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<title>Brand to Demand: Bridge the Divide from Awareness to Revenue</title>
<link>https://ciente.io/blogs/brand-to-demand/</link>
<comments>https://ciente.io/blogs/brand-to-demand/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Ciente Editorial Team]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 27 Jun 2025 15:38:59 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Blogs]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[B2B marketing]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Brand marketing]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Demand Generation]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Marketing]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://ciente.io/?p=39455</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Brand and demand now move in feedback loops, not parallel lines. What framework can turn buyer curiosity into momentum before it vanishes? Beyond the generic level funnel chatter lies a severe problem: Businesses continue to attempt to “create” demand through forceful, repetitive, and disconnected messaging. But the modern buyer has one foot out the door, … <a href="https://ciente.io/blogs/brand-to-demand/" class="more-link">Read More "Brand to Demand: Bridge the Divide from Awareness to Revenue"</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
Brand and demand now move in feedback loops, not parallel lines. What framework can turn buyer curiosity into momentum before it vanishes?
</blockquote>
Beyond the generic level funnel chatter lies a severe problem: Businesses continue to attempt to “create” demand through forceful, repetitive, and disconnected messaging.
But the modern buyer has one foot out the door, even when they seem engaged. They don’t wait for you – they self-educate, define problems on their terms, and inform a consensus before your SDRs enter the picture.
The buyer journey isn’t linear anymore – while most marketers relish saying it, few build their strategies that way. So, most modern models continue to assume a linear progression.
But in reality, customers don’t merely move through the funnel. Their motions are dependent on the need, urgency, context, and emotions.
And here’s the twist that gets rarely mentioned-
Demand isn’t created magically once the brand is built. It might as well be the very thing that builds the brand.
In short, taglines and catchy visuals don’t carve mindshare – repeated, visible, and felt value does.
Think of Figma. How did they build all of their brand muscle? It wasn’t mere storytelling. But product gravity. Users were pulled in because the solutions worked, not because of Figma’s market positioning.
And this pull, the ongoing demand, fueled the brand.
Brand and demand aren’t consecutive train cars. They are in a loop, constantly in feedback with each other.
As demand scales, the brand evolves. Brand shapes perception, and your demand validates it.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a>Why is Brand to Demand Crucial for Businesses?</a></h2>
It’s simple.
When you get the system right, you stop chasing customers.
You meet them right in the middle, at the required moment. And most often, they come searching for you. Your brand sends the signal of your credibility, and your demand engine backs it.
Straightforward? Yes, in theory. But in the practical world, multiple challenges reside.
The internal rigid structures, such as TOFU, MOFU, and BOFU, offer clarity but also distract you from what the customers truly care about.
<a href="https://ciente.io/blogs/5-b2b-sales-strategies-to-close-more-deals-this-year/" data-type="link" data-id="https://ciente.io/blogs/5-b2b-sales-strategies-to-close-more-deals-this-year/">B2B sales cycles</a> are long and exhaustive. And these traditional frameworks limit your capability to connect with customers. This is why customers research and make decisions before jumping in with vendors today.
But even though they need the solutions, they might ghost you. Urgency changes every tidbit here. And then buy months later due to a podcast or a social media post.
Similarly, your customers aren’t reading your whitepapers to the nub or going through every nook of your website. They are skimming and multitasking. And if they hold executive positions, they are just checking you out between meetings.
You barely get seconds to deliver an elevator pitch and make an impression.
It’s the micro-moments that you should be focused on – the network your brand has built and the moments where your message packs a punch.
You can’t own the entire funnel. Across this noisy market, you get a few glances and a few seconds.
This is what you’ve to build for – the micro-moments. Whether it’s a tweet that lands or a punchy headline, demand can originate from any touchpoint. It’s the impression and velocity that take precedence.
How long does it take for a prospect to remember and act?
A well-designed campaign that doesn’t prioritize staying top-of-mind or focuses on micro-moments will not crack your case.
After all, a brand isn’t just about building awareness, and neither is demand converting interest. They cannot remain siloed in your <a href="https://cientemartech.io/" data-type="link" data-id="https://cientemartech.io/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">marketing campaigns</a>. These forces fuel each other.
Let’s outline this theoretical framework into a strategic and practical one.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a>Brand to Demand Strategy: The Fundamental Nuggets</a></h2>
Through a traditional lens, businesses have continued to perceive demand and brand as isolated functions. They are unaware that these are fundamental facets of a single story.
Here, a comprehensive insight into what brand and demand are is imperative. And this transcends the simple definitions often hurled.
There must be a perspective shift.
<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a>1. Engineer perception.</a></h3>
A brand isn’t about making things aesthetically pleasing or entertaining storytelling. Through your brand, you are engineering a potential customer’s perception. Amidst the market noise, you are curating how these customers assign you trust and value.
This doesn’t come from your logo or tagline. They are the crucial tangible features.
But the intangible is what carries real weight in the long term. It’s built into how consistently you deliver on your promises, how confident your SDRs are, and the cohesiveness in your messaging.
Your brand is built into hundreds of cues, whether subtle or discernible.
Engineering perception is what shifts sales correspondence from feeling like a push to guidance. And takes your pricing from expensive to premium.
Of course, stronger brands, such as Nike or Apple, can do this through a whisper. Subliminal messages that engineer perceptions – you can trust us.
And this is why most SaaS solutions believe in this. And why PLG also leverages perception engineering; it’s the most significant moat out there, especially when buyers want subtlety and value.
<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a>2. Own demand; manufacture it.</a></h3>
You can’t think that there’s already an existing pool of customers waiting to be addressed. The only need is the right time and the right message.
But category leaders do it differently; they manufacture it.
For this, they leverage perception engineering. Here, the marketing teams reframe the language and alter the point of view to instill a need where none existed.
Through this approach, you aren’t just reacting to buyer intent but shaping it. Inventing intent means revealing a problem that the market hasn’t fully articulated. You aren’t selling the solution itself but capitalizing on the discomfort of knowing there’s no other way.
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Brand To Demand Example</h4>
Think Notion.
Before they introduced a unified workplace, “One tool for your whole team,” we didn’t crave one. The fatigue of fragmented digital workspaces was suddenly vilified.
Notion made the marketplace think of something they couldn’t even comprehend before.
And now, they own the demand.
Overall, brand to demand isn’t about orchestrating a journey. At the surface level, yes. However, it’s also a system where perception and intent converge, where belief and action are engineered together.
So, it’s not about giving you a false choice – brand or demand.
But crafting a system where they create each other.
<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a>3. Bridge the gap.</a></h3>
There’s a persistent disjuncture between brand and action, belief and behavior, and awareness and conversion.
Whether it’s hesitation or unnecessary friction, the gap remains.
It’s your undertaking to provoke specific emotions in prospective customers, motivating them to take the desired action.
In the traditional model, the brand was the shell, with compelling storytelling, generic and broad campaigns, catchy headlines, and flashy videos. And the demand capture was way off – forms, CTAs, and demo requests, among others.
Not only have your marketing models, but the marketplace has also shifted – attention is scarce, and discovery is decentralized. All owing to the multiflorous digital channels. In this landscape, siloed functions can damage the ROI.
Awareness and action cannot work in isolation; one propels the other.
As soon as the brand builds belief in your solutions, demand must be one click away.
But this doesn’t mean integrating every brand interaction with sales tactics. This can damage their reputation even before they are aware of who you are. To avoid this, you must curate a crystal clear, low-friction path along each moment of attention.
For example, your podcast challenges a market view and sparks intrigue. You can add summary notes underneath the podcast and link a “Try Now” tool to address this marketing pain point.
There is no pressure to convert.
A strategic brand to demand framework makes the move from curiosity to conversion seamless. The creative asset isn’t merely meant to inform but to encourage you to act.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a>Difference Between Brand to Demand and Demand Generation</a></h2>
Brand to demand isn’t straightforward, and marketers must stop pretending it is. You aren’t just curating a funnel but developing an agile living system that adapts to the market.
But marketers are often short-sighted. They overlook the knowledge gaps, hampering the effectiveness of their strategies.
Brand to demand and demand generation aren’t nearly the same. And it’s significant to highlight this.
To explain in simple terms, if brand to demand is the entire playbook, demand generation is the second half. Demand generation is a crucial part of the brand’s demand.
But demand gen programs aren’t constrained by the intent. Marketing understands that it doesn’t merely mean generating demand or capturing existing interest – the clue’s not in the name. It is not the quick fix, as most marketing content establishes it to be.
This marketing function is meant to drive long-term engagement through demand capture, <a href="https://ciente.io/lead-generation-services/" data-type="link" data-id="https://ciente.io/lead-generation-services/">lead generation</a>, and pipeline acceleration. As <a href="https://business.adobe.com/blog/basics/what-is-demand-generation" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">Adobe</a> rightfully defines it.
In most organizations, demand generation operates within performance-centric siloes. It’s shackled to short-term pipeline goals or measured through MQLs.
<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a>Truthfully, execution is where marketers often misstep.</a></h3>
Brand to demand sees this through. It integrates demand creation and capture into the branding system. It shifts to manufacturing demand through emotional relevance and stacked memory.
This offers the potential customers much clarity and encourages them to take action. Only in conventional demand generation are these attributes either misguided or fragmented.
So, your demand generation programs can shape the market, but brand to demand ascertains that the brand is the vehicle driving your acceleration. Your brand doesn’t remain top-of-the-funnel fluff but acts as the fundamental driver of preference, consideration, and conversion.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a>Brand to Demand: Building an Effective Marketing System</a></h2>
With the brand to demand approach, you are framing a problem and owning it. You are clutching the market’s attention, transforming it from belief into action.
So, brand to demand isn’t about creating demand. It’s about developing a structural and deliberate resonance between creating and capturing intent.
Through this marketing function, you strengthen your brand’s value proposition and gain a competitive edge.
Brand to demand amalgamates brand, narrative, and intent – components that often seem fragmented. It’s not a rebuttal to traditional demand generation programs; it’s an evolution.
]]></content:encoded>
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</item>
<item>
<title>Product-led Marketing: Unlock Your Growth Potential</title>
<link>https://ciente.io/blogs/product-led-marketing/</link>
<comments>https://ciente.io/blogs/product-led-marketing/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Ciente Editorial Team]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Wed, 25 Jun 2025 17:47:30 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Blogs]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[B2B marketing]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Marketing]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[marketing technology]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://ciente.io/?p=39366</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Product-led marketing flips the growth playbook. Your product drives adoption and scale, redefining the modern business landscape. Notion struggled to convert users, barely making any impression in the market in 2015. It didn’t come as a surprise. Amidst the world of technological startups, few gain the kind of recognition Microsoft and Apple have come to … <a href="https://ciente.io/blogs/product-led-marketing/" class="more-link">Read More "Product-led Marketing: Unlock Your Growth Potential"</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
Product-led marketing flips the growth playbook. Your product drives adoption and scale, redefining the modern business landscape.
</blockquote>
Notion struggled to convert users, barely making any impression in the market in 2015.
It didn’t come as a surprise. Amidst the world of technological startups, few gain the kind of recognition Microsoft and Apple have come to afford.
But Notion’s rise to popularity is one for the books.
Beginning humbly as a single workspace for accessible and intelligent information management, the founder held a single vision: to consolidate tasks, notes, and <a href="https://ciente.io/blogs/open-source-or-proprietary-database-management-what-should-you-go-for/">databases</a> in one place.
The frustration stemmed from the fragmented state of digital tools, irrespective of their advanced functionalities.
However, like every startup, Notion faced its simmering challenges – lack of funding and shortcomings in meeting user requirements.
The company knew it had to pivot.
And by 2021, Notion had come to be valued at <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrickcai/2024/04/11/10-billion-productivity-startup-notion-wants-to-build-your-ai-everything-app/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">$10 billion</a>.
Its valuation skyrocketed, with it being used by 50% of Fortune 500 companies to refine modern workflows.
From merely a simple note-taking application, it has become a multi-functional and proactive workspace used by individuals and businesses alike – an indispensable tool to enhance productivity and optimize workflows.
All of this is due to its <a href="https://ciente.io/go-to-market-strategy-solution/">product-led marketing strategy</a>.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What Exactly is Product-Led Marketing?</h2>
In simple terms, Salesforce defines product-led marketing as:
Product-led growth is based on the concept that customers <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/blog/deliver-successful-product-launches/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">who enjoy a product</a> will become loyal users and share it with others, resulting in lower customer acquisition costs and a self-sustaining growth loop.
Product-led marketing centers your product as the narrative.
Narrative that sells on its own through the experience it affords users. Here, it’s not just about the alignment between marketing and sales, but the heart of it all lies in design and engineering.
Product-led <a href="https://cientemartech.io/" data-type="link" data-id="https://cientemartech.io/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">marketing drives innovation</a> And builds your narrative as you polish your products.
Becoming the go-to means for customer acquisition, PLG marketing has become a cornerstone for SaaS providers, with over <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/blog/what-is-product-led-growth/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">95%</a> currently leveraging this approach, from Zoom to Slack.
And ever since, PLG has been established as a treasure trove to garner above-average returns. The product is at the nexus, and your customers have power over it from the get-go.
Traditional marketing playbooks react to this delusive loss of control by engineering desire and need, such as creating FOMO, grasping attention, or converting quickly. For them, channeling buyers means using retargeting loops and aggressive lead scoring — a method that can feel overtly manipulative and cold. Our approach to <a href="https://ciente.io/lead-generation-services/" data-type="link" data-id="https://ciente.io/lead-generation-services/">lead generation</a> focuses on smart, human-centered strategies that build real trust.
But buyers aren’t giving in. They are self-educating and impulsive as ever.
So, what product-led marketing does is not promote this system. It helps marketers relinquish control, instilling mutual trust over coercion.
PLG strategies consider customers smarter than marketing gives them credit for. There’s no need to convince them; just demonstrate the value of your solutions.
So, instead of persuasive messaging, your brand must give them access – let them discover value on their own terms.
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Marketing’s Role in PLG</h3>
What’s the <a href="https://ciente.io/blogs/intent-signals-mapping-buyer-behavior-in-marketing/">role of marketing</a> here, you may ask? It’s subtle.
You have to ensure that it’s not the marketing’s capabilities that are augmented. They shouldn’t be the ones dominating the conversations with buyers.
But orchestrate an environment where buyers progress from curiosity to a decision.
Marketing must engineer a journey without it seeming too sales-y. This is the actual tightrope of PLG marketing: avoid triggering a buyer’s anti-sell defense mechanism.
Buyers can rarely be persuaded through overbearing messages. They must feel like it’s they who hold the power to take the succeeding steps.
The product is the playground, while your marketing team is the architect. PLG strategies serve as curtains for marketing’s behind-the-scenes operations, such as designing touchpoints and triggers to embed content into the product’s <a href="https://ciente.io/blogs/how-to-use-data-analytics-to-improve-customer-experience/">user experience</a>.
The traditional playbooks asserted the vendor power, but PLG dissolved it. It amplifies buyers’ autonomy and moves away from conventional power dynamics.
And businesses end up gaining more influence, not less, by letting users be in control.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How Can Product-led Marketing Help Grow Your Business?</h2>
Self-sustaining growth loop.
That’s your basic answer. We aren’t talking about virality or word-of-mouth marketing.
We are talking about changing the game through a self-reinforcing system that PLG marketing embraces.
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">1. Reduces CAC</h3>
This <a href="https://ciente.io/blogs/marketing-qualified-lead/">marketing model</a> seeks active community engagement where users contribute towards your business’s growth, retention rates, and product improvement.
All without any substantial increase in your marketing spend.
This is quite a unique way product-led marketing helps you grow. It adds instead of chipping away.
This way, it cuts down on CAC because every new user becomes your marketing channel; the more, the merrier.
<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" width="624" height="283" src="https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-20.webp" alt="image 20" class="wp-image-39379" title="image 20 Product-led Marketing: Unlock Your Growth Potential" srcset="https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-20.webp 624w, https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-20-300x136.webp 300w" sizes="(max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px" /></figure></div>
Source: <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zendesk.com%2Fblog%2Fcustomer-acquisition-cost%2F&psig=AOvVaw0GoK2aUcL5NWAQZG1yS82m&ust=1750777175587000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=2ahUKEwjEsqmu54eOAxVnbWwGHQOkOX4QjB16BAgAEAg" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Zendesk</a>
In traditional marketing, every customer is accompanied by a price tag – ads, sales commissions, and outbound efforts. But product-led marketing pivots.
Here, sharing is marketing.
It leverages the onboarding process of each user as a micro-marketing event where the product becomes the funnel and the user is the channel. And acquiring customers doesn’t incur additional costs.
Over time, this could deflate or reverse your CAC curve, especially as the business scales.
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">2. Accelerated TTV (Time-To-Value)</h3>
Product-led marketing doesn’t let <a href="https://ciente.io/blogs/marketing-automation-roi-balancing-creativity-and-efficiency-to-improve-customer-experiences/">customer experiences</a> marinate.
Traditional marketing persuades users to imagine the value of a product or service. And it has always leaned towards siloed comms, disjointed from actual customer interaction.
PLG leverages an omniscient approach, engineering the next best experiences in real-time. This marketing model helps users experience the value rather than feel it. This accelerates the path to activation.
<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img decoding="async" width="624" height="351" src="https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-21.webp" alt="image 21" class="wp-image-39380" title="image 21 Product-led Marketing: Unlock Your Growth Potential" srcset="https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-21.webp 624w, https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-21-300x169.webp 300w" sizes="(max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px" /></figure></div>
Source: <a href="https://www.command.ai/blog/what-is-time-to-value/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Command AI</a>
Active customers are the essence of business growth. When brands offer customers personalized and relevant experiences, they are rewarded with activity.
It’s a give-and-take situation. And a predictive marker of customer retention and expansion.
The underlying logic: Consistently providing resonating experiences to active customers can compel them to become natural brand advocates.
Your marketing and sales teams don’t have to rely on external onboarding teams and excruciatingly long sales cycles. Users self-dive into finding the product’s value. And they feel the victory of this discovery.
The sweet spot? Your <a href="https://ciente.io/blogs/the-expression-of-a-brands-identity-graphic-design-and-branding/">design and marketing</a> teams can reiterate this. They can leverage product science to test the flows regularly, not just a messaging function.
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">3. Elevated Customer Retention</h3>
<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img decoding="async" width="598" height="398" src="https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-22.webp" alt="image 22" class="wp-image-39381" title="image 22 Product-led Marketing: Unlock Your Growth Potential" srcset="https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-22.webp 598w, https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-22-300x200.webp 300w" sizes="(max-width: 598px) 100vw, 598px" /></figure></div>
Source: <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.hubspot.com%2Fservice%2Fcustomer-retention-strategies&psig=AOvVaw1wIY-SOew4cUovt8PEnVqc&ust=1750778930352000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=2ahUKEwjv5Ifz7YeOAxX0TGwGHbzWC0MQjB16BAgAEAg" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">HubSpot</a>
In traditional marketing funnels, any leaks can be patched up through additional top-of-the-funnel spending. But PLM doesn’t endorse this.
Because users are onboarded through the product, they only stick around and purchase if it delivers. Any inefficiencies can only lead to drop-offs, i.e., higher churn rates.
In PLG marketing, marketing gets a tighter hold on the feedback loops. If users drop off, they know where and why.
This forces a much-needed alignment between marketing, product, and business growth.
The growth isn’t fragile or overly dependent on paid channels but on product usage.
And this creates a community of contributors, not users.
From user-made tutorials on Notion to design templates on Figma, each contribution is an asset. Ones that even marketing cannot create at scale.
It feeds back into the growth loop.
Flywheel of discovery to activation to product usage to evangelism to new user onboarding.
So, it’s no longer about marketing to your <a href="https://ciente.io/blogs/the-power-of-audience-data-in-b2b-marketing/">target audience</a> but creating a network.
This strategy has helped businesses grow and compound, and Notion is a quality example of this.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Product-led Marketing Example: What Did Notion Do Differently?</h2>
In this age of impulse and ever-growing curiosity, buyers don’t want to be told what to buy; they want to explore.
PLG affords them this control. The product sells because the user is in control. They aren’t being sold to, but gauging the product’s value for themselves. But this isn’t accurate.
Customers feel that they are cruising this journey on their own. But it’s all owing to the intuitive design that you engineer. Ultimately, your marketing team is the invisible force that designs the experience users go through.
But their involvement is subtle. They are enablers, not manipulators.
Most SaaS innovators have come to recognize this holy grail.
Let’s take a look at Notion, a company that pioneered PLG marketing, not just adopt it.
<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Meet the all-in-one Notion AI for work" width="600" height="338" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/y-kM5kD2nm0?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>
Source: <a href="https://youtu.be/y-kM5kD2nm0" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/y-kM5kD2nm0</a>
Notion excels at an invariable number of tasks, from project management to storing marketing materials.
At the nucleus of its success is not just its capabilities but its versatility.
With an all-hands-on-deck strategy, Notion:
<ol class="wp-block-list">
<li>Expanded internationally by localizing its platform in several languages to cater to a global audience.</li>
<li>Launched a freemium model to let the users experience the full value before they pay the full premium price.</li>
<li>Leveraged viral product loops through their subreddit community and UGC, fostering internal referrals and word-of-mouth marketing.</li>
</ol>
Notion’s subreddit community of 280,000 users and user-generated templates reflect robust brand loyalty. This has fostered hefty team collaboration, and viral loops have also led to explosive user growth.
This leap to product-led marketing didn’t merely make a remarkable dent in its ARR, but it also expanded its user base to over <a href="https://www.thegrowthelements.com/p/notion-growth-strategy-product-led-growth-plg" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">30 million people globally</a>.
Notion capitalized on a significant leap towards remote work as the world recovered from COVID-19, driving community-driven organic growth without any heavy investments in traditional marketing.
It demonstrates the power of a well-thought-out product-led growth strategy.
What did Notion actually do?
Primarily, it polished its customers’ experiences with the platform and then strategically leveraged this experience as a marketing tool – the essence of PLG marketing.
Notion capitalized on remote work.
However, to build a sustainable and compounding marketing engine, it recognized the prowess of the user community and product loops.
And the power of user experience itself.
But Notion could only become what it is today from a scrappy startup through a well-thought-out PLG marketing strategy.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Outlining A Robust Product-led Marketing Model: The Base</h2>
Going PLG isn’t about doing rush work. And it isn’t plug-and-play.
There are specificities to be met beneath the surface.
Just having a product isn’t enough. You need a product that can communicate its story and value without the need for additional drivers.
And a framework to translate user behavior into actual business growth.
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">1. Short and obvious TTV</h3>
Users don’t convert on potential but on experience. If your product requires external human explanation and takes a week to reflect its value, no amount of sweet marketing messages can undo this.
The first impression has been made. And in PLG, making a good one is non-negotiable. Your product must be the pitch, demo, and closer – all in real-time.
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">2. Precise tracking</h3>
Vanity metrics matter. But they don’t hold actual weight, especially when it comes to offering a 360-degree view of users. This is why tracking in-product behavior is crucial.
Or else, how do you know what the user is doing and what they aren’t? It will help you segment active and passive users.
With vanity metrics, you’re just flying blind. But actionable ones, such as drop-off points and activation moments, will define successive steps.
PLG requires a self-tuning funnel. And without marketing locking in with product and growth, there are no segmented user lists or streamlined flows.
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">3. Embedded narrative</h3>
In product-led marketing, marketing’s job doesn’t end with acquisition. It takes place internally, within the product, from nudges to upgrades to onboarding flows.
Here, the product isn’t the product in the traditional sense of the word. And neither is the content embedded in it.
The content is the storytelling embedded into the UX. It cannot just follow any flow but must be subtle and instructive. And delivered at just the right moment.
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">4. Organizational alignment</h3>
PLG marketing isn’t a marketing campaign. It’s a supportive hybrid system.
Marketing, product, and growth are locked in.
So, if your departments are siloed, your product’s performance endures a blow. Every team has a fundamental role to play:
<ol class="wp-block-list">
<li>Marketing sets the narrative and voice.</li>
<li>Product engineers design to bridge the experience and expectations.</li>
<li>Growth focuses on the loop.</li>
</ol>
A single unit is necessary because PLG marketing is an all-hands-on-deck approach. If any one of them misses, the whole system free-falls.
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">5. Shareability</h3>
Every marketing message must engage and compel, and your products must entail a shareable hook. This marketing model doesn’t just work for all products.
You need something that is inherently you and also follows the trends. It must be conversational, personalized, intuitive, and collaborative, with the ability to go viral.
Users share only when they look good doing it.
These surfaces should be acknowledged and tweaked regularly; value cannot be shared through closed doors.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Product-led Marketing is Your Compounding Engine.</h2>
In traditional marketing and sales, businesses gated the demo and controlled product information.
Through marketing’s subtle architecture, your product speaks for itself.
With PLG, you aren’t just designing a product.
You’re curating an entire system where your product speaks the relevant language to the right audience at the right time.
And you are turning your users into the next channel.
They aren’t just buyers through it all. They begin a journey, test value on their own terms, and influence purchasing decisions from the get-go.
Buyers are skeptical today. But the right product-led marketing strategies cruise through and invert the traditional funnel. Decisions are driven by user experience, not the sales pitch.
]]></content:encoded>
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<title>Outsourcing Appointment Setting Services: Amp Up Your Sales Strategies</title>
<link>https://ciente.io/blogs/outsourcing-appointment-setting-services/</link>
<comments>https://ciente.io/blogs/outsourcing-appointment-setting-services/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Ciente Editorial Team]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 19 Jun 2025 14:46:20 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Blogs]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Content marketing]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Lead Generation]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Marketing]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[marketing technology]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://ciente.io/?p=39240</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Appointment-setting isn’t about reciting scripts but orchestrating connections. How can SDRs build trust and momentum from the very first touchpoint? The law of averages is often used as a driving force behind appointment setting, especially when the focus leans towards volume rather than value. On the surface, it makes sense- more volume means more opportunities. … <a href="https://ciente.io/blogs/outsourcing-appointment-setting-services/" class="more-link">Read More "Outsourcing Appointment Setting Services: Amp Up Your Sales Strategies"</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
Appointment-setting isn’t about reciting scripts but orchestrating connections. How can SDRs build trust and momentum from the very first touchpoint?
</blockquote>
The law of averages is often used as a driving force behind appointment setting, especially when the focus leans towards volume rather than value.
On the surface, it makes sense- more volume means more opportunities. By booking more appointments, SDRs create a pipeline of prospective leads for their AEs. And amidst this pool of qualified leads, some will eventually convert.
This has been the norm for several businesses. The logic is simple: SDR numbers influence revenue forecasting and business growth; they are the pipeline builders.
But there’s a catch.
The law of averages can prove to be a double-edged sword.
More appointments may indeed lead to higher conversions. But this approach creates a false sense of confidence. Merely focusing on volume can produce complacency within sales teams. In a rush to hit the numbers, the quality of meetings is forsaken.
This is where outsourcing appointment setting services becomes crucial. You aren’t offloading tasks but gaining a strategic edge.
The right appointment-setting service providers aren’t merely filling your calendars; they integrate into your sales strategy.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What Do We Mean by Appointment-Setting Companies?</h2>
Appointment-setting companies function as your sales team’s extension; it doesn’t replace them. With their expertise and knowledge base, they help polish your <a href="https://ciente.io/blogs/13-sales-pipeline-metrics-to-track/" data-type="link" data-id="https://ciente.io/blogs/13-sales-pipeline-metrics-to-track/">sales pipeline</a> and build direct access to the right decision-makers.
But on the off-chance, choosing the incorrect appointment-setting company can also pad your pipeline with noise: volume that holds no quality.
There’s a drastic lack of strategic alignment with your in-house SDRs and marketing teams.
So, outsourcing them and how they influence your pipeline depends on two factors: how you leverage them and how they align with your GTM strategies.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Top Risks of Choosing the Wrong Appointment Setting Company</h2>
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">1. The primary and most significant one is the illusion of progress.</h3>
In 2024, <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/blog/15-sales-statistics/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">84% of SDRs</a> didn’t meet their appointment quotas, while <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/blog/15-sales-statistics/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">67%</a> weren’t expecting it to happen the following year.
What does this say?
SDRs missing their quotas might not always be detrimental. It’s crucial to meet their set targets, but it’s better than presenting inflated appointment metrics.
Booking numerous appointments isn’t synonymous with momentum, nor does it demonstrate a healthy pipeline. SDRs meeting their appointment quotas could easily elevate the possibility that the majority of meetings turn out to be ill-fitting prospects.
In reality, the dissonance becomes quite evident. Even though SDRs meet their appointment quotas, AEs later on notice high no-show rates, deal stalling, and weak engagement from these accounts.
What’s the point of it all?
SDRs waste their time, slowing down pipeline velocity. Meanwhile, when the burden of closing shifts to AEs, they burn their time in unproductive meetings.
Your AEs end up over-casting on these inflated numbers.
So, missed targets don’t always equate to poor closing skills, but poor lead quality, eroding trust in your <a href="https://ciente.io/blogs/lead-generation-strategies-for-b2b/" data-type="link" data-id="https://ciente.io/blogs/lead-generation-strategies-for-b2b/">lead-gen strategy</a>.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">2. Think of the B2B landscape: the total addressable market is finite.</h2>
<figure class="wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-style-zoooom"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="897" height="318" data-id="39247" src="https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/B2B-industry-1-1.webp" alt="B2B industry 1 1" class="wp-image-39247" title="B2B industry 1 1 Outsourcing Appointment Setting Services: Amp Up Your Sales Strategies" srcset="https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/B2B-industry-1-1.webp 897w, https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/B2B-industry-1-1-300x106.webp 300w, https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/B2B-industry-1-1-768x272.webp 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 897px) 100vw, 897px" /></figure>
</figure>
It’s the underlying logic that not all set appointments will translate into closed deals and contribute to the revenue stream. Owing to this, organizations begin to notice diminishing returns on volume-centric appointment settings after a point.
You can’t use brute force or invasive outreach tactics to set appointments. Rather than contributing to your pipeline’s health, it could easily saturate your buyers and damage your brand reputation.
This is the second pain point.
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">3. Poor outsourcing appointment setting services drains budget and value.</h3>
Not only does a lack of strategic outsourcing efforts detrimentally affect your market positioning, but it also empties your pockets, with no value created.
One incorrect tactic can also fabricate a hole in your brand narrative, the third and quite significant pain point.
Most appointment setting services are assessed on a single metric: the total number of appointments booked. The entire focus is attributed to this one aspect.
What about the rest of the factors that truly drive conversion?
The understanding of the brand or customer pain points that the internal team is educated on isn’t delivered to the outsourced team. They are distanced and disconnected from the brand’s messaging and USP, resulting in a lack of personalized efforts.
They can’t qualify leads based on practical cases that mirror the brand voice. It becomes challenging for marketing to position its demand-gen strategies with outsourced efforts. All of which results in wasted budget and fragmented messaging.
There’s one thing to understand here:
Appointment setting isn’t about the short-term incentives, such as getting accounts on the calendars. When focused primarily on this, the long-term nurturing opportunities are overlooked.
Some term campaign targets can offer you momentary wins, but they also drive away a majority of your market who aren’t ready to purchase just yet.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How to Choose the Right Outsourced Appointment Setting Service</h2>
Most appointment-setting service providers sell “appointment volume” as the end goal. But that’s not the end requirement; a healthy pipeline is.
The best appointment-setting companies recognize this need. They aren’t just providers, they are outcome-oriented partners:
<ol class="wp-block-list">
<li>They understand your ICP beyond obvious firmographics.</li>
<li>Study and leverage your brand’s voice to function with value.</li>
<li>Align efforts with marketing and sales to create feedback loops.</li>
</ol>
If your vendor doesn’t help you understand why the lead booked a meeting or which pain point to solve, they’re here for a very different purpose than yours.
You want your appointment setters to drive the sales pipeline, not fill calendars. They must nurture intent and create the right opportunities.
This is what you should prioritize while choosing the right appointment-setting services. You must differentiate the best appointment setting services from the mediocre ones.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">5 fundamental factors to single out the best appointment setting services provider for your business.</h2>
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">1. Hyper-personalization through advanced data intelligence.</h3>
The best appointment setting services vendors don’t just make calls and hope for the best. They take a more granular approach – reading the room by leveraging deep insights.
They wish to enhance the quality of the meeting itself.
Hence, the primary aspect is customizing their outreach and communications process. Providers must address specific lead challenges and needs within their industry. Insights drawn from surface-level criteria, such as job titles and industrial domain, prove ineffective.
It’s the actual buying signals that matter. And this is only possible through advanced analytics, past engagement patterns, and intent signals gauged by the tech infrastructure they leverage.
A provider cannot expect you to believe that generalized scripts and ICP-based commonplace insights are the essence of their “unique” strategies.
The quality of the approach must transform for the meeting.
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">2. Integrating seamlessly with your CRM and overall sales cycle.</h3>
Your appointment provider cannot operate siloes. They must integrate into your sales ecosystem, one that deeply integrates with your CRM systems, sales enablement tools, and marketing automation.
This way, there’s synergy between the internal departments and the outsourced team. It’s vital because, without any alignment, you’re just outsourcing a task, not building a trustworthy relationship. At its nucleus, the chosen appointment setting services provider must develop a professional and value-driven relationship with your brand.
With this, AEs and marketing teams can offer feedback to the external vendor, helping them adjust their strategies even in mid-campaign.
It fosters smooth handoffs between SDRs and AEs while tracking how leads proceed through the final stages in real time. This plays an integral role in optimizing the pipeline. And the possibility of closing more deals.
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">3. Agile and adaptive strategies that scale with the business.</h3>
Appointment-setting is more than the traditional “making a call” and blocking calendar dates.
With the transformations taking root in <a href="https://cientemartech.io/" data-type="link" data-id="https://cientemartech.io/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">marketing </a>and <a href="https://cientesalestech.io/" data-type="link" data-id="https://cientesalestech.io/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">sales</a>, SDRs must revamp their strategies. The best providers already understand that what worked in the past might not work today. There’s a vital disconnect in how sales were operated in the past.
To give your business the best of what they offer, appointment-setting providers must do things differently now. They must engineer strategies that are agile enough and adaptable, especially for the ever-shifting industry trends and buyer behavior.
These vendors should also be well-versed in executing strategies with advanced technology. And help you update the existing infrastructure, especially if it lacks significance in the current landscape.
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">4. Transparent reports with actionable and meaningful insights.</h3>
There are numerous providers out there that, in the name of transparent reporting, offer data dumps. These numbers are significant, but they are passive. They leave the entire interpretative work to the AEs in your team.
This illustrates the wrong dynamic in this partnership.
Transparency in reporting isn’t highlighting what is happening but why it is happening and what the next steps are.
For this, the appointment-setting providers must offer reports that don’t just mimic your existing dashboards. It must be a strategic conversation that spotlights the main friction points:
<ol class="wp-block-list">
<li>Why are the conversion rates dipping?</li>
<li>Why are the appointments in EMEA falling through compared to North America?</li>
</ol>
The questions that the reports urge should spark decisions, not merely represent what’s already happening. Truly insightful reports can elevate the alignment between the vendor and your internal teams, fostering consistent optimization.
Without making continuous tweaks, it’s tasking to gauge the long-term feasibility of your existing strategies. Your vendor should help map a solution – highlight the cracks and how to cement them.
The appointment setting services they offer shouldn’t mimic a call center. Their insights must be descriptive and interpretative. This signifies that the appointment-setting company has attention to detail, expertise, and infrastructure to go beyond just booking appointments.
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">5. Customer-first communications strategy.</h3>
Delivering customer-first communication isn’t just about elevating politeness or avoiding spammy tactics.
It means meeting the buyer halfway, especially when the power in this conversation has shifted to them. Leveraging meaningless persuasion techniques is ineffective on its own; you must establish relevance. That’s what truly matters to potential clients.
The best in the game know that it’s not really about numbers. It’s about resonance and relevancy, which is built gradually through tone and personalized communication delivered at the right time. Templated conversations are disconnected from the brand narrative.
And this isn’t the kind of impression you’re looking to make in the first place. Those who fall into this falsity often follow a single agenda. These appointment-setting companies overlook how they can leverage their domain knowledge and circle it around the prospects’ context.
Most often, companies are inclined toward a single agenda: booking appointments. But acting like cold callers doesn’t do the job today. They must pose as early consultants and:
<ol class="wp-block-list">
<li>Understand the prospect’s challenges</li>
<li>Ask the appropriate questions</li>
<li>Know when to move further or back off</li>
</ol>
In the initial stages, appointment volume might make your SDRs better aware of the possibility of conversions. But in the long run, fit and intent secure the driving wheel of your sales pipeline.
Remember, every outreach is a touchpoint; whether it’s accepted or ignored isn’t the primary issue. But if the communication is off from the nib, the damage is done even before the lead talks to your SDRs.
These facets aren’t best practices in choosing the right appointment-setting services, but filters. The right ones not only make a difference in lead quality but also in how the market perceives your brand.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Ciente’s Solutions: Designing Better Buyer Interactions</h2>
At Ciente, these aren’t just strategies for us. They are our operating principles.
Our appointment setting services don’t merely include blocking dates but building a positive brand perception.
To build a sustainable appointment-setting engine, we recognize that a one-size-fits-all script isn’t the gleaming solution that sales reps have thought it to be. So, we work closely with our clients to curate outreach that feels personal, not automated.
We abandon all templated playbooks to build insightful reports on accurate and actionable data, helping you ascertain when to double down and when to pivot.
At Ciente, we book appointments but also orchestrate conversations that help you guide your leads through the pipeline with confidence and purpose.
If you’re rethinking your cookie-clutter approach, <a href="https://ciente.io/contact-us/">reach out to our experts</a> to vamp up your existing comms strategy.
The first impression sets the tone, and it should feel like you.
]]></content:encoded>
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<title>Content Marketing Case Studies: Brands That Do Content Right</title>
<link>https://ciente.io/blogs/content-marketing-case-studies/</link>
<comments>https://ciente.io/blogs/content-marketing-case-studies/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Ciente Editorial Team]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Tue, 17 Jun 2025 17:15:46 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Blogs]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[B2B marketing]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[B2B marketing strategies]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Brand Awareness]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Content Creation]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Content marketing]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://ciente.io/?p=39207</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Content marketing is transforming; it has more depth and uniqueness. To demonstrate, we have handpicked four brands that reflect and represent this change. Reports suggest that leads generated from inbound marketing channels, particularly content marketing, have high conversion rates. While this might be true, let’s not forget the patience and consistency content marketing truly requires. … <a href="https://ciente.io/blogs/content-marketing-case-studies/" class="more-link">Read More "Content Marketing Case Studies: Brands That Do Content Right"</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
Content marketing is transforming; it has more depth and uniqueness. To demonstrate, we have handpicked four brands that reflect and represent this change.
</blockquote>
Reports suggest that leads generated from inbound marketing channels, particularly <a href="https://ciente.io/content-marketing-services/">content marketing</a>, have high conversion rates.
While this might be true, let’s not forget the patience and consistency content marketing truly requires. It could have ample benefits for your business and still demand needle-like focus and all hands on deck.
Each nitty-gritty in content marketing must be paid attention to. Without correct ingredients and much-needed cohesion between them, your efforts will likely pack no punch. Whether it’s content development, distribution, or performance reviews.
Where do most marketers miss the mark? Each piece must have intent, purpose, resonance, and relevance to perform its best.
Most marketers overlook these factors because they believe marketing content is merely about content production and publishing it. The intricacies are either unaddressed or barely touched upon.
This minimizes your content’s performance from the get-go. Of course, it fails.
Marketers must move from the bottom up –
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What is Content Marketing?</h2>
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
“Content marketing is a marketing channel through which businesses create and distribute valuable and engaging content, articles, social media posts, videos, podcasts, or other types.”
</blockquote>
But its true essence? Building a connection with your target audience and offering them value in a way that doesn’t encroach on their space.
There’s no rulebook for content marketing, just morsels that marketers often brush off. All because it isn’t included in their traditional content playbooks.
The truth is that you recognize unique and engaging content when you see it. It’s all in how the piece speaks to its audience – entertaining, engaging, and inspiring to take action.
Your content doesn’t have to make sense to everyone, but it must prove impactful for the right bunch. Through this, you’re building your credibility and elevating visibility.
It’s the key to effective and strong content marketing: focusing on what your audience would want to see and hear, and making them feel heard indirectly. You’re acknowledging basic pain points even before potential customers have entered the funnel.
And in the long term, this establishes your brand as the thought leader and subject matter expert.
This leaves a silent trail of breadcrumbs. When prospects feel seen, they are highly likely to come knocking at your door, seeking answers and solutions.
A win-win situation.
Given the successes that consistent content marketing can afford, businesses have left several stones unturned in curating the right content strategy.
Most often, it works. But sometimes, there’s a missing piece in the puzzle.
We bring you four B2B content marketing case studies. Brands that don’t just follow trends. But have crafted content into their unique personality.
They aren’t just doing content right. But have mastered it by taking a step outside the box, which most marketers are still hesitant to do.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">4 Best B2B Content Marketing Case Studies</h2>
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Example #1 – Figma’s Creative-first Content</h3>
<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="940" height="554" src="https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-13.webp" alt="image 13" class="wp-image-39215" style="width:575px;height:auto" title="image 13 Content Marketing Case Studies: Brands That Do Content Right" srcset="https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-13.webp 940w, https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-13-300x177.webp 300w, https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-13-768x453.webp 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 940px) 100vw, 940px" /></figure></div>
<div style="height:17px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div>
<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="602" height="314" src="https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-12.webp" alt="image 12" class="wp-image-39214" title="image 12 Content Marketing Case Studies: Brands That Do Content Right" srcset="https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-12.webp 602w, https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-12-300x156.webp 300w, https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-12-600x314.webp 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 602px) 100vw, 602px" /></figure></div>
Source: <a href="https://www.figma.com/blog/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Figma</a>
Figma didn’t just market content. It redefined the medium.
With marketing losing its storytelling edge, Figma decided to do content differently. They didn’t broadcast it like other brands do – from production to distribution. But it is a medium to amplify the creative prowess of creators.
It’s safe to say that Figma doesn’t do blog posts in the traditional sense. They treat creators and designers as people who don’t want to be taught but participate in the creative process. 
It’s a subtle way to mirror back the creator’s capabilities at them.
So, the design company has moved from treating content like a megaphone for various talking points. They do what their audience (again, the designers) wants from them.
Talking about products is an age-old sales tactic that isn’t fooling anyone. It’s too on the nose and takes away the interest as soon as it builds it.
But Figma does it differently. Their content doesn’t talk about the products. But establish the product as a canvas for content.
It’s a participatory medium, a tool for inspiration and building community.
Their “content” can be prototyped, experimented with, and is open-source. It’s how designers look at their designs.
Figma isn’t trying to control the narrative. It’s setting the stage and moving out of the way – putting up a mirror for the designers to glimpse into. By doing so, the audience gets a chance to step into its files, templates, and plugins and use them to tell stories by themselves.
Most B2B brands would shy away from this.
But in this landscape of stale strategies and templated content, Figma is reimaging marketing from a creator-first perspective.
It has spotlighted one facet that most creatives themselves have lost focus on – Content is an ecosystem that promotes collaboration.
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Example #2 – Slack’s Resource Library</h3>
<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="601" height="352" src="https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-9.webp" alt="image 9" class="wp-image-39212" title="image 9 Content Marketing Case Studies: Brands That Do Content Right" srcset="https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-9.webp 601w, https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-9-300x176.webp 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 601px) 100vw, 601px" /></figure></div>
Source: <a href="https://slack.com/intl/en-in/blog/news/state-of-work-2023" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Slack.com</a>
Slack has become a leader in ensuring communication and collaboration between teams. Instead of offering space for long email threads, it focuses on real-time chatting.
With different groups and channels for distinct projects and teams. It has revolutionized workflows and cross-departmental functioning.
But there’s another add-on. Slack also has communication channels for external partners and clients.
And their capabilities sweep into the content they muster.
Slack’s content merges impressively with the workflow – it’s deliberate. Their brilliance hides in how they deliver their content. It doesn’t scream out to the users but whispers to them.
Their content is about making you the hero, not standing out as the hero amidst other B2B brands.
Slack’s user-first approach has made waves across the marketplace.
Even the content marketing route they take increases efficiency for the consumer, not dazzles them with flashy content. Added to their already robust content marketing is the resource library. From eGuides to eBooks to helpful tips, Slack has a digital library for all its keepsakes.
It helps users from different industries use and implement Slack effectively by not centering its content on itself but spotlighting the human experience – how teams work on Slack, not how Slack works.
In short, it’s informative, diverse, and consultative. And at the center of this is the human experience – workers are people, not leads.
For example, take its <a href="https://slack.com/intl/en-in/blog/news/state-of-work-2023" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">2023 State of Work</a> report. The no-nonsense report flags everything that’s wrong with the workplace. And highlights the challenges employees often face. And from this content report, it was evident that Slack doesn’t play around.
It facilitates a healthier work culture, avoiding the practice of shoving products down your throat – you happen to need them.
Slack is one such B2B brand that practices what it preaches. Its content isn’t here to bedazzle you with shiny promises. But it is effective.
In a landscape where B2B content often leans into dullness and monotony, Slack successfully stands out. Its storytelling has positioned it as the future of work, not as a messaging brand.
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Example #3 – Salesforce’s Learning Hub for Sales Basics</h3>
<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="602" height="400" src="https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-7.webp" alt="image 7" class="wp-image-39210" title="image 7 Content Marketing Case Studies: Brands That Do Content Right" srcset="https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-7.webp 602w, https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-7-300x199.webp 300w, https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-7-600x400.webp 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 602px) 100vw, 602px" /></figure></div>
<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="602" height="356" src="https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-8.webp" alt="image 8" class="wp-image-39209" title="image 8 Content Marketing Case Studies: Brands That Do Content Right" srcset="https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-8.webp 602w, https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-8-300x177.webp 300w, https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-8-600x356.webp 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 602px) 100vw, 602px" /></figure></div>
Source: <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/in/?ir=1" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Salesforce</a>
Content is at the heart of customers’ experiences with brands. And with the ever-evolving buying trajectory of each consumer, <a href="https://cientesalestech.io/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">marketing and sales</a> are noticing every slight change.
And parallel to this observation, they are pivoting towards what works best.
Salesforce is doing the same. They have realized that diminishing returns and flatlining traffic aren’t undone by merely buying more traffic.
There’s only a singular effective solution: a sound content strategy.
So, Salesforce has found unique ways to leverage content while also revolutionizing the landscape. At the crux is the digital customer experience, motivated by content. This is the sales giant’s underlying belief – integrating CX and content.
Their content marketing model isn’t just good. It’s something that other companies can’t easily replicate.
Salesforce’s structurally robust content strategy doesn’t take content for granted.
It means that where most businesses consider thought leadership content as ad hoc, the sales organization knows how to institutionalize it. They turn C-suite insights into recurring products, such as annual reports and Salesforce+, among others.
For them, thought leadership isn’t just about hot takes or staying up with the market gossip.
Additionally, Salesforce’s most underrated but authentic content strategy is the narrative IP. For example, its “State of” reports are built on memorability, given how the tone repeats across different reports but familiar stories. They have transformed dull market research into media assets with such powerful emotional language that establishes their authority in this area, even though competitors might come up with similar content.
Salesforce follows an annual rhythm in creating and distributing this content. It’s cross-functional and includes an executive standpoint (at least a summary).
They aren’t living up to industry standards but establishing them themselves.
Through their authentic content strategies, Salesforce doesn’t just inform but drives the narrative. And every content piece they create is part of a bigger why – something that transcends the mere selling of products.
Salesforce’s content strives to offer a comprehensive and expert POV on the future of the business landscape. That’s the underlying objective they hope to accomplish with every piece they create.
Moreover, Salesforce knows that B2B operations and decisions aren’t made on spreadsheets. Customers want to be seen and be a part of something. And their content heavily propagates this – who the customers will become, not what the product is.
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Example #4 – HubSpot’s Library for Everything Marketing</h3>
<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="602" height="283" src="https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-11.webp" alt="image 11" class="wp-image-39213" title="image 11 Content Marketing Case Studies: Brands That Do Content Right" srcset="https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-11.webp 602w, https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-11-300x141.webp 300w, https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-11-600x283.webp 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 602px) 100vw, 602px" /></figure></div>
Source: <a href="https://academy.hubspot.com/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">HubSpot Academy</a>
HubSpot is another powerful name among the brands that are doing content marketing right.
Their platform shapes people’s opinions on modern business problems and how HubSpot’s solutions can solve them. It’s direct but sophisticated.
HubSpot’s design isn’t salesy; it’s methodological and intentional.
Their content has one central purpose: teaching how to do marketing right, by defining what “right” really is. Often, this aligns with the product’s strengths.
HubSpot’s content marketing approach establishes it as a teacher and a guide. It educates and directs customers toward the subsequent steps, blending fluidly into product descriptions and placements.
The software company understands that a customer’s buying journey doesn’t begin with pricing charts and demo requests. The first is always the mental exercise – there’s a psychological model that prospective buyers follow, one that should lead to the funnel.
HubSpot leverages this model. Through their learning academy, they build a foundation in the practitioners’ minds, even if they aren’t in the market.
This content marketing model’s design is purposeful – it aligns belief with the product. So, HubSpot’s straightforward marketing efforts are a marketplace favorite. Similar features might be offered industry-wide, but only HubSpot can connect the story they started.
Marketers build a story, but they often forget it in the sales stage. They are too busy closing the deal. HubSpot, through its Academy, births and instills an inbound philosophy that seems like the logical extension later on. It connects the gap.
Their focus is on a more strategic, long-term, and in-depth play.
What most B2B businesses do is try to sell way too quickly. But your pitch is only effective when you know it’s the right time. By building its educational content into the product ecosystem, HubSpot resists this impulse.
It sweeps in as the savior when a solution becomes inevitable.
HubSpot isn’t selling a worldview but engineering and helping customers adapt to it.
And how does it seamlessly do this? Content marketing efforts are directed to the right people at the right time. It’s about pushing out ideas and teaching a system – what you could do if you could do it like us.
From messaging to becoming a manual, HubSpot has flipped the script.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Content marketing is no longer treated as a marketing channel; it’s an operating model.</h2>
Weaved into the strategic layers with other business functions, content’s role in marketing has changed. It builds a market, establishes a system, and influences behavior.
It is not about what the product can do for you anymore. Content isn’t isolated from the broader business challenges companies face. Now, content marketing is more about changing how customers perceive products and services – what would the future look like for you if you adopted this solution?
These brands aren’t thinking of content in terms of blogging or SEO. It’s about creating an impact, integrating it into the business culture, and establishing an infrastructure.
One that helps you think in content.

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<title>Content Marketing KPIs: The Comprehensive List</title>
<link>https://ciente.io/blogs/content-marketing-kpis/</link>
<comments>https://ciente.io/blogs/content-marketing-kpis/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Ciente Editorial Team]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Mon, 16 Jun 2025 16:14:58 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Blogs]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[B2B marketing]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Content marketing]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Lead Generation]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Marketing]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[marketing technology]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://ciente.io/?p=38673</guid>
<description><![CDATA[While the old marketing KPIs give way, a new way is emerging in the AI-age. And here’s all you need to catch up. Content marketing is an ever-shifting maze. A labyrinth of people’s sentiments, business goals, and creativity. Some navigate this maze almost without effort, and many fall short. They create pieces with their heart, … <a href="https://ciente.io/blogs/content-marketing-kpis/" class="more-link">Read More "Content Marketing KPIs: The Comprehensive List"</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
While the old marketing KPIs give way, a new way is emerging in the AI-age. And here’s all you need to catch up.
</blockquote>
Content marketing is an ever-shifting maze. A labyrinth of people’s sentiments, business goals, and creativity. Some navigate this maze almost without effort, and many fall short. They create pieces with their heart, soul, and logic, only for them to underperform and not affect the business in any meaningful way.
It’s crushing, to say the least.
But teams can navigate the maze to the best of their capabilities using a simple solution: content marketing KPIs.
While marketing KPIs are often frowned upon for not providing a clear picture, the fault is not with the metrics or how they’re tracked. It’s how they are used in the context of your campaigns- whether these metrics align with your campaigns or are used because they are a market standard is the crux of the matter here.
Let’s start with the basics and move down to the nitty-gritty of the KPIs.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What are Content Marketing KPIs?</h2>
Content is abstract. Without directly looking at the person or their behavior after interacting with the content, teams cannot gauge what the audience feels. Marketing teams and designers need to understand what’s working and what isn’t. To capture this feedback, the teams had to create milestones, metrics, and “flags” based on user behavior data and business needs.
In short, content marketing KPIs are quantifiable metrics that measure how effectively your content drives business objectives and audience engagement.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Business Impact of Tracking the Content Marketing KPIs</h2>
KPIs provide clarity to teams, especially if the impact they want to track is intangible. This could range from customer satisfaction to brand messaging, with various means of tracing them.
A simple example would be YouTube’s comment and like functions, which provide a clear indicator of audience sentiment and behavior. However, many businesses don’t rely on YouTube for their content.
They use various touchpoints and channels to reach their desired buyer. To meet them where they want to be met and influence them on their terms. To gauge if your buyers are influenced, content marketing KPIs are employed and used to nurture relationships and close deals.
Businesses do this by:
<ol style="list-style-type:upper-roman" class="wp-block-list">
<li>Gathering relevant data on the buyers.</li>
<li>Allocating budgets and resources towards channels with better performance</li>
<li>Justifying cost and proving ROI.</li>
</ol>
But, honestly, this is easier said than done. Many organizations track the same KPIs as their competition and use them the exact way with little to no variations.
<a href="https://ciente.io/blogs/content-marketing-kpis/">And that’s because they miss the larger context to view the KPIs with.</a> If businesses really want to drive businesses with content, it’s about time they stop using these metrics like it’s 2020.
The complex buyers’ journey demands something more from you- the context in which they are buying and your intended message towards them.
Following hype and trends will only have you chasing vanity metrics- not business deals.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Framework for Content Marketing KPIs</h2>
Caption: Content Marketing KPIs: Fighting for Relevancy
A framework is often considered a plan. A series of steps to reach where you want to go. That’s a very one-dimensional way of looking at it.
A framework is a reference point for you to create a strategy. As Michael C Porter, the father of strategy, says, “Strategy is the creation of a unique and valuable position, involving a different set of activities.”
And any framework should empower you to do just that.
While the KPIs you track won’t change much, let’s think of new ways of questioning them.
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Awareness-Stage KPIs (TOFU)</h3>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-style-zoooom"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="897" height="497" src="https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/AWARENESS-STAGE-TOFU-1-compressed.webp" alt="AWARENESS STAGE TOFU 1 compressed" class="wp-image-39463" title="AWARENESS STAGE TOFU 1 compressed Content Marketing KPIs: The Comprehensive List" srcset="https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/AWARENESS-STAGE-TOFU-1-compressed.webp 897w, https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/AWARENESS-STAGE-TOFU-1-compressed-300x166.webp 300w, https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/AWARENESS-STAGE-TOFU-1-compressed-768x426.webp 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 897px) 100vw, 897px" /></figure>
In the TOFU stage, the KPIs can seem very surface-level. They are: –
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Impressions and CTR</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>We’ve decided to club impressions and CTR together for a few reasons.</li>
<li>While many impressions are good for reach, are they translating to clicks?</li>
<li>Of the clicks you are receiving, are they from your intended demographic?</li>
<li>Based on your campaign, where are these impressions and clicks coming from? E.g., organic or referrals or paid</li>
<li>In terms of email marketing, instead of impressions, you should track open rates and the CTR for the intended action they’re taking.</li>
<li>Did the numbers reach your campaign goal? If not, what should have worked and what did not?</li>
<li>Can you identify the missing piece of the puzzle and retry it?</li>
</ul>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Share of Voice</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Have conversations around your brand increased?</li>
<li>Did the impressions, open rates, and CTRs affect the conversations you want to have with your leads/buyers?</li>
<li>Do you see a positive growth in engagement and perceptions, even by 5-6%?</li>
<li>Have these positive interactions increased activity on your website and other content formats?</li>
</ul>
Branded Searches a) Have your branded searches increased? b) What percent of those is your intended audience?
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Engagement-Stage KPIs (TOFU+MOFU)</h3>
<div class="wp-block-image is-style-zoooom">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2048" height="1152" src="https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/14-scaled.webp" alt="14 scaled" class="wp-image-39195" title="14 scaled Content Marketing KPIs: The Comprehensive List" srcset="https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/14-scaled.webp 2048w, https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/14-300x169.webp 300w, https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/14-1024x576.webp 1024w, https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/14-768x432.webp 768w, https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/14-1536x864.webp 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" /></figure></div>
While the above KPIs have some semblance of engagement, it’s at this stage that a brand truly starts coming into its own.
Here are a few: –
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">1. Time on page/Avg Duration or Dwell Time</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Whether your content makes sense or not to the reader depends on the average time.</li>
<li>However, if you want your page to rank for snippets or AI snippets, users may not read everything but only the answer to their query.</li>
<li>But if your content wants to educate, inform, and entertain, having a longer dwell time is crucial.</li>
<li>If not, is it the content that is losing them, or is it not reaching your leads through the correct channels?</li>
<li>What can you optimize here?</li>
</ul>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">2. Pages per Session</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Internal linking is fascinating. It connects your pages together but also gives your audience more content to consume related to their query. The opportunity is to push them inward.</li>
<li>It shows if your audience is engaging with multiple pages at once.</li>
<li>Pages per session let you observe this engagement- is your audience interested in more?</li>
<li>Based on their searches and navigation, what can you make of their behavior and intent?</li>
<li>If your average page per session is not satisfactory, can you identify the drop-off point?</li>
<li>Are the sessions desktop or mobile-based?</li>
</ul>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">3. Social Media Engagement</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Has your engagement in the SERPs affected your social media presence?</li>
<li>Is your campaign goal to increase social media engagement, or is it a by-product of your positive interactions?</li>
<li>Conversely, have your social media efforts boosted engagement to your website and other offers?</li>
<li>Have conversations around your brand increased? And what content has facilitated it?</li>
<li>A bonus point- can your sales team identify if there are any warm leads in your social engagement? (There should be)</li>
</ul>
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Conversion-Stage KPIS (MOFU+BOFU)</h3>
<div class="wp-block-image is-style-zoooom">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="739" height="505" src="https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/CONVERSION-STAGE-MOFU-BOFU.webp" alt="CONVERSION STAGE MOFU BOFU" class="wp-image-39176" title="CONVERSION STAGE MOFU BOFU Content Marketing KPIs: The Comprehensive List" srcset="https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/CONVERSION-STAGE-MOFU-BOFU.webp 739w, https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/CONVERSION-STAGE-MOFU-BOFU-300x205.webp 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 739px) 100vw, 739px" /></figure></div>
For content marketers eager to prove ROI, this stage has to be the most exciting one. It shows the direct impact of content on sales.
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">1. Lead Generation</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://ciente.io/lead-generation-services/" data-type="link" data-id="https://ciente.io/lead-generation-services/">Lead gen</a> is one of the best KPIs in <a href="https://ciente.io/blogs/content-marketing-roi/" data-type="link" data-id="https://ciente.io/blogs/content-marketing-roi/">content marketing</a>– it proves direct ROI.</li>
<li>However, has your content converted your intended audience, and have they been deemed as leads?</li>
<li>Are they ready to have conversations with sales, or do they need nurturing?</li>
<li>What type of content is bringing the most amount of leads, and what is the relevancy of both the content and the leads it’s bringing in?</li>
<li>What is the ratio of relevant vs irrelevant leads?</li>
<li>What channel did they come from?</li>
</ul>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">2. Sales and Cost</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Are the sales teams having satisfactory <a href="https://ciente.io/blogs/micro-conversion-ideas-for-lead-generation/" data-type="link" data-id="https://ciente.io/blogs/micro-conversion-ideas-for-lead-generation/">conversations with the leads</a> that are coming in?</li>
<li>Which channel is proving its ROI, and are there channels whose CAC: ROI ratio is disharmonious?</li>
<li>Are there sales objections that directly stem from your content? (An excellent sign of engagement. And an opportunity to stand out)</li>
<li>What percent of leads are coming from the content, and how many of them are converting into paying customers?</li>
<li>What is the opinion of your sales teams on the lead quality?</li>
</ul>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">3. Advocacy and Propagation</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Is your content creating a community around it, no matter how small?</li>
<li>Is your audience sharing the content around, and which ones gain traction more than the others?</li>
<li>Are they referring you and sharing particular content pieces with others?</li>
<li>Are your pieces where they’re having personal conversations?</li>
</ul>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Advanced Content Marketing KPIs</h2>
<figure class="wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-style-zoooom"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="576" data-id="39233" src="https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Advanced-Content-Marketing-KPIs-1024x576.webp" alt="Advance Content Marketing KIPs" class="wp-image-39233" title="Advanced Content Marketing KPIs Content Marketing KPIs: The Comprehensive List" srcset="https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Advanced-Content-Marketing-KPIs-1024x576.webp 1024w, https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Advanced-Content-Marketing-KPIs-300x169.webp 300w, https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Advanced-Content-Marketing-KPIs-768x432.webp 768w, https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Advanced-Content-Marketing-KPIs-1536x864.webp 1536w, https://ciente.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Advanced-Content-Marketing-KPIs.webp 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>
</figure>
Caption: Prometheus Gifts Fire
<a href="https://ciente.io/content-marketing-services/" data-type="link" data-id="https://ciente.io/content-marketing-services/">Content marketing</a> is nothing short of magic- words and visuals on paper that affect readers’ emotions and logic. And these KPIs give you a glimpse into the inner world of the people consuming the content. However, the AI game is changing what content is. If people can have conversations with an encyclopedia that is personalized for them, they will prefer it.
But, human beings are notorious for our ability to do unexpected things- and many have turned to only human written content and information.
Why is that?
It’s our love for exploration.
And future content and its KPIs must account for this innate desire. It’s a desire that compels people to buy- B2B or otherwise.
The good news is you can track these innate desires. There are KPIs that have started to account for this behavioral change in buyers. Here are a few you can build on.
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">1. User Journey Flow Analysis</h3>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Mapping the macro journey of the user is the easier part. But almost always, a lot of nuance is lost in this view.</li>
<li>The user journey flow analysis KPI lets you break down the journey and identify molecular changes in the buyers’ journey with your products and offers.</li>
<li>From identifying drop-off points to discovering common points of interest, this KPI is a mix of many small identification factors.</li>
<li>With this, you can track whether your buyers are taking the intended action you want at every touchpoint and change your strategy if they aren’t.</li>
<li>Free analytics tools like GA and Clarity offer exceptional functionality in this case. Similarly, Hotjar is one of the best tools to view and optimize user interactions and flow analysis.</li>
</ul>
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">2. User Engagement Pathways</h3>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Similar to journey flow analysis, this KPI tracks and measures a granular approach to engagement</li>
<li>They track pathways like – discovery, conversion, onboarding, exploration, etc.</li>
<li>It answers questions like: what users are engaging in and why are they doing it?</li>
<li>Are there any pathways that need optimization?</li>
<li>What conversations are your users having about your tools/services while interacting with them? (These conversations can also be behavioral instead of verbal)</li>
</ul>
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">3. Content Discovery</h3>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>This deals with the question of AI and search.</li>
<li>Are your content pieces visible to the users where they are searching? E.g., ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google’s snippets.</li>
<li>Is your content being discovered in the first place?</li>
<li>Is your organic traffic sufficient for your specific campaign needs?</li>
<li>Is outreach helping content discovery and business needs, and can you use it to boost discovery?</li>
</ul>
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">3. Intent Drift Tracking</h3>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Intent drift tracking is a cornerstone of modern content marketing. It isn’t an ordinary KPI but a marker of interest.</li>
<li>Intent tracking observes changes in buying behavior, whether their intent is changing while they are interacting with content online.</li>
<li>Are they becoming more or less interested in the solutions you offer, and how can you track this change?</li>
<li>What do you think they have become aware of between now and then?</li>
<li>What does this mean for your service- is it positive or negative?</li>
<li>What are the opportunities for you to influence this intent?</li>
<li>Can you segment a chunk of this audience?</li>
</ul>
These advanced KPIs are designed to uncover behaviors of your buyers that you can leverage, and they can be tracked in real time.
However, don’t jump in to change your strategy. There are a lot of moving parts that require you to be patient. As important as data is, it is there to validate your intuition, not overhaul it. To track the behavioral change you knew was coming.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Zero-click searches are perhaps the most crucial content KPIs of the AI age.</h2>
Content marketing teams have seen a drop in organic traffic.
The reason for this is simple: SERPs and social media websites want users to be on their services for longer durations. And that AI is answering their questions- satisfying a need and providing a relevant answer.
And the statistics are staggering. Let’s look at two stats from <a href="https://sparktoro.com/blog/2024-zero-click-search-study-for-every-1000-us-google-searches-only-374-clicks-go-to-the-open-web-in-the-eu-its-360/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">SparkToro</a>: 1. In the US, 58.5% of people don’t click on their query. Out of those, 37.1 click on nothing, and 21.4% move on to another query. 2. For the EU, 59.7% end in no clicks. Of which 37.4% do nothing and 22.3% move on to another search. This shows an important factor- zero-clicks must be accounted for. They will be vital to track and complex to identify.
While tools play catch-up, you will need to actively optimize for AI and search and check whether you’re appearing for queries on these LLMs. On the other hand, LinkedIn, X, and other socials are also trying new things, and that’s killing reach for linked content and company pages.
They want people to stay on the website longer and gain knowledge from native players or thought leaders- individual contributors seem to be lucrative to platforms for some reason.
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">What are Zero-Clicks and AI searches saying- how do you track them?</h3>
People want quick answers in a crowded space. People are really good at one thing- pattern recognition.
And the crowded space has jaded them quickly. Many users are tired of looking at similar content that barely solves their pain points- AI is a quick fix here.
But human beings take time to articulate an idea and come to a conclusion. Let’s look at an example and then break it down to explore how we can track these searches and optimize them.
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">To research this blog, we did a few things:</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Gain resources by reading blogs and Google Scholar.</li>
<li>Searching on AI for available data to back things up and summarizing scholarly findings.</li>
<li>Asking AI for similar sources, which gave us a few links to blogs, websites, and data-study papers.</li>
<li>However, some of those searches ended as dead links and low-quality content on referenced websites.</li>
<li>Took a specific approach and used queries like SparkToro research for zero-clicks in LLMs- got results as well as a summary of what it means. Clicked on the article to gain a comprehensive understanding and view.</li>
<li>Depth created more avenues for creation: asked LLM to pull up a report on how <a href="https://sparktoro.com/blog/how-can-my-brand-appear-in-answers-from-chatgpt-perplexity-gemini-and-other-ai-llm-tools/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">brands rank on LLMs</a> to strengthen understanding and thesis.</li>
</ul>
This method shows a clear loop for brands. If they want to survive in the zero-click-AI era- they need to provide value for their audience, and this value must be tangible.
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">To track this, you will need to: –</h4>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Create value-based content</li>
<li>Check whether you’re ranking for that query, which has to be niche or solve the problem quickly.</li>
<li>Check various AI search engines and see what you’re ranking for.</li>
<li>Through GSC, understand if some queries are getting more impressions than clicks yet driving conversations. High impressions and low clicks might not be bad here, especially if you see an increase in abstract concepts like mindshare.</li>
</ul>
While many organizations observe a dip in traffic, they must understand that value is the driving force behind content marketing and that it is also a KPI.
Valueless and generic content, while effective at ranking in traditional ways, is losing relevancy. AI systems pull value- although some reference to outdated data is still the norm for LLMs- they will be weeded out by audiences who are inquisitive and want hard proof.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The KPIs work only when content provides value.</h2>
Without a value-based strategy, the KPIs above will not work. They might drive business on the surface, but sales objections will quickly thwart any hopes of making a business.
Content Marketing and its metrics exist to track if your customer finds you effective and what they want. Those businesses- especially ones in <a href="https://cientemartech.io/" data-type="link" data-id="https://cientemartech.io/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">tech and marketing</a>– who don’t want to be replaced by AI have to learn to provide what the user wants in a very unique way.
Fortunately, buyers are more self-aware, and they can be influenced to experiment.
What you need to do is create content that empowers them to do more with less.
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<title>Revisiting SQLs to Boost Lead Conversion</title>
<link>https://ciente.io/blogs/revisiting-sqls-to-boost-lead-conversion/</link>
<comments>https://ciente.io/blogs/revisiting-sqls-to-boost-lead-conversion/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Ciente Editorial Team]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 12 Jun 2025 13:41:03 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Blogs]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[B2B marketing]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Lead Generation]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Lead Management]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://ciente.io/?p=39134</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Qualifying leads isn’t about ticking boxes anymore. With the concept of SQLs gaining nuance, it’s time for a more sophisticated framework. Your modern tech stacks collate data from multiple sources, which marketing uses to qualify leads to the next funnel stage as Sales Qualified Leads or SQLs. This qualification process is based on aggregated behavioral … <a href="https://ciente.io/blogs/revisiting-sqls-to-boost-lead-conversion/" class="more-link">Read More "Revisiting SQLs to Boost Lead Conversion"</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
Qualifying leads isn’t about ticking boxes anymore. With the concept of SQLs gaining nuance, it’s time for a more sophisticated framework.
</blockquote>
Your modern tech stacks collate data from multiple sources, which marketing uses to qualify leads to the next funnel stage as Sales Qualified Leads or SQLs. This qualification process is based on aggregated behavioral signals from email opens, subscriptions, responses, and chats.
But recently, sales have noticed a serious disjuncture.
Often, when SDRs approach the leads handed down by marketing, they hit a wall. These so-called SQLs don’t actually have buying intent or interest in progressing the conversation.
They were all false positives.
Imagine a lead downloads a whitepaper, opens three different emails, kicks off marketing’s score threshold, and is labeled as an SQL. When sales initiate contact, they realize the lead was merely executing competitor research or browsing casually.
This handoff was a dead end and a waste of time, eroding sales’ trust in marketing scoring models.
In the long run, this has caused observable friction between teams, inducing cross-departmental misalignment that results in low-quality leads that don’t convert.
This begs the question:
<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a>Is marketing really to blame?</a></h2>
The truth is that marketing’s approach is not entirely incorrect.
They are inaccurately analyzing the intent signals. It’s not about finding out that leads are engaging but about why they are.
This is known as intent context.
Most scoring models are straightforward. These traditional methods attribute specific scores to engagement signals. If whitepaper downloads are 10 points, subscribing to the newsletter is 20.
This might be a crucial step in the lead qualification process, but without context, these signals can be easily misread.
For example, an account might download your whitepaper or eBook, and signals are usually assigned a high score in traditional systems, but it is actually a competitor or researcher. There’s no buying intent.
Your SDRs end up wasting time and resources on leads that look great in the CRM but aren’t sales-ready.
A high score doesn’t equate to high buying intent, especially without context. And then comes intent, followed by sales-readiness. In simpler terms, MQLs’ qualification into SQLs requires precision.
But why?
Because sales-qualified leads aren’t just here for research or casual strolling.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a>What are sales-qualified leads or SQLs?</a></h2>
SQLs are leads who are past the stage of primary awareness or casual interest and illustrate a strong intent to purchase. They are sales-ready accounts that are ready to negotiate and talk numbers with your sales team.
At this stage, SQLs consume content that’ll help distinguish you as a potential vendor for their business challenges. So, they generally interact with case studies and pricing models to set your solutions apart from competing options.
An SQL generally demonstrates high-purchasing intent.
Sometimes, teams botch this up. Most teams use MQLs and SQLs interchangeably.
But they aren’t the same and shouldn’t be.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a>So, how do SQLs differ from MQLs?</a></h2>
The clear demarcation is the intent to buy.
MQLs are leads who are actively aware of your brand and have shown interest in knowing more. They are trying to research and gain knowledge about their own pain points while exploring other options in the market.
Their buying intent is almost null.
Meanwhile, SQLs fall on the other side. They demonstrate high buying intent. And at this stage, they are evaluating their options.
The content these two engage with is distinct. But how do you map your strategies in the first place without a complete grasp of the subject matter?
It all just leads to over-scoring and low-quality MQLs who never convert.
If the qualification process is where your leads take the blow, how will they ever progress further?
Structure a framework to accurately identify SQLs: what makes a lead sales-ready?
<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a>Qualifying framework to validate the SQL identification process</a></h2>
<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a>Start by asking the right questions and listening.</a></h3>
BANT is one of the most effective and powerful qualification frameworks out there. Developed by <a href="https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/bant" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">IBM in the 1950s</a>, it has proved to be a treasure trove for modern marketing.
And every other framework, from MEDICC to NOTE, is a reiteration of BANT. But BANT has become obsolete in the modern landscape.
For example, take NOTE.
It poses a crucial advantage in today’s customer-first marketing landscape compared to the older models.
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>N – Need: Understand the problem prospects face, i.e., what’s not working?</li>
<li>O – Opportunity: What’s the upside if the problem is addressed and tackled?</li>
<li>T – Team: Who’s pulling the strings for the final purchase?</li>
<li>E – Effect: What would the short-term and long-term effects of integrating this solution look like?</li>
</ul>
NOTE underscores the long-term customer experience, while BANT has helped businesses efficiently close deals. It’s not enough to make a purchase; you need to assess whether the client is fit to adopt and integrate the solution into their systems.
This makes NOTE imperative for the modern buying landscape. It focuses not on the business’s need to sell but on the customer’s need for the solution.
Older qualification systems quickly push the sales process.
But NOTE acknowledges the organization’s need and timeline to ensure that SDRs gauge where the leads are in their buying journey. And whether this solution will set them up for long-term success.
If you think about it, the need for an appropriate budget is a single facet of qualification.
The newer model focuses on the nuances of decision-making, addressing its nonlinearity in B2B.
It isn’t about the obvious anymore. But truly <a href="https://ciente.io/blogs/bant-questions-guide/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">listening to what leads are here for</a>.
Nuanced qualification models help SDRs and marketing recognize the client’s growth potential.
And listen to understand what this purchase means to the leads.
By determining this, <a href="https://cientesalestech.io/" data-type="link" data-id="https://cientesalestech.io/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">sales </a>and <a href="https://cientemartech.io/" data-type="link" data-id="https://cientemartech.io/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">marketing</a> can move a lead toward being sales-ready.
<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a>Establish persona filters to segment relevant leads.</a></h3>
Most often, ill-fitting leads are still handed off from marketing to sales because they engaged with your brand.
This is where the disconnect begins.
Just because an account downloads the whitepaper doesn’t mean they are relevant. They might even hold purchasing intent, but are they in the market for your solutions?
This is where persona filters swoop in.
These filters, such as industry, pain points, and behavior, among others, help segment out the relevant accounts that fit your buyer persona or ICP. For example, the lack of budget may categorize an account as an MQL because they can’t afford to progress into a sales conversion.
Meanwhile, the wrong industry would establish that your solution wouldn’t help solve their pain points. This account is irrelevant to what you have to offer.
Persona filters help spotlight this demarcation.
And if the account continues to engage, they are likely doing so only for the information. They cannot move into being an SQL.
It’s not because they lack the budget, urgency, or authority, but because their wants don’t align with the industry you cater to. It serves as a qualification and an elimination process.
By focusing on leads that fit your ICP and buyer persona, SDRs expend their resources on <a href="https://ciente.io/lead-generation-services/" data-type="link" data-id="https://ciente.io/lead-generation-services/">high-intent leads</a> with promising conversion potential.
<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a>Gauge buying intent from behavioral and third-party data.</a></h3>
Tech innovations have established a new channel for marketers to revamp their efforts.
It’s not about services that are marketable to a diverse section of the population. Each effort has become more niche, and the comms strategies are more targeted – the customer is at the center.
B2B buying was never linear, and it has become even more complex.
So, savvy marketers have invested heavily in leveraging behavioral data to understand their audience base, whether by studying the sequence of specific actions or even analyzing third-party data.
There would be two different scenarios here:
<ol start="1" class="wp-block-list">
<li>A prospect is researching queries related to your services on third-party sites – this is third-party intent data. These touchpoints are outside your jurisdiction, but they still illustrate that the prospect is in-market.</li>
<li>Another prospect from the same company is interacting with service pages across your website. And then, they proceed to download eBooks and respond to emails. These behavior sequences are direct proofs of engagement.</li>
</ol>
Both these data types help marketers pinpoint very different behaviors and also gauge the purchase intent of a lead. They facilitate marketers to move beyond guesswork and underscore buyer behavior with precision.
And when you combine third-party data with these behavioral sequences, specific patterns emerge.
The overlap is where SQLs emerge from.
Instead of relying on either internal or external signals, why not merge both for an accurate analysis?
Alone, third-party data often lacks context, and behavioral data doesn’t always signal sales-readiness. But combined, the data spotlights the relevance and timeline.
With this, SDRs get a clearer picture of what to say, to whom, and when.
<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a>CRM enrichment for confident sales qualification.</a></h3>
Traditional CRM systems entail basic information, such as industry, name, email, and company. By itself, this data cannot help you gauge whether a lead is sales-ready.
It requires contextual data that offers you better insight into who a lead is and what they are really in the market for. It could also be that they know the problem and are actively researching it, but aren’t confident where to look for solutions just yet.
This is where CRM enrichment can help your brand become the lead’s saving grace.
It helps transform raw lead data into actionable data by layering context to each data point. Each lead account is paired with contextual information that can’t be gauged from basic form filling or whitepaper downloads.
This additional data could actively change how you prioritize and qualify your leads.
Think:
A prospect enters your CRM through gated content. On the surface, you only know their name, email, and company. But what if CRM enrichment follows this up with – the lead is the IT director of a mid-market cybersecurity company? And your solution can perfectly integrate with tools in their existing tech stacks.
The company has growth potential and is actively looking to invest in new infrastructure.
So, they might not just be consuming your content, but could still be prospective buyers.
Moreover, CRM enrichment also works alternatively. In isolation, some data may flag an account’s engagement, but paired with context, it might not illustrate buying intent.
On the other hand, another account may be actively researching solutions in your market, but their interaction with your brand is quite limited. You can leverage this data from enrichment providers to help marketing reach out to them and nurture them forward.
CRM enrichment doesn’t add more data to an already exhausted database. It adds better data for sales to target the right leads at the right time, refining the sales qualification process.
<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a>Assess the lead source to gauge lead quality early on.</a></h3>
Not all leads are created equal, and neither do they come from the same source. When a lead enters your sales funnel, the channel they entered through gives the slightest clue about what’s their intention.
A lead arriving from a search for “best CRM systems” might hold far more intent than a like on a social media post. Both are at distinct stages of the buyer journey. While one is aware of the problem and is actively evaluating solutions, the other is casually browsing.
When these activities are tracked across past behavior, marketers come to see a pattern.
Leads from <a href="https://umbrex.com/resources/ultimate-guide-to-company-analysis/ultimate-guide-to-marketing-analysis/lead-conversion-rate-analysis/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">inbound marketing channels</a>, such as content marketing and SEO, have higher conversion rates. They might move through the sales cycle faster or even have high customer lifetime value.
These patterns offer marketing and sales with predictive insight, improving the SQL identification process.
When paired with CRM enrichment, the collated data showcases that the leads from particular sources and channels have a higher possibility of fitting the SQL criteria. This helps marketing and sales develop a comprehensive understanding of what ‘qualified’ or ‘sales-ready’ actually means.
Overall, lead sources might not directly help with qualification. But it adds intent context behind the data available in your CRM. It enhances your qualification model and helps:
<ol start="1" class="wp-block-list">
<li>Prioritize high-quality leads early on.</li>
<li>Facilitate better segmentation.</li>
<li>Tailor nurturing for leads not yet ready.</li>
</ol>
Underscoring lead score gives you a head start on leads’ sales potential and helps your SDRs invest time in accounts with higher conversion possibilities.
The bottom line: The more information your teams have on a lead, the easier it becomes to qualify them as sales-qualified leads.
It’s not about closing deals per se. But elevating efficiency in a way that works best for your business.
And neither is it about segmenting SQLs and MQLs.
It’s about gaining a more strategic mindset that streamlines your efforts with the desired outcomes.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a>And finally, SQL qualification is also about understanding your prospective buyer.</a></h2>
With the advent of rapid digital transformation, the traditional definition of a sales-qualified lead has collapsed.
Today, there are more channels and touchpoints. And the concept has become more nuanced. So, the qualifying framework isn’t a lens to perceive leads as mere data points but to spotlight the nuances of the buyer journey.
A lead may be considered an SQL in the traditional sense, but it still requires passing through multiple criteria and nurturing stages before interacting with sales.
The focus isn’t just on demographic or firmographic data, though their significance remains. Behavior-based qualification has gained momentum, leading to more personalized experiences.
The buyer has come to occupy the central position in marketing and sales.
And owing to the subtle shift from forceful sales tactics to relational and consulting approaches, SQLs are no longer perceived as numbers.
They are now at a vital juncture in the customer-relationship-building process, alongside establishing marketing-sales alignment.
Propelling a much-needed shift in sales’ role: closing business deals to educating and consulting.
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