> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.tryprofound.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# B2B software

> How to build a prompt set for a B2B software brand, with best practices and examples

People choosing business software narrow their options by budget and by the tools their company already uses, so the prompt set needs pricing and integration prompts for every product. If IT reviews software purchases, add security and compliance prompts. If a larger competitor leads the category, add prompts that ask for alternatives to it.

## Create your prompt set

### Topics to cover

Replace `[brand]` and `[competitor]` in the example prompts with your brand and a competitor.

| Topic | Example prompt |
| - | - |
| Each product or module | Best reporting tools for marketing teams that pull from Salesforce |
| New integrations | Does `[brand]` integrate with Salesforce and Slack? |
| Marketing ops | Which tool keeps our campaign calendar from slipping? |
| Alternatives to a competitor | Best alternatives to `[competitor]` for a 50-person team |
| IT and security | Which project tools meet SOC 2 and support SSO? |
| Budget planning season | Which tools are worth adding to next year's budget? |
| Finance and procurement | Which project tool has the best pricing for 50 users? |
| Conferences and user events | What did `[brand]` announce at its user conference? |

> [!TIP]
>
> **Make prompts more specific.** Instead of *"What are the best project management tools for marketing teams?"*, try *"I run marketing ops at a 50-person SaaS company and our campaigns keep slipping. What are the best project management tools for marketing teams that integrate with Salesforce for under \$15 a user?"*

### Best practices

* **Leave your brand name out of [discovery prompts](https://docs.tryprofound.com/getting-started/glossary.md#discovery-prompt).** Putting your name in the question inflates your [Visibility Score](https://docs.tryprofound.com/getting-started/glossary.md#visibility-score). Use it only in [validation](https://docs.tryprofound.com/getting-started/glossary.md#validation-prompt) and [FactCheck](https://docs.tryprofound.com/answer-engine-insights/factcheck/about.md) prompts.
* **One prompt = one topic.** Topics shouldn't overlap. Put funnel stage, campaign, and season in tags instead.
* **Ask it like a person would.** Write the full question someone would type or say.
* **Track only prompts that matter to the business.** Thousands of small variations of the same question make trends harder to read.
* **Keep coverage and depth apart.** [Coverage topics](https://docs.tryprofound.com/getting-started/glossary.md#coverage-topic) include broad prompts for each business line. Add two to five [depth topics](https://docs.tryprofound.com/getting-started/glossary.md#depth-topic) for your priorities, and keep new prompts out of the coverage topics.
* **Retire seasonal prompts.** Disable seasonal and news-driven prompts once they go stale. If you reword a prompt, you're measuring something new, so don't compare trends across the change.

## Refine your prompt set

The first prompt set you build gives you a baseline. Here's how you can expand it:

1. Add prompts that check integrations, pricing, and security or compliance.
2. Add "alternatives to `[competitor]`" prompts for the competitors buyers consider instead of you.
3. Run each topic again by company size and by role.

### Ask AI Marketer

Use [AI Marketer (Aim)](https://docs.tryprofound.com/aim/about.md) to make your prompts better. Paste one of these questions to an Aim chat to see which prompts to add, cut, or tag. Swap the `[values in brackets]` for your own.

| Ask | What you get |
| - | - |
| Which competitors show up instead of us on integration and pricing prompts? | Where [validation prompts](https://docs.tryprofound.com/getting-started/glossary.md#validation-prompt) are lost |
| Which product modules and personas have the thinnest prompt coverage? | Business lines to add depth to |
| What are buyers asking AI about alternatives to `[competitor]`, and which sources get cited? | Alternatives prompts to add, and sources to pitch |
| Does our visibility change by company size or role? Compare my personas. | Which variations matter most |
| What do AI answers say about our security and compliance, and is any of it wrong? | FactCheck prompts to add |

### Add tags to your prompts

[Tags](https://docs.tryprofound.com/getting-started/glossary.md#tag) can span topics, and one prompt can have several. Use these tag examples and rename them to match how you work.

| Tag group | Examples |
| - | - |
| Funnel stage | Informational TOFU, Commercial TOFU, Informational BOFU, Commercial BOFU |
| Product or module | Project management, Reporting, Automation, Integrations |
| Persona | Marketing ops, IT and security, Finance, Executive |
| Company size | SMB, Mid-market, Enterprise |
| Campaign | New integration, Alternatives to `[competitor]`, Product launch |
| Season | Budget planning, End of quarter, Annual conference |

> [!TIP]
>
> **IF YOU'RE STUCK**
>
> 1. **Pick the five topics that matter most to the business.**
> 2. **Write one prompt per funnel stage.** Four stages (Informational and Commercial, each for top and bottom of funnel) give you four base prompts per topic.
> 3. **Add about 10 variations.** Change the [persona](https://docs.tryprofound.com/answer-engine-insights/personas.md), use case, company size, or wording.

### Advanced tips

* **Use words like "brands" or "stores" in your prompts.** For example, *"What should I look for in a running shoe?"* returns a checklist of features, and *"Which brands make the best running shoes for flat feet?"* returns a list of brands, which is the answer you can measure your brand against.
* **Give every comparison a use case.** A *"`[brand]` vs `[competitor]`"* prompt alone returns an "it depends" answer. Add who is asking and why: *"`[brand]` vs `[competitor]` for a 50-person team that already uses Salesforce"* gives the AI enough context to pick one.
* **Spell out any unclear term the first time.** An acronym or internal product name can derail the answer. Write *"generative engine optimization tools"* rather than *"GEO tools"*, and name the product category rather than using a code word only your team uses for it.
* **Say what you want without pushing toward your own brand.** The question *"Which project management tools, like `[brand]`, are best for marketing teams?"* nudges the AI toward your brand and tells you nothing about whether it would have named you on its own.
* **Test your prompts.** Run each prompt once in an [answer engine](https://docs.tryprofound.com/getting-started/glossary.md#answer-engine) and read what it returns. A [discovery prompt](https://docs.tryprofound.com/getting-started/glossary.md#discovery-prompt) should list brands, a [comparison](https://docs.tryprofound.com/getting-started/glossary.md#competitor-prompt) should pick one, and a [validation](https://docs.tryprofound.com/getting-started/glossary.md#validation-prompt) should say yes or no. Learn more about different types of prompts in [Profound's AEO guide](https://www.tryprofound.com/aeo-guide/chapter-3#six-types-of-prompts).
* **Tag every prompt you add**. Learn more in [Categorize Your Prompts With Tags](https://docs.tryprofound.com/answer-engine-insights/how-tos/create-topics-and-prompts.md#categorize-your-prompts-with-tags).

## Next steps

* Read the [Promptologie](https://www.tryprofound.com/aeo-guide/chapter-3) chapter in Profound's AEO guide.
* Learn how to [create, manage, and tag prompts](https://docs.tryprofound.com/answer-engine-insights/prompt-designer.md) in Profound.
* Review the guide on [how to create effective prompts](https://docs.tryprofound.com/answer-engine-insights/how-tos/create-effective-prompts.md) using Prompt Volumes and intent data.