As a Google Partner, we have the exciting privilege of learning exclusively from the multinational technology company about how businesses can earn more revenue through marketing programs and tactics that prioritize the customer experience. Marketing 101 for some, it’s important to remember that prospective B2B and B2C customers follow a similar journey that starts with first showing an intent to buy something, then experiencing a company’s service or product offering either in-store or online, and finally, acting on a decision to convert and become a customer or move on to another company.
During our exclusive lunch and learn program with Google this week, we focused on new ways to enhance that critical customer experience, specifically through mobile devices – aka, the biggest technological phenomenon since the dawn of the Internet. Put simply, our society is hooked. People unlock their cell phones approximately 150 times a day, spending approximately three hours on their phones daily1. In the world of marketing, this can only mean one thing: mobile is king.
Mobile’s Function in the B2B Industry
B2C companies have always been quick to experiment with the latest advertising trends and therefore make up the largest group of businesses participating in the mobile-first revolution. Big B2C players put a great deal of effort toward optimizing their websites and ads for mobile, expanding their mobile social reach and adapting their products for mobile use. Although proven to be highly effective, it’s surprising that some B2B companies have yet to adopt a mobile-first focus and benefit from mobile’s ability to fuel the sales pipeline and improve customer experience.
For B2B healthcare and technology companies especially, overlooking modern mobile tactics leads to two major missed opportunities:
- Connecting with new leads online
- Making products and services more accessible
If your buyer personas are tech-savvy, made up of c-level executives and other key stakeholders, it makes sense to meet them on their smartphones and tablets. So how can your B2B company step up and adopt a mobile-first mindset? Considering the marketing strategies below is a good way to join the movement.
Mobile in Content Marketing
Implement a new best practice: craft content marketing campaigns through the eyes of a mobile user by creating responsive landing pages that are light on copy and feature content offers that can be easily downloaded and viewed. Landing pages and campaign blogs should include responsive call-to-action (CTA) buttons, linked to offers delivered in convenient formats such as PDFs. Naturally, copy-heavy offers like eBooks or whitepapers can take on easy-to-view portrait layouts and include interactive pages for quick flip throughs by readers. If your campaign is also promoted via email marketing tactics, making landing pages and offers mobile-optimized is necessary, as many B2B prospects open emails on their smartphones both inside and outside of the office.
Mobile on Social Media
LinkedIn, a top social resource for the B2B community, revealed this year that 60% of its site traffic originates from mobile devices.1 A large chunk of social media users access social platforms via mobile devices, so keep mobile in mind when developing your social media and paid ad strategies. Stay active on your company’s accounts by sharing content and encouraging your high-level team members to maintain an online presence, especially on professional platforms like LinkedIn. Ensure all of your company posts include images that are properly sized for the mobile versions of channels like Facebook and Twitter. Don’t forget to take advantage of social paid promotion by broadcasting your best content and targeting ads to the right audiences.
Tip: Explore LinkedIn’s new Account Targeting feature to run successful ads that drive more qualified leads.
Mobile Products and Services
A poor mobile website experience puts your company at risk for a decrease in organic search engine rankings and traffic and an increase in frustration levels for current customers and leads. You’re probably aware of the benefits of mobile site optimization and user experience, but smart B2B companies should also be thinking about how their offerings can be adapted to better suit the mobile needs of clients and end-users. Would customers benefit from a mobile version of your product or a supplemental mobile app? Big B2B players in the health and biotech industries have begun to embrace mobile for electronic health records (EHR) and customer relationship management (CRM) systems to aid in clinical trials and other regulated ventures. Consider holding a focus group or conduct market research to find out if mobile is right for your product or service.
Consider these Google-provided tips for ensuring your company stays competitive on the mobile market, including the most important factors of the user experience (UX) and how to self-assess them.
1. Speed & Conversions
Ensuring your mobile websites’ load time is efficient may seem trivial – of course people don’t like slow sites. But what you may not realize is just how short the average user’s attention span really is. According to our friends at Google, a one-second delay has caused 38% of users to scream at, curse at or throw their phones.
Needless to say, slow load times are the number one complaint among mobile site users, at 46%. Even worse, most sites that don’t load efficiently result in a conversion – only, on a competitors site. Unfortunately, slow and steady doesn’t win this race.
2. Design & Functionality
In addition to speed, the design and functionality of your mobile site is extremely vital. Just like clothing and cars, design and functionality go hand in hand. If your website is beautiful, but sets forth a confusing UX, your business will suffer – and vice versa.
We all know how frustrating it can be when trying to access a site through a mobile device when page layouts aren’t properly formatted, causing us to click on the wrong links and pages. As a result, Google emphasized the importance of an optimal site layout, mentioning how easy it is to spot a design that user’s warrant legitimate and willing to convert on. In fact, two out of three people who left a site and bought from a competitor did so solely due to the design factor. It’s simple, sites that are optimized for mobile perform better, maintaining higher conversion rates.
If a site is not designed properly it can confuse a visitor, resulting in a lack of conversion or a bounce from the site. As a result, Google recommends focusing your site’s design on these five areas:
- Homepage and Site Navigation
- Search Site
- Ability to Convert
- Form Entry
- Usability and Form Factor
3. Tools & Self-Assessment
How can we assess and address the speed and design factors that tend to be the reasons some sites have little success? Google let us in on a few tools that are perfect for conducting a little internal R&D. For speed, here are two sites that allow you to assess your load times and provide other insights:
- Google Analytics: Google Analytics can measure the sales and conversions and also how visitors make the best use of your site.
- WebPage Test: This free tool gives developers a more in depth analysis of their website allowing them to compare with competitors.
Google was also able to recommend two sites that can strictly help increase the fundamentals of design and functionality:
- PageSpeed Insights: PageSpeed Insights is a free tool for web developers that shows the performance of a webpage.
- Think With Google: This tool allows you to check how mobile-friendly your website is to viewers and also gives you suggestions based on your results.
Did you find these tips helpful? Here are other resources you might enjoy!
- Google’s Mobilegeddon Aftermath: Eight Months Into A Better Mobile Web
- Google: Boost Your Business with Search Engine Marketing
Are you interested in website development or other B2B marketing services? Contact Sagefrog Marketing Group, today.
1. DeviceAtlas, 6 mobile market statistics you should know in 2016
