As fearless navigators in the vast ocean of the B2B SaaS market, we understand that optimizing the MQL and SQL funnel is the essential compass to steer companies toward new horizons of growth. As a paid media specialist, I’ve witnessed firsthand that qualifying the MQL to SQL funnel is crucial for driving the healthy growth of businesses.
However, it is no easy task, especially considering that in many companies, the primary channel for acquiring MQLs and consequently SQLs is the paid channel. Therefore, we are aware of the responsibility and pressure we face each month to achieve the business’s set objectives.
Additionally, we recognize that for everything to work seamlessly, it does not solely depend on paid actions. We depend, for example, on the design team to produce compelling assets for use in advertisements, effective landing pages that can convey the ideal message, and a sharp and prepared sales team to convert MQLs to SQLs and consequently into New Business.
It is also important to have everything aligned with the Product team to better understand the key features used by customers and how the performance team can leverage this information when creating campaigns.
Here, we will explore effective strategies aligned with the specific nature of the B2B SaaS market so that, in the end, the company can enhance and improve its MQL and SQL funnel.
WHAT IS MQL AND SQL?
Suppose you’re not very familiar with these acronyms and have never worked in a company where the business model is essentially converting leads into MQLs. In that case, SQLs, and subsequently into new businesses, know that these indicators that transform casual visitors into potential protagonists of a conversion journey are the heart of a B2B company.
MQL, as the name suggests, stands for Marketing Qualified Lead. In other words, it is a lead that the marketing team considers qualified, having answered some questions in the conversion form that align with what the company has to offer. This makes it easier for this lead to advance in the funnel until it becomes a customer of the business.
In other words, an MQL is a lead who, through online interactions, has shown an initial level of interest in your products or services. These interactions can include website visits, resource downloads, social media interactions, and, as I mentioned, answering some key questions in your conversion form.
On the other hand, SQL, or Sales Qualified Lead, is the natural evolution of MQL. This lead, qualified by Marketing to move to the Sales team, has reached a more advanced stage in the customer journey. They have not only shown interest but also have clear indicators that they are ready to advance to the sales stages. These indicators may include requesting a product demonstration, filling out specific forms, signing up for a trial, or taking direct actions that indicate an intention to purchase.
And how can the Performance and Paid Media team not only assist the Marketing and the Sales team but the entire company in enhancing the volume and quality of this MQLs and SQLs funnel?
1) Analyze what you already have
Let’s start with the “basics” of a marketer’s day-to-day activities.
The first thing to do is gather all the information your company already has to analyze each stage of the customer journey in detail.
This includes website visits, key landing pages, time spent on the page, details of the segmentation accessing the pages, lead flow and navigation on the site, forms, thank you pages, and so on.
Moreover, armed with this information, you can delve deep into your campaigns. Key campaigns, conversion rates, costs per conversion, per click, per impression, per reach, best creatives, highest ROAS, and so forth.
Another aspect I greatly appreciate is pulling information from the Product and Customer Success teams.
The product team can provide detailed insights into the product’s main features, what the current customer uses and looks for within the product, what is user-friendly, what the competitor offers differently, and what sets your product apart from the rest of the market. Is it the features? The pricing and plans? The ease of use? Personalized service? What is the main differentiator of your product?
With the CS team, you get “similar” information, but directly from the customer’s perspective, as the CS team that interacts with the customer can accurately tell you about the main pains and solutions that the product currently delivers.
In other words, before anything else, know how to accumulate information in a meaningful way. With this, you’ll have a macro view of the entire business, not just the technical perspective of your campaigns.
Engage with different departments, ask (if possible) the BI or BA team to create dashboards that will facilitate your understanding of the business, take notes, and get ready to execute with mastery.
2) Understand how to improve your campaign flow
Having gathered the information, let’s dive into what you are most experienced in, which, in this case, is paid media.
It is, therefore, your responsibility to understand where the gap lies between your campaigns and other departments within the company.
Start by analyzing the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) of the business. Are you creating, engaging, and bringing the right audience to your pages?
Is the campaign segmentation aligned with the business target?
This target audience undoubtedly has a way of speaking, behaving, and even interacting on the internet. Therefore, it is not effective to create one campaign for multiple segments, and one landing page for various audiences.
It won’t work; your campaign will be extremely generic, and consequently, the quality of your lead will be minimal.
Keep in mind that your advertising campaign must be aligned from start to finish. What does this alignment entail?
- Target audience/Segmentation
- Ads
- Copy
- Images and Videos
- Proposed offer
- Call to Action (CTA)
- Landing Page
- Messaging
- Conversion form
- Email sequence after form submission
I’ve seen many campaigns completely misaligned with the ultimate goal. For example, the campaign’s target audience was looking to address a very specific pain point. However, the ad copy focused on other product features, not the one specified by that target audience. To make matters worse, the landing page emphasized OTHER features and more general pain points but didn’t address the specific pain point of the campaign’s audience. In other words, everything was too generic and too open to everyone. And our goal as media specialists is to deliver everything “personalized” for each audience, to increase the chance of the lead converting without second thoughts.
In the end, be as specific as possible, even if you have to have more ad groups running in the campaign, more videos and images in the ads, more published landing pages, and more email sequences… it doesn’t matter. The more specific and direct your campaign is from start to finish, the greater the chances of increasing conversion volume and qualifying that lead naturally.
3) Do you know the ideal time to contact the lead?
With the thorough analysis done and the campaigns aligned and optimized, you need to understand with your Sales team what the timeframe is for them to contact the MQL and qualify them into an SQL.
What is the time frame for the team to get in touch with the MQL? And what is the average time that converts the most?
It could be on the same day, for example, if the MQL requested a product demo. Or it could be 3 days, for instance, if the MQL came in through a trial.
This varies from business to business. But it is your role to understand and find the best way to guide the MQL so that they don’t receive millions of calls in a day or get lost in the sales team’s workload.
4) Align the sales pitch with the sales department
Have you noticed that the sales team has to be your best friend?
In a B2B company, especially in SaaS, the performance and sales departments must be fully aligned and on the same page.
Going back to the question of aligning your campaign from start to finish, it is crucial to instruct the sales team to personalize and qualify their sales pitches.
Think about this: imagine that you are talking about feature X of your product in your campaigns and offering a 7-day trial for the lead to test the platform.
However, your sales team got ahead of themselves, contacted the lead (even without them asking), and offered feature Y before the lead even had a chance to test the product as a whole.
What are the chances of this lead being interested in your business? Quite low, right?
As I mentioned earlier, your campaigns and strategy cannot be generic. The more specific your actions are, the higher the chances of conversion. Don’t be afraid to be extremely specific, even if it means “excluding” some audiences from your strategy.
In the end, this conversion will be more qualified, and consequently, your ROAS will be higher, your average ticket may increase, your CAC will be lower, and your LTV will be something to be proud of.
5) Invest in automation
Now, if you don’t want to be 100% dependent on the sales teams, I suggest that your marketing team invest in automation.
And here, I’m specifically talking about chatbots.
Yes! Chatbots everywhere. Whether in your own ads (Messenger or Direct), in your social media profile link, on your website’s homepage, in the LPs of your ads, and even within the product.
One of my cases was precisely implementing a chatbot in LPs and the product. This made it much easier for leads to “solve” their problem on their own, without having to talk to someone from the sales team.
We called this journey Self-service. In other words, we realized that many qualified leads did not advance in the funnel because they did not want contact with the sales team. Our main reason for the loss was invalid phone numbers or emails, preventing the sales team from contacting the lead, whether to help solve a doubt, demonstrate the product, or even sell.
In the end, the leads didn’t want interaction. And nowadays, we know it’s very difficult to answer a call knowing that the person on the other end will try to sell you something.
Therefore, we placed chatbots in key areas of our business and let the lead decide the right time to buy the product. All on their own, without having to talk to anyone, without having to write anything. Just by clicking on the chat options and choosing the plan they wanted at a price that made sense to the lead.
And guess what? We managed to reduce the volume of losses, and consequently, we saw our Self-service journey become one of the company’s main initiatives.
The moral of the story: don’t force a sale, don’t be intrusive, and don’t be generic. Be specific at the right time and give the lead the option to contact you or decide on their own what makes the most sense for them.
6) Email sequence with rich content and materials
And after filling out the form on your LP? Does your lead receive a good sequence of emails?
Don’t underestimate emails. At least in my experience working with B2B, email is second only to paid channels in terms of conversion.
In other words, providing your lead with rich content that adds value to their day-to-day, and for free, will contribute to your brand’s reputation, your company’s authority, and consequently, the lead’s trust in converting into a loyal customer.
Therefore, prepare a good sequence of emails after the form is filled out, including a welcome email, how the product works, its purpose, its target audience, and subsequently, good content from your company.
It can be a variety of blog posts, videos on your YouTube channel (if you have one), ebooks, video lessons, excerpts from webinars, lectures, events, masterclasses, etc.
The important thing is to deliver value to the lead. And for free. Because then, when they decide to buy the product or service they are looking for, they will remember your emails and your business. I guarantee you.
And don’t forget, to align each action with the segmentation of your campaigns. Never generic.
7) Your company needs to make an impact at events, whether in-person or digital
And speaking of authority in the market, your company needs to make its presence known at the major events in your industry.
Being a 100% digital company today is not enough. Even with a digital operation, your business needs to have a “physical” presence at events so that people can see that it is real and that your products and services exist and can help the lead.
Everyone already knows the importance of hosting webinars and masterclasses, but participating in an in-person event is even more necessary.
Whether it’s with a booth at a trade show or speaking at the largest event in your industry, be among the people. This will ensure that your business is taken more seriously, creating overwhelming brand recognition, accumulating social proof and authentic testimonials, and increasing authority in your niche. With this done, you ensure material and content for the entire year and become unforgettable for those who were participating in the in-person events.
8) Be a distinguished sponsor (influencers, channels, podcasts)
Another impactful action to take in the B2B market is sponsoring other individuals and businesses.
With your brand, you have the power to sponsor podcasts that discuss your niche, or YouTube channels that have content in your industry, or even individual influencers who have authority in the subject your business is involved in.
Don’t spare effort when sponsoring influencers and content. This way, you ensure that your company will be present in more places, impact audiences from other businesses, and deliver value to people who were not familiar with your business.
Not to mention that when a person or business that already has authority in the subject recommends a product or service, people buy without fear. After all, they already follow the content of this influencer and, therefore, trust them a lot. And if they are recommending something, it’s because it’s real and of quality. In other words, it is a quicker and more qualified conversion.
9) Test without fear
Finally, what everyone should do until finding the optimal point for actions is to test. And test without fear!
Do not be afraid to change the communication of your campaigns, to test new LPs or messages on the site, to change images and videos of your ads, offers, CTAs, segmentations, and so on.
Remember, never be generic. Know how to differentiate generic actions from precise tests. And test without being afraid of burning money or wasting time. Only then will you know precisely what works and what doesn’t work for your business!
Conclusion
Every paid media strategy serves as a guiding compass, leading us through complexity toward the realization of qualified leads. In this digital universe, the effectiveness of the MQL and SQL funnel is not just an achievement but the promise of a bright and sustainable future for B2B SaaS companies that dare to explore and implement innovative strategies.
Enhancing the MQL and SQL funnel demands specific and personalized strategies. By adopting approaches such as precise segmentation, educational content, and strategic collaborations, you not only attract qualified leads but also build strong relationships that result in significant conversions. By implementing these strategies, your B2B company will be on the right path to maximize the value of each lead and drive success in the competitive digital landscape.
Now, tell me, what do you like to do to enhance your MQL and SQL funnel?
Feel free to provide feedback and share ideas about the content I write here.
Don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter here on Medium to receive exclusive content on performance, paid media, productivity, creativity, marketing as a whole, and some geeky stuff.
Thank you for reading this far. Until next time!
