Master the Funnel: Turn Awareness into Conversion
How to Create Awareness and Move Customers Down the Funnel?
In a world where the average person sees 4,000 to 10,000 ads per day, simply existing isn’t enough. You brand needs to be remembered, trusted, and chosen. For B2B and B2B2C companies, the journey from “who are you?” to “the marriage day” is long and not evident.
Why? Customers are inundated with options, great products and companies that promises a long term commitment, so their attention spans are shorter than before.
The key? A strategic and consistent approach that educates, engages, and empowers your audience at EVERY stage.
This article breaks down actionable strategies to build awareness and guide customers through the funnel, from first impression to conversion. Let´s begin!
1. Come back to the basics! —> Know Your Audience
As Seth Godin quoted, “If you’re talking to everyone, you’re talking to no one.”
This step is sometimes undervalued. B2B and B2B2C companies think that they know the target audience by analyzing a target profile, the issue sometimes is that the decision making process has different profiles and the message is not targeted or sometimes SO generic, so, before you create a single piece of content or launch a campaign, you need to create an analytical engine of who is inside every step, map the journey of every particular scenario, don´t make assumptions, things are changing fast and people is getting more flexible and changing ideas faster
Actionable tips
Build buyer personas journey for each decision-maker: Think that we all have priorities, so understand the individual concerns and hesitations that every decision-maker may have and tailor the messaging accordingly.
Take the time to define your ideal customer profile (ICP): What are their pain points in different aspects, financial, professional, and how the solution you offer solve, or is in competition with what they already have? What solutions are they already using?
Try this:
Map the buyer’s journey: How does it look, awareness, Interest, consideration, decision, is it smooth for the prospect? who is involved? Each stage requires different content and messaging; remember, clarity at EVERY step is key
Don't stop with the decision phase: Keep understanding your customers, after the conversion, analyze ways to retain them. Your customers are the best source of information
Leverage data: Use analytics, CRM insights, and customer feedback to continue understanding patterns
2. stop singing your own praises
Throughout my career across various companies and consulting customers, I’ve consistently advocated for a simple principle: stop singing your own praises. Instead of filling your marketing with self-congratulatory claims about your company or product, let the external experts or customers do the talking. There’s nothing more credible than being recognized by industry analysts, or earning a spot in their frameworks, or even better, being a customer advocate for you. Let awards, third-party reviews, and external validation speak for you. But if you’re just starting to build awareness, the best place to begin is with relevant, purpose-driven content, delivered in multiple formats. Whether it’s a blog post, video, or whitepaper, your content must do one of three things: answer a question, reveal an insight, or offer a bold opinion. Above all, it needs a clear purpose
Actionable tips
Thought Leadership
Publish insightful reports, whitepapers, and case studies. Show, don’t just tell, how your solution solves real problems.
Leverage LinkedIn and industry publications. Share research or start commenting on trends in the industry to position your brand as a trusted voice.
Interactive and Visual Content
Webinars, podcasts: dedicate time to build trust and foster engagement. Be consistent and creative, try new things, and invite experts to collaborate on your content
Infographics, videos, and interactive tools don't assume everyone understands the product. Make complex tech concepts digestible. Use AI to leverage creative content
Answer questions. Create content that addresses common pain points and questions in your niche
Don´t forget about existing customers
Creating user clubs with existing customers, can help communicate your prospects that you care about them after the signature of the contract. Try to think of ways to keep customers engaged and provide dedicated content for them. Take time to develop the idea of an affiliate and referral program; it can also turn satisfied customers into brand advocates.
3. Distribution —> Get Your Message in Front of the Right Eyes
Creating great content is only half the battle. Building awareness for B2B and B2B2C companies requires a multifaceted approach that balances paid and organic strategies. Paid Advertising can be a powerful tool when used effectively, but it’s important to carefully target your audience by job title, industry, company size, and relevant keywords. Video ads tend to capture more attention, so consider incorporating engaging content while keeping it concise.
On the Organic and Social front, optimizing your content for long-tail keywords through SEO will help answer customer questions and boost organic reach. Additionally, partnerships and co-marketing campaigns offer another avenue for awareness by collaborating with complementary companies on co-created content or joint events.
4. Nurture Leads with Personalization
People do not buy only products and services. They buy relations, stories, experiences and emotions your brand can transmit
Awareness doesn’t end at the first touchpoint. Find ways to nurture leads, use marketing automation to underestand segments
Underestand the power of account-based marketing (ABM): Personalize outreach for high-value accounts and personalize as muchs as possible every segment
Use momentum: Deliver the right message at the right time to the right segment of prospects/customers (e.g., a case study after a webinar)
Measure and optimize: Track key metrics that help you underestand how the segments are engaging and help you underestand funnel effectiveness
5. Align Sales and Marketing
From personal experience this combo complements each other, so make sure marketing is aligned with sales objectives
Have a clear vision of shared goals: Agree on what a “qualified lead” looks like, how marketing activities can support pipeline growth and make a disctinction with brand awareness
Keep clear feedback loop: Build strong communication bridge where sales inform marketing about common objections, customer feedback and impact on qualified leds conversion
Use tools to communicate: Use tools to track the customer journey
Check how to move the funnel: Find ways for markeing and sales together evaluate how prospects can move from one stage to the next one
Conclusions
Creating awareness isn’t just about visibility, it’s about educating your audience and building trust. Share valuable insights, address pain points, and position your brand as a leader.
Turning prospects into leads requires building relationships. Understand their needs, engage at the right moment, and deliver the right message
Success comes from mapping every stage of the funnel
Test, measure, and refine your approach. By analyzing performance and adapting strategies, you’ll keep your funnel flowing from awareness to conversion
And for you, what’s your biggest challenge in creating awareness and moving prospects/customers down the funnel?
