Create and optimize a B2B customer journey: 2025 guide

Customer journey B2B: The most important things in brief

• The B2B customer journey describes the entire Decision-making process of a company from identification of needs to recommendation.
• On average, a B2B customer journey is six to ten decision makers involved.
• Die five phases A B2B customer journey includes awareness, consideration, decision, retention and advocacy.
• typical touchpoints A B2B customer journey includes LinkedIn, white papers, webinars, product demos, support portals, and reference programs.
• AI search leads convert around 40 percent better than classic search leads.

What makes up the customer journey in B2B?

The B2B customer journey represents the entire process that companies go through when identifying a problem, searching for solutions, selecting providers and retaining and potential recommendations. In contrast to the B2C sector, the B2B journey is more complex:

• Decisions take significantly longer, often several months.
• Several decision makers from different departments are typically involved: specialists, purchasing, management, IT.
• The need for information is diverse: technical details, profitability calculations, data security, compliance.

Which phases does the B2B customer journey go through?

The B2B customer journey consists of five phases: Awareness, Consideration, Decision, Retention, and Advocacy. In every phase, it changes who is in demand on the provider side, which Information customers need and On what Companies can measure progress.

1. Awareness (identify a need)

• Objective: Create awareness for a problem or opportunity.
• Typical touchpoints: Technical articles, industry portals, social media (e.g. LinkedIn), webinars, trade fairs.
• Appropriate content: Blog posts, white papers, studies, trend reports, infographics.
• Metrics (KPIs): Reach, page views, social shares, click-through rate.

2. Consideration (compare solutions)

• Objective: Evaluate various options and providers.
• Typical touchpoints: Provider websites, review portals, comparative studies, expert discussions.
• Appropriate content: Case studies, webinars, checklists, product comparisons, technical documentation.
• Metrics (KPIs): Number of marketing qualified leads (MQLs), engagement rate, downloaded materials, requests for initial meetings.

3. Decision (prepare a purchase decision)

• Objective: Make the final choice and secure it internally.
• Typical touchpoints: Product demos, price talks, proof of concept, test access.
• Appropriate content: ROI calculator, offer documents, demo videos, references, security and compliance documents.
• Metrics (KPIs): Sales qualified leads (SQLs), number of offers, win rate, average time-to-close.

→ At this point, i.e. at the end of the third phase, the purchase decision and the conclusion of the purchase take place.

4. Retention (ensure satisfaction)

• Objective: Retain customers over the long term and stabilize usage.
• Typical touchpoints: Onboarding workshops, customer service, self-service portals, account managers.
• Appropriate content: Onboarding guides, support documentation, community forums, regular business reviews.
• Metrics (KPIs): Net Promoter Score (NPS), renewal rate, support tickets, active usage rate.

5. Advocacy (promote recommendation)

• Objective: Turn existing customers into advocates.
• Typical touchpoints: Customer interviews, reference programs, professional events, peer-to-peer networks.
• Appropriate content: Success stories, reference videos, customer testimonials, co-marketing initiatives.
• Metrics (KPIs): Number of recommendations, leads generated through references, expansion MRR, participation in programs.

What are the special features of the B2B customer journey?

The B2B customer journey differs from a B2C customer journey primarily in its length, which Number of participants and the high standards of information. It involves decision-making and selection processes that take months and are jointly supported by several departments.

1. Multiple decision makers within the B2B customer journey

In companies and authorities, up to ten people are sometimes involved in the purchase process. This includes specialist departments, purchasing, management and often also IT. Everyone has their own requirements:

• Technical specifications
• Cost plans
• legal requirements
• required features and connectivity options

This makes this customer journey more complex and requires clearly structured information that is relevant for all parties.

2. Non-linear processes during the B2B customer journey

In B2B, the journey is rarely straight forward. stakeholders Jump between phases back and forth: A solution that was already favored is called into question again when new requirements arise or additional co-decision makers are involved.

In this context, we are talking about the Messy Middle, So the rather chaotic middle section of the customer journey. You should be prepared to roll out the same case multiple times, with consistent but different content that highlights the topic from different angles.

3. Longer decision cycles of the B2B customer journey

On average, B2B decisions take several months, in some industries over a year. The reasons include internal reconciliations, budget approvals and detailed security and compliance reviews.

For you, that can mean: Have patience and develop the ability to provide reliable information and support over a long period of time.

How do I create a B2B customer journey?

Creating a B2B customer journey means the entire Your customer's decision-making process is visible to do: Starting with the initial perception of the problem through to long-term cooperation.

With that, you can see Which departments are involved are what information is needed and where you can create added value with targeted measures.

Studies show that, on average, 6 to 10 decision makers are involved and 77% found the last B2B purchase to be very complex. That is exactly why it is worthwhile to structure the journey cleanly and update it regularly.

Step 1: Define buyer personas

Start with People's profiles, which could be involved in the B2B customer journey and are part of the decision-making process. This includes specialists, buyers, managers and IT.

Hold their Objectives, decision-making processes and their needs stuck to information. In many cases, personas are less emotionally motivated than in B2C, but rather expect hard facts, references and business cases.

Step 2: Collect all touchpoints

Capture all touchpoints where a customer interacts and could interact with your company:

Touchpoints in awareness (attract attention)

• LinkedIn posts and sponsored content
• White papers and study reports
• Technical articles on industry portals
• blog posts
• Conference presentations and trade fair appearances
• Podcasts and guest appearances in industry formats
• Newsletter with market insights
• PR articles in specialist media

Touchpoints in Consideration (compare solutions)

• Landing pages with clear benefit arguments
• Email nurturing campaigns
• Product brochures and technical data sheets
• Video content (explanatory videos, product presentations)
• Comparison and checklists
• Case studies with reliable figures
• Online seminars or webinars
• Assessment and review platforms (e.g. G2, OMR Reviews)

Touchpoints in Decision (preparing a purchase decision)

• Product demos (remote or on-site)
• Proof of Concept (PoC) or pilot projects
• ROI calculator and business case templates
• Security and compliance documentation
• Reference meetings with existing customers
• Price offers and contract documents
• FAQ pages about costs, integration and operation

Touchpoints in retention (ensure satisfaction)

• Onboarding workshops
• Training (face-to-face or online)
• Customer portals and self-service hubs
• Support tickets and help desk systems
• Personal contact with account managers
• Regular business reviews
• Release notes and update communication
• Customer newsletter

Touchpoints in Advocacy (recommendation)

• Customer interviews and success stories
• Reference programs (e.g. logo usage, citations)
• Co-marketing initiatives
• Participating in community events
• Referral programs with incentives
• peer-to-peer networks (e.g. roundtables, user groups)
• Social proof via LinkedIn posts or guest posts

In B2B journeys, it is typically dozens of touchpoints over several months, which often run in parallel. These touchpoints are almost never perceived linearly, but in all imaginable combinations and sequences. It is therefore important that you link and promote your content.

Step 3: Get customer feedback

A recurring problem in many B2B customer journeys is Prozessbacklog. This means that a purchase project stalls because internal reconciliations are not progressing:

A department still has unanswered questions, purchasing is waiting for additional offers, or IT requires security checks that no one has prepared. Loud Forrester [open external link in new tab] 86% of all B2B purchases come to such a standstill at least once, and 81% of buyers end up dissatisfied because the process was too complicated.

To avoid this for yourself, you should actively seek feedback from existing customers:

• Interviews after project completion: Ask specifically which steps were helpful and where delays occurred.
• Customer surveys: Use short, targeted questionnaires to systematically record which information was missing in the journey.
• Sales and support insights: Your sales and support team often know best where prospects or customers are stuck.

With this feedback, you can see which content or touchpoints help you prevent future traffic jams, for example a ready-made security document, a price list with common options, or a handout for management.

Step 4: Visualize the B2B customer journey

Create a diagram or board, for example in Miro, Figma or Google Sheets, that represents the phases of awareness, consideration, decision, retention and advocacy with their respective touchpoints.

This allows you to immediately identify gaps and duplicates. Important: Plan for bounces where customers switch back and forth between phases when new requirements arise.

Step 5: Develop your strategy

Assign appropriate measures to each step. In the awareness phase, you need reach and thought leadership; in the decision phase, you need demos, ROI calculators and security documents.

Think of buyer enablement, i.e. content that actively guides the customer through the next step and strengthens them and enables them to make decisions. These measures increase the probability of closing by 2.8 times.

Step 6: Implement the measures

Set up your content and channels: blog articles, webinars, case studies, white papers, and proof-of-concept offerings. Make sure to connect marketing, sales, and service, as customers expect consistent information across all channels.

Step 7: Continuously monitor and optimize

Measure key figures:

• Awareness: reach, qualified traffic
• Consideration: MQLs, interactions with content
• Decision: SQLs, win-rate, time-to-close
• Retention: renewal rate, NPS
• Advocacy: Referral leads, expansion MRR

Adjust your customer journey regularly, as the market, the competition, and the availability and quality of tools are constantly evolving. With ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI tools, part of the research is also shifting to new channels. Your content should also be available and citable there.

Which indicators do I use to measure the quality and success of my measures?

Each phase of the B2B customer journey has typical indicators that show you whether your measures are taking effect. The important thing is: Start with a few core values and only expand them once you have established sustainable monitoring.

Monitoring in the awareness phase of the B2B customer journey

• Range: Number of people who've seen your content, such as impressions on LinkedIn and organic visibility of your site.
• Qualified traffic: Visitors to your website who come from relevant industries or regions.
• Click-through rate (CTR): Share of users who respond to your content

Monitoring in the consideration phase of the B2B customer journey

• Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs): Contacts who have shown interest through interactions such as downloads or webinar attendance.
• Engagement rate: Ratio of active interactions (clicks, downloads, logins) to total visitors.
• Content consumption: Number of downloaded white papers, case studies, or reports.
• Brand mentions in AI models: How often your brand is mentioned in ChatGPT, Gemini, or Google AI Overviews
• Citations/source visibility: Show up your content in AI overviews or AI answers, such as a cited source or reference.

Monitoring in the decision phase of the B2B customer journey

• Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs): Leads that are specifically ready to buy according to sales criteria.
• Win rate: Ratio of deals won to all offers.
• Time-to-close: Duration from initial contact to contract conclusion.
• Proof-of-concept success: Proportion of PoCs that transition into real projects.
• AI recommendation visibility: Show up your offer in AI-generated purchase recommendations or short lists. Buyers are increasingly starting their decision phase directly in ChatGPT or Gemini.

Monitoring in the retention phase of the B2B customer journey

• Renewal rate: Percentage of customers who renew contracts or subscriptions.
• Net Promoter Score (NPS): Willingness of your customers to recommend
• Support statistics: Number and processing time of tickets.
• Product usage: Active users, login frequency, or feature adoption.

Monitoring in the advocacy phase of the B2B customer journey

• Referral leads: Number of referrals from existing customers.
• Expansion MRR: Additional monthly revenue through upsell or cross-sell.
• Customer testimonials: Number of customers who are willing to serve as references or publish case studies.
• Participation in programs: Involvement in customer communities, user groups, or co-marketing.

How is AI changing the B2B customer journey?

Artificial intelligence is changing the customer journey. More and more B2B customers are starting their Research directly in ChatGPT, Gemini or just read Google AI overviews. studies show that 29% of B2B decision makers start their search more frequently in ChatGPT than in search engines and that AI search leads convert around 40% better.

At the same time, more and more questions and answers in Google end up directly in the AI Overview, combined with falling click rates on conventional links.

• Publish facts and figures: AI models like to quote precise values, their own surveys and studies.
• Structured data: Schema.org markup, FAQ sections, and tables increase the chances of appearing in AI overviews or LLM issues.
• Include reliable sources: Review sites, industry portals, Wikipedia and .org domains have above-average visibility in AI overviews.
• E-E-A-T signals: Author names, expertise, company profile and source references are important to substantiate your own statements.
• Monitoring: Check regularly to see if your brand appears in ChatGPT, Gemini, and AI overviews. You can do this manually on a small scale and let software do it for you.

Lead through the B2B customer journey with high-conversion landing pages

An important part of every customer journey are landing pages that Convince the visitor of the value of your offer. On landing pages, you collect leads early in the journey, and later customers book calls there with your sales team.

We at Axisbits are yours Agency for high-converting landing pages. Your new landing pages from Axisbits will quickly become a natural part of your campaigns and funnels.

We are creating a consistent reasoning, where your visitors feel immediately picked up and in good hands. Of course, we take care of hosting, website technology and continuous improvement of your landing pages in order to push conversion rates to the maximum over and over again.

If you a planning or extending the customer journey, We will support you with strong landing pages that should really reach everyone. Get in touch with us with your project!

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