Todd NesnickDesigning a B2B website is the fun and easy part.
Trust me when I say that because what comes next is tougher. You need to drive conversions.
The goal of any digital marketing strategy is to accentuate the percentage of website visitors taking desirable actions. Desirable actions like opening your emails, subscribing to newsletters, or requesting demos.
With today’s well-informed shoppers, smart marketers understand that conversion is part of a long-term strategy.
They understand that as shoppers take these small desirable actions their level of engagement increases moving them closer to the end goal—making a purchase.
So today, we’ll look at digital marketing initiatives that may help you drive these small desirable actions. What we otherwise call conversions.
Create Conversion-Focused Videos
A study by Wyzowl showed that 78 percent of the participants were convinced to download or buy software after watching a video. A further 88 percent said watching a brand’s video convinced them to purchase their product/service.
Video isn’t just good for creating brand awareness, it helps convince viewers to take the next step.
Here are video formats that help boost conversions:
- Brand videos. These videos drive awareness of your brand and help build a perception of your business and offerings. Brand videos don’t necessarily advertise specific products/services, rather seek to establish your company in the eyes of your audience.
- Customer testimonials videos. The key aspect of these videos lies in their relatability. They showcase your solutions’ capabilities from a user’s perspective. Through the video, the viewer travels the journey with your customer, envisioning how your services can help them as well.
- How-to-videos. Are your customers detail-oriented? How-to-videos delve deeper into your product/services features in an easy-to-grasp manner. They go into detail on how to use the product/service to ensure customers derive full benefit from it.
Set up Pop-up Advertising
I’m sure you’ve come across these.
You’re browsing a website when an ad opens in a new window sharing details about discounts you can leverage, content for download, and newsletter sign-ups.
There are plenty of reasons pop-ups work aka drive conversions.
Pop-ups are in your face, there is no missing them or what they are saying. This increases awareness of the message you want to put across.
Well-implemented pop-up ads deliver value for audiences. They contain information that catches readers’ interests, prompting them to engage.
Many brands hide landing pages behind pop-ups, so the reader first sees value in the ad before a request comes through for their contact information.
Best practices include:
- Make it easy for users to quit the pop-up. Hiding the exit button can frustrate audiences and cause them to abandon the page.
- Ensure the content on the pop-up suits is relevant to the page your visitors are on. If they are browsing the price page, employ a first-time buyer discount or an exclusive offer for repeat buyers, etc.
- Employ some creativity to keep readers from quitting immediately. Emotion-provoking words and value-loaded content work here.
Incorporate Interactive Email
With over 300 billion emails going around the world every day, email is a popular form of communication won’t you say?
But the large numbers notwithstanding, how many of these emails get read?
A study by Mailbird showed that up to 35 percent of emails sent were left unread. Not a large percentage, but pit that against 300B emails, and what do you get?
What if there was a way that you would increase click-through in your email marketing campaigns? You would take it, right?
Welcome to interactive email.
A strategy where marketers incorporate interactive features in their emails to increase engagement. Statistics revealed that adding videos or other visually appealing elements to business emails led to growth in CTR of up to 300 percent.
Here are some interactive email ideas:
- Graphs. Use animated graphs to present data like product comparisons or performance metrics. Make it so users can alter data to see different outcomes.
- Videos. Short videos introducing yourself and your solutions are a creative way to engage your audience. Embedding short product demo videos can also help interest readers in what you’re selling.
- Integrated forms. Adding fillable forms within email makes it easier for users to access gated content downloads, request demos, take surveys, and even share feedback.
- Accordioned Content. Since only section headings appear, users can click and read the sections they find most appealing. It improves click-through and engagement.
Make Cold Calls
There are several ways to initiate contact with a potential customer. You can send them a cold email, reach out on LinkedIn or post high-quality content to attract target companies.
Or you can pick up the phone and call them up.
A survey by RAIN Group showed that more than 50 percent of senior-level buyers preferred being contacted via phone. And you have five to 10 minutes to prove your value proposition.
The question isn’t whether cold calling works, rather how you can tweak your pitch to provide the best value for your prospect. The higher the value you provide, the more likely you’re to influence their purchase decision.
Best practices include:
- Research your leads. The best way to offer value is by researching the companies you’re targeting. The more information you have about their business, operations, needs, and expectations, the better you can package your proposition.
- Keep an eye out for shifting trends. Industry developments and new legislation can open new opportunities for connecting your solutions to consumer needs. Business changes like expansions, restructuring, or new funding are also opportunities you can leverage.
- Have personable conversations. Keep your conversations friendly and inviting to encourage the listener to open up. Refer to interesting things you found out during your research—congratulate them on an achievement, mention an interest you share, etc.
- Focus on your goal. It’s easy to get lost in rapport building and forget your goal. Keep this goal in mind and gently steer the conversations toward it.
Incorporate Live Chat
Did you know that close to 41 percent of B2B customers expect to find live chat on websites?
If you’re not using live chat to communicate with your visitors and customers, you’re ignoring them, which is no way to drive conversions.
Why do customers appreciate live chat?
Because real-time conversations with members of your team ensure customers receive immediate responses. They don’t have to fill in a form and wait to be contacted or call up your company.
The customers can decide based on the answers they receive and move forward.
Benefits of incorporating live chat include:
- Providing quick answers helps retain audiences. People want answers and they want them in the fastest time possible. If they can’t find answers on your site, they will probably jump to your competitor to find them.
- Improving operational efficiency. According to research, an agent can tackle up to six queries simultaneously, improving response times and efficiency. Naturally, this number depends on how complex the queries are, but sorting out multiple requests means your business can do more with fewer people.
- Collecting useful data. It’s not just customers who get their questions answered. You can ask leading questions that help you understand the customer. Seeing things from the customer’s perspective will help you organize your offerings in a way that speaks to them.
- Providing cross-selling or upselling opportunities. Live interactions allow teams to interest visitors in cross-sells or upsells increasing sale value.