Optimizing the Inbound Marketing Process for B2B Companies
In part one of this series, you learned how important communication and content is to the inbound marketing process and the buyer's journey. Part two will provide you with two more lessons you can take away and apply to your inbound marketing strategy.
The Path to Purchase
Like how good, clean clothes often help with first impressions, so does a website. A good B2B website should lead its visitors down one of two roads: toward a salesperson or a product. Having a well-done website that people want to explore is critical. It needs to be simple to navigate and intuitive. If an individual can't find the information they're looking for fast, they'll leave. The experience visitors have on a company's website can determine whether or not they end up converting.
B2B websites have a mission—to direct visitors to a product or salesperson. When 50 fastest growing B2B businesses were observed, it was found that more of them directed the visitor to a product. Sixty-two percent of the websites had primary calls to action directing visitors to the service or product. These primary calls to action can include options or offers like get started, sign up, get it now, or create an account. Out of the same 50 companies, 38% had primary calls to action directing visitors to a sales representative. Get in touch, get a demo, contact us, and learn more are examples of primary calls to action these businesses can use for sales.
A great offer to put on a company website that helps convert visitors is a free trial of the product. With this offer, individuals can experience firsthand how the product operates and performs, ultimately deciding if it can fulfill their needs. Free trials also pave the way for a more positive experience as visitors aren't subjected to unnecessary sales pitches or more aggressive tactics.
There are a few different types of free trials an organization can offer to its prospective customers. The first is a restrictive free trial that ends within a certain amount of days. Another type is when customers only have to pay for bonus features they wish to have, and the last type offers free access to a platform where the customer pays for services. All these free trials are great from a sales and marketing standpoint. The organization is essentially removing a step from their marketing funnel, as individuals can go from considering the product to using it in a matter of moments.
Related: Inbound Marketing is Changing and so are the Tactics
Key Path to Purchase Takeaways for Businesses
Ensure your company's website provides the best experience possible for visitors. Encourage them to discover on their own terms. Give them the option to speak to a salesperson if they like or go straight to the product. Offering free trials is a great way to convert visitors to customers.
Pricing
According to research, prospective customers find pricing information to be the most important on a company's website. If that information is instead replaced by a contact us button, visitors may not follow through that extra step. Making pricing information public creates a situation where visitors have all the information they need in front of them. They can make a decision themselves without the assistance of salespeople.
On a pricing page, companies can use tiered pricing if they offer products or services at varying levels. If tiered pricing is used, all the prices don't have to be disclosed. The basic and intermediate options can be put out there because they're standard models. However, the pro option pricing information is often replaced with a custom quote button. As the pro model is more complex in nature and to roll out, communication with a real person is needed to talk through the small details and make the transition as smooth as possible. Organizations who need this pro model would still be able to imagine a rough price point based on the prices of the lower models.
Key Pricing Takeaways for Businesses
Pricing is crucial to buyers and their decision-making process. Since you know it will be looked at, keep your pricing simple. If it's unclear or confusing in any way, there's a chance you'll lose a potential customer; fix your pricing if it's a problem. Keep the words of Mark Cuban in mind: “Make your product easier to buy than your competition, or you will find your customers buying from them, not you.”
Inbound marketing draws more leads to an organization, but it's ultimately up to them to close the deal. Having a stellar website that creates a positive experience with both sales and product calls to action is ideal. Having some pricing information is also worth looking into.