• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, July 17, 2023

B2B marketing teams are faced with the task of moving leads through the funnel. But it need not be a burden, judging by “How to generate more top-of-funnel leads in B2B SaaS: Three go-to-market leaders weigh in,” a report by Bessemer Venture Partners.  

For example, the team at Capmo recognizes that there are three dimensions to creating content that drives leads:

• Relevancy (Is the content right for the audience?) 
• Value (Is the content bringing value to the audience?) 
• Clarity (Are we using the right vocabulary and style that will resonate with the audience?) 

“On clarity -- there's a concept I really like -- language market fit,” says Norm Rohr, vice president of marketing at Capmo. “Similar to product market fit, you need to understand how your buyers are talking.”

The problem is that too much content is surface-level.  “If I’m not learning anything new, how do I expect my buyer to actually find value in it and want to read it?,” Rohr says. “Content is there to catch traffic."

Data helps. “What proprietary data can you bring to the table that enables you to tell a really strong data-driven story?,” Rohr asks.

The culture at security automation firm Torq seems to focus on the idea that readers must be entertained. 

“All marketing is helping customers understand they have a problem — and that your solution helps them solve that problem,” says Don Jeter, CMO of Torq. “The question is, how do we tell that story in an interesting way that starts with the customer’s challenge first, not us?” 

Jeter adds: “In B2B, we’ve historically been so boring. I look at myself and think, would I really open this email? Would I click on this?” 

Torq drove engagement with a campaign targeting its competitor, Splunk with a campaign called “Clunk” that used Splunk’s logo with the first few letters modified.  

Then there is Bessemer itself.  “At the beginning of the customer journey, it's about uncovering the things that buyers are talking about already and figuring out how we insert ourselves into their conversations,” says Kim Caldbeck, operating advisor for Bessemer. “Whereas as you move through the funnel, then it becomes much more about helping them understand why we're the right partner for them.”

Caldbeck adds: “I always ask the question, are there any platform or network effects we can exploit?” These might include include a freemium model, a product-led growth model or consumer-to-enterprise dynamics.

“Not all business models are going to have this opportunity to leverage unique sales wedges or network effects,” Caldbeck say. “However, every product should have some feature built in to draw people in at a larger scale.”

The full article can be accessed here.