. 

Focusing on targeting and personalization is critical if your goal is to maximize ROI with targeted PPC campaigns. If you’re thinking that this can get complicated, you are right. Funnel Envy can help.

SaaS SEO and PPC Best Practices in 2024

On-page SEO and PPC can increase website traffic, but each has different strengths. SEO primes long-term growth, and PPC provides an immediate impact.

The magic balance? Combine them both! Use PPC data for SEO targeting, optimize both channels’ landing pages, and leverage PPC boosts for new content.

Here are the best practices to use as a PPC and SaaS SEO guide in 2024. These suggestions are prioritized from most important to least important. Every business differs, so you should adjust based on your marketing and customer acquisition goals.

  • Align goals: Ensure both efforts support shared objectives and use data from each to inform the other.
  • Optimize for user intent: Conduct thorough keyword research and create content for targeted landing pages.
  • Prioritize mobile experience: Design and optimize for mobile users and address technical SEO issues.
  • Focus on quality content: Create engaging SEO content and compelling ad copy for PPC. Make sure your blog includes high-quality backlinks.
  • Utilize data and analytics: Track performance with tools like Google Analytics. Conduct A/B tests and iterate strategies.

Landing Pages

On-page SEO and PPC for SaaS landing pages deserve special mention. At the landing page level, develop targeted landing pages for each PPC campaign and SEO keyword cluster to match the specific user intent behind the search query. 

Focus on a clear value proposition and concise copy highlighting the benefits of your SaaS solution and addressing user pain points. Finally, optimize for conversions with an intuitive user experience, clear calls to action, and fast page load times.

On-page SEO and PPC Strategies: Drive Qualified Traffic

With best practices guiding your overall plan, here are some specific strategies.

Keyword Strategy, Research, and Targeting

Organize target keywords by intent and customer journey. Use a broad keyword list to cover general industry searches, niche keywords to target specific stages, and branded keywords to capture users already aware of your brand.

Analyze competitor’s SEO and PPC for keyword ranking factors. Identify high-performing keywords and leverage them in your campaigns while finding gaps and targeting underserved niches.

Research seasonal and trending topics. Tailor your keyword usage to current industry trends and seasonal events to capture timely traffic.

Leveraging PPC for Qualified Traffic

All traffic is not created equal. Besides converting sales, another benefit of PPC is it can help you qualify your website traffic. Here are some ideas: 

  • Smart bidding strategies: Utilize automated bidding options like target CPA or ROAS to optimize ad spend and focus on conversions.
  • Retargeting campaigns: Target website visitors who haven’t converted yet with relevant ads reminding them of your product.
  • Dynamic search ads: Automatically generate ads based on your website content, ensuring relevance to user searches.
  • Experiment with different ad formats: Test video, image, and carousel ads to see what resonates best with your target audience.
  • Track and analyze data: Regularly monitor the performance of your SEO and PPC campaigns, using insights to adjust strategies and optimize for better results.

Remember that building a successful SaaS SEO and PPC strategy is ongoing. Experiment, test, and refine your approach based on data to attract qualified traffic and convert visitors into paying customers.

Moving Ahead with On-Page SEO and PPC

Anyone in the business can tell you digital marketing wasn’t easy even before AI. While AI tools are opening up significant advantages, they are also introducing new challenges, not to mention a considerable learning curve.

If you are wondering where to start with on-page SEO and PPC to boost your SaaS website traffic, Funnel Envy can help. We have used AI tools before the ChatGTP era and are experts in new integration and possibilities. You don’t have to do this alone. Reach out today to get started.

By |2025-05-12T04:37:11-07:00February 5th, 2024|Full-Funnel Optimization|0 Comments
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Capitalizing on Google’s Algorithm Adjustments for AI-Generated Content

In the early days of the internet, Google won the search engine wars against companies like AltaVista by developing more sophisticated algorithms rather than solely focusing on keyword matching. For example, Google’s PageRank algorithm incorporated authority, relevance, and keywords.

Since that time, Google has continued to provide search results based on user experience and search intent. At the same time, SEO strategists have continued to try to predict what the algorithm wants and create content that “hacks” the algorithm without violating Google’s guidelines.

In response to ChatGPT’s meteoric adoption rate, Google has significantly updated its algorithm and content guidelines in 2022 and 2023.

Google AI SEO

Source: The PHA Group

ChatGPT presents the first serious threat to Google’s dominance in many years. Google has been scrambling to adjust to the tidal wave of AI content that is just beginning to build. Google also recognizes that if users can get direct answers from a ChatGPT query, why would they still use Google? 

Like most technology earthquakes, the first big jolt has seen sharp aftershocks, such as copyright infringement lawsuits and questions about AI ethics. Predictions of Google’s demise are premature. The company is already responding to marketers about what generative AI means for content, SEO, and website traffic optimization. 

As AI transforms content creation strategies, CMOs want to leverage AI to meet Google’s standards. AI will continue to improve, but it’s still unable to do all the heavy lifting of a good marketing strategy. For content production, human supervision of AI content is vital. 

Google’s stance on quality content has stayed the same even with AI. Before AI, they punished keyword stuffing and other attempts to manipulate searches at the expense of quality information and user experience. In the AI era, they will do the same. 

Google continues to seek meaningful, informative, and engaging material that resonates with a target audience, whether the author is a human or a bot.

Let’s take a look. 

Google’s Algorithm Adjustments and Current Content Guidance

With some algorithm updates, Google releases additional content guidance. Google’s September 2023 Helpful Content Update modified its AI and third-party content guidelines. 

The update supports AI-generated content and emphasizes quality and user-centricity by removing “written by people.” Most experts interpreted this to mean Google would not penalize AI content simply because AI writes it. For Google, the main points are quality and user experience.

Google AI SEO

Source: Google

In Google’s view, helpful content should be high-quality. What do they mean by that? Let’s look at some additional content guidance.

E-E-A-T Content Framework

Google’s guidelines for evaluating quality content are known as the E-E-A-T framework. The acronym stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. While E-E-A-T is not an algorithm, it is an SEO fundamental because it influences how Google assesses and ranks content.

Content that conforms to the framework is more likely to rank higher. Here is a bit more detail about what each term means: 

Experience: This evaluates the content creator’s experience and firsthand knowledge of the topic, ensuring the content uses practical, real-world understanding.

Expertise: Focuses on the content creator’s qualifications and knowledge in a specific field, particularly important for specialized or technical topics.

Authoritativeness: Measures the credibility and recognition of the content creator and the website in their field, assessed through credentials, external citations, and industry recognition.

Trustworthiness: Relates to the reliability and accuracy of the content and the website, ensuring the information is truthful, transparent, and dependable. Consistent posting also increases the trustworthiness score. 

The E-E-A-T framework is essential for Your Money or Your Life (YMYL) topics, where accurate and reliable information is crucial. It guides content creators in producing high-quality content that Google’s search algorithms favor.

You can refer to Google’s guidelines on E-E-A-T for a detailed understanding.

Hidden Gems

In November 2023, Google announced its “Hidden Gems” algorithm and ranking, separate from the Helpful Content algorithm. Hidden Gems aims to promote content based on personal insights, experiences, or deep expertise from forum posts, social media, and blog posts. 

Content Dont’s, According to Google

Finally, sometimes it’s easiest to know what to do by looking at what not to do. Google has clear guidelines on what qualifies as unhelpful content, whether the creators use AI or not. The overall situation Google is trying to avoid is rewarding a tidal wave of unhelpful content because AI makes it easier to produce it. The following list includes types of content to avoid.

  • Search engine-first content focused on keywords
  • Content with little to low-added value
  • Content repeating what other sources have already said
  • Content that makes false promises
  • Publishing content only on trending topics
  • Repetitive content to meet a specific word count

How Google’s AI Changes Affect SEO 

When you consistently produce high-quality E-E-A-T content, that makes Google’s algorithm happy. Will your website traffic likely increase?

Unfortunately, there is no guarantee. As you know, in the past, Google would offer up links to ranked content in response to a query. The user then would click through to the content source to gather more information.

In response to losing users to ChatGPT’s conversational searching style, Google is developing its own generative AI results format. They are changing the user experience on the search page. It’s like a search workspace, where users can get complete answers to their questions (with citations) and ask follow-up questions.

Google AI SEO

Image source: TechCrunch and Google

This new functionality likely means more users will get the answers they need directly from the Google page, resulting in lower click-through rates to source material (like websites). 

Optimize Landing Pages – Job One for Maintaining Conversion Rates

With the risk of lower traffic due to Google’s on-page search changes, optimizing your website content and landing pages is more important than ever to increase visitors’ conversion. 

The good news is that AI can be your friend in improving your site’s on-page experience and conversions. AI can personalize the visitor’s experience in engaging ways and simplify scaling A/B testing for dozens of landing pages. If you need help figuring out where to start, FunnelEnvy can help. 

AI Integration SEO Strategies

Besides optimizing landing pages, consider developing a plan to create more search-friendly content. Given the changing dynamics of search, here are some tips for search-friendly content that improve the odds of traffic coming to your site:

  1. Optimize your content brief and outline for SEO before you use AI. Then, edit the AI-generated content with original thought and research, brand voice, anecdotes, and expert insights.
  2. Keywords are still your friend; just don’t overuse them. Use the keyword phrase in the title, the first 100 words, and one header. 
  3. User experience is very important to Google. Format your post for easy reading and indexing. Use headers and bold emphasis. The post should have a logical flow. One of the telltale signs of a poorly edited AI article is that it is hard to follow. 
  4. Use internal and external links. 
  5. Create comprehensive content so users won’t click away to find more info elsewhere. 
  6. Content should be concise and not repetitive. Avoid passive verb tense. 
  7. Always check AI content for accuracy. Editors and SMEs can fact-check and improve AI-generated content.

You can check out SemRush’s Content Marketing Guide for more in-depth suggestions.

Moving Ahead with AI-Generated Content for Google

You are not alone if you feel overwhelmed with all the changes from AI’s transformation of SEO and content marketing. The good news is Google’s fundamental stance on quality content has not changed, even with the advent of AI. Level up your content with E-E-A-T, and focus on optimizing your landing pages. If you have questions about a strategy for maintaining search and conversion results amid the changes, reach out for a call today; we can help.

By |2025-05-12T04:37:11-07:00January 22nd, 2024|Full-Funnel Optimization|0 Comments
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2024 B2B SaaS Buyer Preferences: Human-Centric Digital Experiences over Sales Calls

Unsurprisingly, artificial intelligence is the big news for B2B SaaS marketing and sales in 2024. Yet while generative AI is transforming B2B SaaS marketing, the other big news is not about tech disruption but about people – specifically about the sales experience buyers want now.

The sales process, in particular, is undergoing a transformative shift. We’ll go over some research about what modern SaaS buyers are looking for in the sales experience. 

First of all, though, you should revisit the difference between sales and marketing before you revamp your strategies. Many teams understand this, but it can also be confusing because the rise of “growth marketing” may blur the line between marketing and sales.

B2B SaaS Marketing vs.Sales

Gary Vee, mega influencer and Vayner Media’s CEO has talked about authenticity and consistency as the key to audience engagement for several years. Digital super-marketer Neil Patel’s recent email to his million-plus subscribers said brand authenticity and consistency are critical for 2024. 

Forbes echoes these thoughts, pointing out that B2B brands create interconnected experiences to differentiate themselves in 2024. Experiences such as virtual reality product demos, interactive webinars, and personalized online journeys can enrich a digital-first sales process. 

Additional B2B Digital Marketing Trends for 2024 Include: 

  • Using artificial intelligence (AI)
  • Video marketing, especially short-form videos
  • Automation to speed up time-consuming tasks
  • Authentic marketing
  • Personalizing the audience’s experience
  • Focusing on sustainability marketing

How should brands hit the ground running with these trends? The first step is to clarify marketing vs. sales. A lot of content online offers tips on marketing strategy alongside sales advice without clarifying the difference. This lack of clarity can lead to feeling overwhelmed or pushing on the right actions at the wrong time.

Marketing creates awareness to attract and educate potential customers. The goal is to generate interest in the product through content marketing (like social media and blogs), SEO, and digital advertising.

Some B2B SaaS businesses contract with marketing agencies to create marketing strategies. To develop these marketing plans, the marketing agency focuses on SaaS trends and the customer journey. 

The sales function truly begins when the marketing funnel increases demand generation. Sales converts prospects to paying clients by understanding the prospect and personalizing their journey. Yet, regarding engaging in sales conversations, recent research shows that most buyers no longer want to talk to salespeople. 

This post focuses on solutions to help sales update SaaS sales processes and where to optimize to increase customer acquisition in a world where buyers prefer seamless digital experiences over in-person calls.

A Shift Towards Digital Engagement over Traditional Sales Interactions

Safe money suggests that AI and automation will scale the processes that fuel sales and revenue growth in the future.

2024 B2B SaaS Buyer Preferences

Source: Garnter, The Future of Sales: Digital-First Sales Transformation Strategies

Gartner’s B2B buyer preference research found that 75% of B2B buyers prefer a rep-free sales experience. Share on X

Buyers today prefer to explore options, compare solutions, and make decisions without engaging with a salesperson. This shift reflects a broader trend in the digital transformation of business operations and the growing comfort of buyers with online transactions.

Digital marketing funnels are second nature to the SaaS industry. SaaS products naturally lend themselves to a digital sales approach. The opportunity for developing a competitive advantage lies in Gartner’s finding that buyers purchasing via self-service channels are far more likely to regret the purchase.

Focusing on customer retention via optimizing human-centric digital experiences is critical. Let’s look at some practical steps teams can consider. 

How to Reduce B2B Sales Friction in the Digital Journey

In simplifying the digital sales process, the goal is a user experience that is as frictionless as possible, enabling buyers to find information, evaluate solutions, and make purchasing decisions easily. Here are three ways to do that:

Streamlined Website Navigation and User Interface

Design your website with straightforward, intuitive navigation and a user-friendly interface. Frustrating websites are an automatic turn-off. 

Responsive Websites

Invest in technology that helps you serve personalized content to visitors based on their actions. This content improves the user’s experience, increases conversions, and builds trust. If you have questions about how this works, we can help.

Interactive Chatbots 

AI-powered chatbots on your website that can provide immediate, 24/7 assistance to visitors. The key is to ensure a high-quality interaction. We’ve all had the experience where the chatbot was more frustrating than helpful.

Navigating this shift towards a more digital-centric sales process takes time and effort. It requires not only an understanding of technology but also of the changing dynamics of B2B buyer behavior. 

Creating Human-Centric Digital Experiences

As digital interactions become the norm, the challenge for B2B SaaS companies is to create interactions that mimic authentic and engaging in-person experiences. Designing digital touchpoints that resonate with emotions is a great start. 

It’s easy to see that social media is the perfect vehicle for emotionally resonant content. It’s about connecting with the buyer, understanding their needs, and building relationships. 

However, social media is usually more influential during awareness and discovery. For the sales funnel, here are some ways you can optimize content:

Personalized Video Messaging

A personalized video message can convey warmth, sincerity, and a genuine interest in solving the client’s problems.

Interactive Webinars and Virtual Product Demos 

Webinars can be an excellent stand-in for prospects who want to avoid 1:1 sales calls. Host webinars or virtual product demos that are informative and interactive, giving sales representatives a chance to talk with prospects and answer questions.

Tailored content and recommendations

Use data analytics and AI to understand your prospects’ interests and behaviors. 

Technology plays a pivotal role in crafting these human-centric digital experiences. You can use advanced analytics, AI, and machine learning to understand buyer behavior and preferences, allowing for more personalized and relevant interactions. 

Create a personalized website experience where visitors see content based on their customer journey. Not sure how you can make all that happen? No problem, we’re here to help. 

The Role of Self-Service in SaaS Sales

SaaS products have a natural alignment with self-service sales. From free trials to subscriptions, SaaS prospects often look for a quick way to try and purchase products. 

With buyers now looking for more self-service options, the information-gathering segment of their journey is a logical place to optimize and stand out. 

Here are two suggestions:

Comprehensive Knowledge Bases and Resource Centers

Develop a thorough knowledge base or resource center easily accessible on the website. This resource should include detailed FAQs, how-to guides, tutorials, and case studies.

Interactive Product Tours 

Interactive product tours allow prospects to explore the features and functionalities of the SaaS product at their own pace. These could include virtual walkthroughs, interactive demos, or customizable feature explorers.

Moving Ahead in 2024 with B2B SaaS Buyer Preferences

The future of B2B SaaS sales will reveal rich digital interactions, personalized experiences, emotional touchpoints, and seamless self-service options. Companies can increase profits by creating more effective, efficient, and customer-centric sales processes focusing on these areas.

We know that implementing a digital-first landscape can be challenging. Funnel Envy specializes in helping B2B SaaS companies adapt to these changes. We know you have unique concerns and are here to help you. Reach out today to get the conversation started.

By |2025-05-12T04:37:11-07:00January 8th, 2024|Full-Funnel Optimization|0 Comments
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The Power of Short B2B Videos for Marketing: Leveraging the TikTok Effect

Even before the internet, corporate video was a powerful (and expensive) tool in the marketing mix. During the 2000s, video production costs plummeted, bandwidth increased, and B2B videos quickly became a staple for online marketing.

After its 2005 launch, YouTube was the dominant video platform until TikTok’s meteoric rise in US popularity from 2018 to the present. Initially popular with mostly young viewers watching videos for entertainment, TikTok’s bite-sized videos offer an increasingly viable option for B2B marketing.

For example, after almost changing careers due to a lack of business traction on LinkedIn, B2B Marketing expert Jade Tambini now leverages 30,000 followers on TikTok and a growing YouTube presence. Only after she grew and monetized her TikTok following did she re-invest time into LinkedIn.

From B2B SaaS to high ticket sales, video is the perfect format for providing richer content to keep fans engaged. Share on X

Today’s B2B buyer wants as much self-service info as possible on their customer journey with brands. From B2B SaaS to high ticket sales, video is the perfect format for providing richer content to keep fans engaged.

B2B Video Marketing

Source: Sprout Social

Regardless of the platform, the versatility and accessibility of short videos make them a powerful option in the B2B marketer’s toolkit, providing opportunities to connect with audiences that increasingly prefer video.

How can your business tap into B2B video? Check out our tips and best practices in this post.

Planning B2B Short Video Campaigns  

Before you press Record, the first step is establishing clear, measurable video marketing campaign objectives. These goals include increasing brand awareness, generating leads, or boosting engagement. By setting specific targets, you can focus your efforts and measure the success of your video content more effectively.

Compelling videos share a few common traits. Let’s explore this a little further. 

Choose one key point: Simplicity is vital in short-form video content. Focusing on one core message per video is essential to avoid overwhelming your audience. This singular focus ensures that your message is clear, concise, and memorable, making it more likely for viewers to take the desired action.

Importance of the Hook: The opening seconds of your video are crucial. Captivating your audience right from the start is necessary to keep them engaged. The hook should be intriguing, relatable, and relevant to your audience, enticing them to watch the entire video.

What is the One Thing? Narrow down your key point even further – What is the one takeaway you want your audience to remember? Mention it early in the video and right before your CTA at the end. 

Always use captions: Most people watch videos with the sound off. Be sure to use captions for accessibility and a better user experience. 

Know Your Audience

Understanding your audience is crucial in creating impactful video content. Before you start brainstorming videos, check in with your marketing basics.

Buyer Personas for B2B videos

Now is the time to lean on your Buyer Persona. Relying on your buyer persona information helps you develop a personalized approach that ensures higher engagement and a deeper connection with your messaging. Here are three ways to leverage Buyer Personas for impactful B2B video content:

Addressing Specific Pain Points and Interests: Craft your video content to address your personas’ specific challenges or interests. For example, if your persona is a marketing executive concerned about ROI, create content demonstrating how your product or service can enhance marketing efficiency and profitability.

Using Appropriate Tone and Style: Align the tone, style, and language of your videos with the preferences of your personas. A more formal tone may suit C-level executives, while a casual and energetic style might appeal to creative professionals. 

Choosing Relevant Topics: Select topics for your videos that are relevant to your buyer personas’ industry and professional interests. For instance, IT professionals may appreciate videos on the latest tech trends or cybersecurity tips. 

Tailor B2B video content to the B2B funnel stage

Each stage of the buyer’s journey requires a different approach. You can customize short videos to address these various stages, from raising awareness to nurturing leads and closing sales. Here are some examples:

Awareness Stage

Educational videos, explainer videos, and brand videos

Interest Stage

Webinars, how-to videos, and product demos

Consideration Stage

Testimonials and case studies, detailed product demos, and comparison videos

Decision Stage

FAQ Videos, customized product demos, and consultation offers.

Retention Stage

Training and tutorial Videos, customer success stories, updates, and new features videos. 

Advocacy Stage

User-generated content (UGC), community-building videos, and referral program explainers

Videos that meet the needs and objectives of the respective stage in the sales funnel establish trust and help keep potential customers moving through your funnel. 

What Platform is the Best for B2B Videos – TikTok or YouTube?

When it comes to choosing the right platform for your short video content, there are several considerations. Both platforms offer unique advantages and cater to different audience behaviors and expectations. 

Here’s some info to consider to determine which platform aligns best with your B2B marketing goals:

TikTok: Known for its virality and creative content, TikTok is ideal for reaching a younger demographic. The platform’s algorithm is excellent for discoverability, making it easier for new audiences to find your content.

YouTube Shorts: As an extension of YouTube, Shorts allows you to leverage the platform’s vast audience. It’s well-suited for longer-form content edited to shorter clips. YouTube’s detailed analytics can be invaluable for understanding audience engagement and refining your strategy.

Audience Demographics: Evaluate where your target audience spends their time. If your buyer personas skew younger or are more engaged with trendy, fast-paced content, TikTok might be the better choice, although, as we’ve seen with Jade’s example, TikTok can also work to reach the Millennial B2B audience. For a more diverse age range and a preference for informative, detailed content, consider YouTube Shorts.

Integration with Existing Marketing Channels: YouTube’s strength lies in its seamless integration with Google’s ecosystem, offering advantages in SEO and content discoverability. TikTok is growing fast and offers unique social sharing and engagement opportunities. If Facebook is critical to your brand, then Instagram reels can have a ripple effect on your Meta outreach strategy. 

Choosing between TikTok and YouTube for your short video B2B marketing efforts hinges on understanding your audience, content style, and marketing goals. By aligning your platform choice with these factors, you can create more effective and engaging video content that resonates with your target audience.

Maximizing LinkedIn for B2B Short Video Marketing

LinkedIn holds a unique position for B2B video marketing, and it’s not entirely positive. LinkedIn’s process for uploading videos is not seamless, and they gatekeep who can go live on the platform.

The good news is that a LinkedIn video can be valuable for targeted outreach if you put in some extra effort. LinkedIn videos get 3x more engagement than text posts. Members also reshare B2B short videos more than other types of content. 

Use LinkedIn’s networking capabilities to amplify your video content. Engage with comments, share your videos in relevant groups, and tag industry influencers or partners to expand your reach. 

Ideas for video content on LinkedIn include industry trends, thought leadership, case studies, webinars, and how-to guides. Be sure to keep them concise and informative. Well-done videos have a higher value than most written content, so sharing a video as part of a LinkedIn messaging outreach can also be an effective tactic.

Moving Ahead with B2B Short Video

Video for B2B marketing is a valuable tool, but it takes extra work. Creating the content is only half the story. Planning, testing, integrating analytics, and tracking the results of your video marketing efforts can be complex and time-consuming. These steps are critical in understanding your campaigns’ effectiveness and making data-driven decisions for future strategies.

FunnelEnvy has helped many clients across diverse sectors better understand the impact of their video content. If you’re interested in discovering how our services can align with your needs and to get more information on our pricing, we invite you to fill out a brief questionnaire. Click here to get started and see if we’re the right fit for your needs.

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By |2025-05-12T04:37:10-07:00December 11th, 2023|Full-Funnel Optimization|0 Comments
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Two Keys to Unlock B2B Landing Page Performance – Customer Journey and Intent

Who hasn’t had the experience of being chased out of a showroom by a pushy salesperson? Those experiences are tiresome because they don’t respect where we are in our customer journey. 

We see this mirrored in B2B landing page performance with annoying popups and premature calls to action (CTAs) that don’t offer prospects what they need when we need it. 

For digital marketing, integrating customer journey and intent into landing page design is essential for its success. You can reverse engineer a path to higher engagement and conversion rates by mapping out the customer journey and intent across all stages.

What Is Intent in the B2B Customer Journey?

The customer journey is like a timeline of their experience with your brand, from initial awareness to the final decision to purchase. At each journey stage, prospects have a specific intent for their goals. 

Intent refers to what the customer wants to achieve at each journey stage – and this also speaks to their underlying motivation. 

Remember that customer intent is almost always very different based on price. For example, in high ticket sales, customers rarely intend to purchase the first time they engage with a brand. 

Prospects may value their time more than shopping around for small, low-risk purchases. In this instance, the landing page may look like a traditional sales page, hosting the entire funnel content from awareness to consideration to a “buy now” button. 

Understanding intent can help businesses create targeted, intentional marketing strategies that align with the customer’s journey phase. This awareness is essential to creating an excellent customer experience. From the customer’s perspective, the wrong offers at the wrong time are confusing or irrelevant at best and annoying at worst.

Why B2B Landing Page Performance is More Important Than Ever

Recent research shows that most post-pandemic B2B buyers prefer a self-service customer journey over “booking a call” to speak to a salesperson or company representative. 

Gartner predicts that by 2025, 80% of B2B sales interactions will occur in digital channels, making landing pages more crucial to lead gen and conversion than ever. 

It’s also excellent news for companies that fully embrace digital marketing. Landing pages allow for a precision-tailored approach to marketing. Optimizing landing pages can result in more effective lead generation, higher conversion rates, and better customer retention.

Successful conversion rates for landing page forms vary across industries but tend to hover around 2 to 3%.

B2B Landing Page Performance with Customer Journey and Intent

Source: Ruler Analytics

When you consider landing page content for each stage of the journey, a good starting place is to ask what kinds of questions your prospects have at each phase.  That question can help you tailor content that anticipates their needs.

Optimizing CTAs for B2B Landing Page Performance

What makes a landing page a landing page? It’s the Call to Action (CTA). The most important predictor of landing page success is how well the content and the CTA align with the customer journey. 

For example, a prospect at the awareness stage of a high-ticket purchase will likely not click “buy now” but may respond to a CTA for an educational webinar. A typical conversion CTA is a free trial requiring credit card information with lower-cost products and services.

Now, let’s look at some landing page tips for each step of the customer journey. 

B2B Landing Page Tips for the Customer Journey Awareness Phase

In the awareness stage, the customer is just getting to know the brand. Common questions include “What solutions or options can address my business problem? Who provides these solutions?”

Their intent likely includes narrowing their options. Here are some key considerations to increase B2B landing page performance in this phase:

  • Content: Landing page content at the awareness stage should seek to move prospects further into the consideration funnel. For lower-cost purchases with minimal risk, like a SaaS subscription, the funnel is relatively short, so the landing page includes consideration information and a “sign up now” button.  

For higher ticket items, you can use “top of funnel” (TOFU) content like blog posts, whitepapers, and industry reports to cover the most common questions and challenges your prospects face to drive organic traffic to your landing page. 

  • SEO Optimization: Conduct keyword research to understand what your target audience is searching for and optimize your landing page content to increase visibility in search engine results.
  • Retargeting: Only some visitors will convert on the first visit. Showing targeted ads to visitors who didn’t initially convert keeps your brand top-of-mind and provides multiple touchpoints along the customer journey. With dynamic retargeting, these ads can showcase products or services they viewed, reminding them of their interest and your value proposition.

B2B Landing Page Tips for the Customer Journey Consideration Phase

In the consideration stage, you now have something precious and rare – your prospect’s attention. Gary Vaynerchuk goes so far as to say that attention is the number one asset in the business world today.

In this stage, simply providing more information about your product is not enough to engage and nurture leads. The CX during this phase builds trust. Trust is essential because people rarely buy from companies they don’t trust.

So, how do you keep the audience’s attention and build trust with B2B prospects? Here are some ideas.

  • Personalized messaging and experiences. Consumers now expect personalized experiences across all their customer journeys. Let your prospects know you understand where they are in their customer journey by providing appropriate content. For example, 

consumers looking for in-depth information will be annoyed by constant “buy now” pop-ups or repeated offers for the same lead magnet they just downloaded.

  • Personalize the viewer experience. Implement dynamic content on your landing pages, meaning integrate that content changes based on visitor demographics, industry, or behavior on your site. 
  • AI for landing pages. As you might expect, AI tools are taking landing page personalization options to the next level. At Funnel Envy, we leverage AI and manage the added complexity of multiple landing pages to help our clients optimize results.  
  • Lead magnets. Customer preference for self-service info is good news for lead magnets if done correctly. Instead of making “book a call today” the only option for moving ahead, offer valuable resources like webinars or downloads appropriate for the consideration phase in exchange for contact information. 

B2B Landing Page Tips for the Customer Journey Conversion Phase

By this time, your prospect has gotten to know and trust you. Landing pages for sales are both an art and a science. Here are some tips:

  • Testimonials and Case Studies: Provide social proof through testimonials, reviews, and case studies. Real-world success stories can significantly influence decision-making.
  • Live Demos or Consultations: Now is the time for in-person contact for high-ticket items. Offer live demonstrations or free consultations to prospects who have shown a high level of engagement. This direct interaction can be the final nudge they need to convert.

AI for Continuous B2B Landing Page Improvement 

Continuous improvement in B2B landing page performance is a crucial goal. With AI, A/B testing is evolving rapidly. AI can now manage dozens of split tests of landing page elements, such as headlines, images, and CTAs, and even automate optimization based on the results. 

This development has significant implications for improving lead gen because studies show that the more landing pages companies run, the better. The study revealed that 31 to 40 landing pages generate five times more leads than 1 to 5 landing pages, and over 40 pages generate 12x the leads. 

Moving Ahead

Optimizing even five to ten landing pages can be a lot to manage in-house. From testing to reporting, Funnel Envy can help you with the complexity of scaling your landing page strategy. We specialize in optimizing B2B landing pages to drive conversion and boost sales.

We understand the complexities and have the tools and expertise to help you take your landing page performance to the next level. Reach out today to get started.

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By |2025-05-12T04:37:10-07:00November 27th, 2023|Full-Funnel Optimization|0 Comments
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Top 3 Demand Gen Strategies of 2023 and Beyond

In the fast-moving landscape of B2B marketing, demand generation isn’t just a buzzword; it’s the backbone of success. You may have the best product or service in the marketplace, but growth will be challenging if your target audience doesn’t know about you. 

This gap is where the power of demand generation comes into play; the art and science of creating awareness, interest, and desire among your potential customers. This blog post will review three tried and true strategies to improve your demand generation.

As a backdrop, let’s review the difference between lead and demand generation. They sound similar, but they are very different.

Remember, demand generation is for the top of your funnel, where people notice and interact with your content. Share on X

Remember, demand generation is for the top of your funnel, where people notice and interact with your content.  This chart from Gartner will help you clarify and create content for your demand gen phase.

Top 3 Demand Gen Strategies of 2023

The information in the chart speaks to implementation. Let’s look at the strategies to boost your demand gen efforts. 

Clarify Your Unique Selling Point (USP)

Before diving headfirst into demand generation, it’s crucial to answer one fundamental question: What sets your business apart? Your Unique Selling Point (USP) is your competitive edge, differentiating you from the competition. It should be something that you could sum up in a short statement. 

Your USP isn’t always the same as a company slogan or tagline, although it could be. For example: 

“Fast, efficient deliveries” is not unique to one company.  That is a tagline. 

“Overnight or it’s free” – that’s a USP.  

To pinpoint your USP, look for a corner of the market where you can establish dominance. Take a fresh look at your industry to uncover gaps, unmet audience needs, or underserved niches. 

Study what your competitors offer, not to copy them but to identify the untapped potential your business can uniquely fulfill. The book Blue Ocean Strategy is one resource to help you think outside the box and craft a strong USP. 

The authors include many examples of how some companies have created new markets with few or no competitors. One technique is to reconstruct an existing market’s boundaries. 

With an emphasis on carving out unique market space, Blue Ocean Strategy is a toolkit for taking advantage of untapped market space in almost any industry, including tech, healthcare, and manufacturing.

Create a Targeted Social Media Plan

Social media can be a potent tool for B2B demand generation. However, social media creation and distribution are resource-intensive and time-consuming. It’s essential to have a content strategy in place before you begin ramping up your socials.

Tailor your tactics to match your goals. An organic growth strategy is the long game of consistently posting free content and sharing or commenting on others’ posts. Paid strategies are usually part of a strategic funnel, with content focused around a specific outcome, like driving traffic to a landing page or freebie.

Once you have your content strategy in place, here are some tips.

Tip 1 – Repurpose Your Blog. 

To increase efficiency, use your blog as the foundation of your content. Doing this makes it easy to repurpose snippets from blog posts for social. 

Tip 2: Create a Social Metrics Dashboard

Be sure you have a dashboard for capturing metrics on your posts to help you avoid the trap of posting just to put some content out there, aka “spray and pray.”

Tip 3: Be Choosy About Platforms.

Remember, you don’t have to be on every social platform.

To decide where to post, check out where your prospects are spending time on social. For most B2B companies, LinkedIn is the obvious choice. X (as in ex-Twitter) is also a popular B2B and B2C channel.  X has an informal chat format with more flexibility than Linkedin for interacting with people.

Tip 4: Consider TikTok

Finally, don’t discount TikTok as a source of leads. Successful B2B marketer Jade Tambini says most of her leads come from TikTok.

Top 3 Demand Gen Strategies of 2023

Source: DataAI via HootSuite

TikTok is the current growth metrics winner for both B2B and B2C. In 2022, people averaged more time spent per month on TikTok than every other platform except YouTube.

Tip 5: Link to Your Website Early and Often.

While not every social post has to include a link back to your site, the overall goal of social media should be to drive traffic to your website. That’s because when prospects visit the website, you can track their progress through the conversion funnel. 

Incorporate Data into Decision-Making

The best part of marketing today is the data it provides versus the pre-internet era. Data is the compass that helps cut through insider bias and assumptions that may or may not be on track. 

An important step to remember is to ensure you have a good sample size before drawing significant conclusions. Small sample sizes can lead to skewed insights and misguided decisions. 

Also, remember that not all metrics are critical. Ensure your dashboard tracks the correct numbers, not just vanity metrics. If you need clarification about what to track and why, Funnel Envy can help. 

Moving Ahead

Demand generation is like the broader net for your lead generation that can also be an accelerator for your lead gen efforts. Improving demand gen can create a ripple effect that enhances results through the rest of your funnel and organization. The flip side is also true. A weak demand generation strategy wastes resources and undermines sales from the top to the bottom of the funnel.

Interested in learning more about leveraging demand gen and getting expert help optimizing your results? Our team at FunnelEnvy is ready to help. We’ve got many years of combined experience with funnel optimization, CRO, and other vital elements of demand gen across several industries, from tech to healthcare to manufacturing.

To learn more about working with us and see if we’re a good fit, fill out this short quiz.

By |2025-05-12T04:37:08-07:00September 4th, 2023|Full-Funnel Optimization|0 Comments
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