Most B2Bs know that their website is the most important asset for converting leads.
Despite this, analysis from Forrester Research shows that most B2B websites fail engagement tests.
With much longer buying cycles, converting visitors into buyers isn’t exactly a realistic goal in B2B. A high converting landing page looks a little different.
Instead of focusing on conversions, focus on converting visitors into leads and initiating the nurturing process all through a single landing page. Here’s how with the B2B landing page best practices for 2020.
B2B Landing Page Best Practices for 2020
Forrester’s analysis is pretty bleak: B2B websites are uninteresting, unengaging, and unrelatable. What do the best B2B landing pages have in common? They’re empathetic, personalized, and filled with interesting content.
Businesses need to focus on creating an Amazon or Netflix-style experience through their B2B website. Your leads have come to expect a hyper-personalized experience – whether they subconsciously realize it or not.
Like Justin Shriber writes for Harvard Business Review:
“B2B buyers have slowly been conditioned to expect the same personalized treatment that they get while shopping on Amazon. They want to be approached with relevant offers at the right moments, not when it’s convenient for a sales rep. They have little to no patience for ill-timed, generic pitches.”
Consider these best practices for creating a high converting landing page and use these B2B landing page examples to get started.
Lift the Blockade On Your Content
When a lead magnet form pops up as you browse on a desktop, it’s annoying. Chances are, you spend a few seconds weighing the pros and cons of handing over your professional life story in exchange for the material behind it.
When the same form pops up as you browse a website from your phone, it’s a total deal-breaker that sends you running for the back button.
Here’s the problem: your leads conduct 70% of research from their mobile devices. Landing pages absolutely must be optimized for mobile browsing.
That’s why holding your best content hostage behind a blockade (form) is completely killing your lead conversions.
You don’t have to give away everything. Give your visitors a sample and let them provide their email address if they want to download the whole piece.
By the time leads feel comfortable enough to hand over their details, you’ll already have some data collected about their browsing behavior, too – perfect for optimizing your personalization and retargeting strategies.
Give Your Leads the Resources to Nurture (at Every Stage)
The best B2B landing pages include multi-segmented content.
Between six and seven people are involved in the average B2B buying process. A high converting landing page needs comprehensive content for all of them.
Consider this: buyers complete anywhere from 57% to 90% of the sales process before reaching out to your sales team. That means you only have control over 10% to 43% of the sales cycle.
Your landing pages and website absolutely must answer any potential questions. The words “we don’t need to include that; they can just call or email us” should not be part of your vocabulary.
Self-nurturing landing pages are the solution because an algorithm removes any of the guesswork.
Instead of assuming your visitor’s intent and including static links to relevant content, an algorithm analyzes their behavior on your site and provides personalized content.
Here’s what it looks like in action:
Ditch Dead Ends for a High Converting Landing Page
When a visitor reaches the bottom of your landing page, what happens? Do you hit them with a CTA and hope for the best?
96% of people who visit your website aren’t ready to buy and 80% of leads will never convert, on average. Everyone knows the B2B buying cycle is complex and long, but almost no one is taking proactive measures to encourage nurturing through their website.
A high converting landing page doesn’t send readers on their way after a single piece of content. Look at how Netflix, Amazon, and Facebook function by providing an endless stream of content.
Even if you don’t plan to spend money on Amazon, you still might spend 20 minutes scrolling through their lightning deals “just to see.”
Adding hyper-personalized content bingeing to your website is essential for nurturing leads before they even provide their contact information.
Here’s what it looks like:
Create an Effective Abandonment Strategy
There’s a huge abandonment strategy trend in B2B right now that involves throwing a form at every visitor as they prepare to leave the website.
If someone was trying to click away from your website because they want to read something else, why would they want to fill out a form and hand over their personal details?
While it’s important to employ an abandonment strategy – and exit-intent popups have plenty of effective potentials – asking visitors to fill out a form isn’t the answer. In fact, it’s driving your leads away.
Instead of presenting visitors with an intrusive form as they try to leave, give them more of what they came to your website for in the first place: high-quality content. An algorithm monitors which blogs, eBooks, and case studies your visitor consumed while browsing your site and picks related pieces of content to help keep them on.
You can still collect lead information but in a less aggressive fashion.
Here’s what an exit-intent popup could look like if you designed a high converting landing page based on what your leads want:
Design Your High Converting Landing Page Now!
Forms are intrusive and they throw a wrench in the entire lead nurturing process.
Why start your relationship with a lead with a bad first impression?
Hushly’s unique exit-intent strategy (and other key features) help you go formless so you can personalize each lead’s experience and give them more of the content they crave.
Don’t worry, you can still collect verified business email addresses – after your leads have spent time consuming your content and decided you’re worth staying in touch with.
Ditching forms can help you skyrocket lead conversions by 51%. We guarantee it. See Hushly in action now.
