CRO solutions in B2B - what options do we have?

AB testing

A/B Testing is the main method used for measuring the impact of changes you make to a website, email, or ad. It is simply when you run version A against version B in a live environment and see which generates the most conversions. There are many tools to automate the distribution of the traffic and measure the results for you that plug straight into GA (the ‘test’ often requires some setup and HTML knowledge). These include the free-to-use Google Optimize, which is currently being sun-setted and merged into GA4 through 2023, and other more advanced paid for tools such as Optimizely. AB testing is used to test what your buyers like and don’t like, and ultimately make the right decision on what changes to make on the website to drive an increase in conversion (because you have the data to back it up).

Pro's & Pitfalls

A/B testing is the best way to measure 2 or 3 different versions of a page as it gives you valuable data, with all other variables removed. For example, to run a version for 2 weeks and then run a second version for 2 weeks it would give some data, but you cannot control what external factors have happened during that time. For example, a new ad campaign, geo-political issues, factors in the economy or seasonality. But A/B testing runs them next to each other, splitting your traffic in half, and removing any of these external factors. On the downside, A/B testing does require a certain amount of traffic and conversions to hit a level of statistical significance. Low traffic or low converting sites can struggle to get results in a sensible time period. But, you can get around that by using different measurement metrics, such as click-throughs to the next step in the journey rather than final conversions.

Check out www.optimizely.com

Pro: Gives quick wins at scale

Pitfall: Doesn’t always focus on the whole customer journey and is very one size fits all

Landing Pages

Landing Pages is a strategy that has been around since marketers started to get more sophisticated with their usage of PPC. They are standalone pages that are created with a single purpose: to convert new visitors landing on the site into enquiries/ sales without them needing to move from page to page through a journey.

The most effective ones are then tailored to match certain PPC keywords/ ads – that might be in terms of messaging for ad words or fully tailored by company size, user persona, industry or job role.

Pro’s & Pitfalls

The main benefit of landing pages is that you can get specific with the sales messaging, so it closely matches what a real-life sales conversation would be like with that prospect. And the more specific you can get, the better. Every different type of business and job role will want to see different things before they convert, so trying to do that from one page on your site is almost impossible – the result is just vanilla content that doesn’t really persuade anyone.

The draw back though is that you suddenly have lots more pages to manage. A single change in design can become 20, 30, 50 changes, depending on your CMS. The second difficulty is that it takes a great deal of optimization to make sure the right messaging is on the right page and being shown to the right people, based on ads. Some are obvious and easy to implement, but many are done by trial and error and that takes a lot of time.

Check out www.hubspot.com

Pro: You can get super specific with your messaging

Pitfall: Too many separate pages to manage

According to Gartner research, nearly 48% of website visitors leave the primary landing page without engaging deeper with any marketing collateral.

Gartner

Conversion tools

If you think your website visitors need an additional nudge to convert on your website, then conversion tools are a great solution. We’re talking about chatbots and pop ups, prompting your visitors to ask more questions and hand over their contact details. These tools are built around the behavior of your visitors. For example they look like they’re about to leave the site (mouse starts to navigate to the top right hand corner), then you can serve an exit pop up, giving your visitors one last chance to convert before they leave your site.

Pro’s and pitfalls

Sometimes pop up’s can be a little annoying if they’re overused. Using more than one pop up at any time on a page should be done carefully, otherwise they may become a distraction from the core message you are trying to serve your website visitor. Consideration to key points of the journey are important, and if used correctly, they will generate to lots of additional leads.

Check out www.whizeo.com

Pro: Generates additional leads/content downloads

Pitfall: Can be overused if not considering the whole customer experience

Personalization

If you’ve experienced the pitfalls of having multiple landing pages mentioned above, then personalization could be the answer you’re looking for. It is, to most marketers, the next evolution of landing pages. You can have a single page, then personalize it to your audience on-the-fly so they feel as if the whole website journey has been built just for them. The best personalization packages will allow you to create experiences on a whole range of firmographic and behavioral data, from detecting the user’s industry (and even the exact company) to the more common new/ returning visitor. Copy, imagery, CTA’s, and content can then all be changed in an endless number of variations to create the ideal user experience for that person, from that business in that industry. There are two types of personalization: Help me and Recognize me. The best results will come from using both in unison. For example, showing the visitor you know which company they’re from but also bringing the most relevant and valuable information to the forefront of your website, so they don’t need to go looking for it.

Pro’s & Pitfalls

The main pro is obvious – the more targeted the experience, the more likely they are to convert and become a lead. The possibilities are endless and you can get incredibly granular in your targeting.

But that is also the pitfall. Every new experience requires setting up and then monitoring to ensure it is being effective, both of which take time. However, this is time well spent with many companies seeing a strong uplift in conversions and a healthy ROI.

Check out www.webeo.com

Pro: Guaranteed to drive more conversions

Pitfall: Takes time to build multiple experiences