The Traffic Lights of B2B Marketing: From Awareness to Action

In B2B Marketing, timing and precision are everything. Engage a lead too early and you risk wasting resources, too late and they may have chosen another vendor. To optimize engagement, marketers need a simple way to visualize where a lead stands in their buying journey.

As a result, marketing and sales strategies must evolve to stay relevant and impactful at every stage of the funnel.

Enter: The Traffic Lights of B2B Marketing – a framework for navigating the funnel.

Red Light (Top of the Funnel)

Unaware and Unengaged

At the top of the funnel, prospects are largely unaware of your brand and are not actively looking for a solution. This is the awareness stage, where your goal as a marketer is to educate and generate interest without pushing for a conversion. 

Typical signs for red lights: 

• No previous engagement with your brand 

• No visits to your website 

• Not part of any known buying cycle 

Best-fit tactics to engage: 

• Display and digital ads 

• Cold outreach 

• Social media and broad content (e.g., blogs and infographics) 

At this stage, marketing should focus on reach and recognition. 

Amber Light (Middle of the Funnel)

Researching and Signalling Intent

Each persona within the buying group plays their own role: 

In the middle of the funnel, prospects begin to show intent. They’re beginning to consume content, researching vendors, and comparing solutions, but they haven’t yet made any contact or a decision. 

Indicators include: 

• Multiple visits to key pages 

• Content downloads (eBooks, whitepapers) 

• Subtle buying signals from different team members or stakeholders 

Tactics to use at this stage: 

• Retargeting with relevant content 

• Nurture emails with case studies, success stories and relevant downloads 

• Account-based marketing (ABM) focused on active intent signals 

At this stage, intent signals provide your team with clarity. It’s your opportunity to align your messaging and prepare for targeted engagements. 

Green Light (Bottom of the Funnel)

Engaged and Ready to Talk

At the bottom of the funnel, leads are actively engaging at a human level. This is your conversion stage. The lead is warm, and ready for a conversation with your team. 

Green light actions include: 

• Attending webinars or live demos 

• In-person event check-ins 

• Replying to personalized outreach (e.g., email, phone call) 

• Engaging with direct mails 

Conversion tactics at the green light stage: 

• Direct sales outreach 

• Tailored proposals 

• Marketing – Sales handoff for a personalized follow-up 

This is where precision pays off. Green means go. 

How pharosIQ Accelerates the Buyer Journey

At pharosIQ, we help B2B marketers identify and act on these signals across the buying funnel. From awareness to engagement to conversion, our multi-layered demand gen strategy ensures no opportunity is missed. 

We don’t just detect intent, we amplify it. This helps you turn amber into green faster and more effectively, driving smarter engagements and better ROI. 

Let pharosIQ be your guide from red to green.