- Take into account the need for information
The starting point is always the need for information. Without this, no one calls up a page. Something has aroused interest, now the task must be to “pick up” this interest in the best possible way. In practice, the starting page is already a problem. Although these are often designed in an aesthetically pleasing way, especially in the B2B sector, users who have arrived via a SEA ad, for example, search for the product page in a relatively straightforward manner. If this is hidden, it quickly leads to abandonment. In addition, companies with a strong export orientation often have three to five main product groups. In this case, creating separate landing pages for each SEA ad based on the product groups can be helpful. The landing page structure should be simple and reduced for the best possible conversion rate. The top or footer navigation can be reduced. Meaningful contact elements can be used to orient the user. Don’t forget: Main selling points should stand out and drive conversion.
- Guide users on the website
The orientation element is another important part of the website. Users appreciate being clearly guided. What has long been standard in the B2C sector is still in need of expansion in the B2B sector. What should therefore not be missing are so-called call-to-action fields (CTA). These are areas that ensure redirection to another page or open a contact form. This should be available on every subpage or landing page. Good CTAs have the following:
The wording is clear and promises something. The CTA should stand out visually. And a CTA should be available after a specific offer description. After all, this is where potential customers make their decisions. Expert tip: When it comes to the contact form, make sure the information is clear and streamlined. If the form is too complicated, this is also where contact is broken off – the opposite of what is desired.
- Reduce the number of contact fields.
And that leads to the next point: contrary to what you might expect, a reduced amount of contact information significantly increases the conversion rate. Often, the user’s address and phone number are not necessary and can be omitted as optional fields anyway. It is also goal-oriented to display this immediately in case of incorrect entry (e.g. missing area code) instead of after completion. Especially for B2B companies that also operate internationally, the form should reflect cultural specifics. This leaves a positive impression. In China, for example, no distinction is made between first and last names.
- Think global!
Multilingual websites and landing pages are therefore almost mandatory, especially in the international environment for export-strong companies. If this is taken into account in the context of B2B conversion rate optimization, a high conversion rate can be achieved with international customers. Therefore, if you already have local contact persons with contact addresses, e-mails, and telephone numbers in the target markets, this should also be recognizable on the corresponding page. This increases trust and establishes proximity. The user understands that messages do not disappear in the “black box” but really reach the right place. Two final points concern country preferences and sales figures for the advertised products. Here, a “one-size-fits-all” solution should not come into play, but rather exact research should be done to determine which products generate interest in the respective target market. Differences in currency, punctuation, and spelling of the date should also be taken into account in communication.
- Website analytics
Once all these steps have been successfully implemented, it comes to the most important one: the analysis of a website’s visitors. Many companies do not even know who visits their website. A full 98 percent of visitors remain unrecognized. In order to generate relevant leads via website traffic, smart website analytics tools are required that identify B2B visitors fully automatically and, ideally, turn them directly into leads. The tool helps in automatically enriching data such as Company name, industry, address, URL, condition data, and contact. By being able to prioritize potential leads based on this information, the operational effort for the sales team is reduced. Further pre-qualification of leads can take place based on other relevant data, such as Industry, revenue, and profit.
The basic prerequisite here is, of course, that data protection when collecting as well as managing the data complies with German and European laws. Website analytics tools that already do not use cookies have a major advantage, especially since the legislation will change here in the near future.