How Personalization Boosts Your B2B Website Conversion Rates

Introduction

There's a lot of... suspect data on the impact of personalization on web conversion rates. Some data is a bit further down the line towards the point of sale suggesting that revenues are 10% higher in organizations that personalize content (this MarTech Series article gets into some good detail on this front).

But a lot of the data is very eCommerce-centric.

Aaaaaand that's not really the right data for B2B marketers to draft off of.

But some of it can serve as a proxy for us as we set our investment priorities and there are some data points out there that speak directly to B2B marketing.

TL;DR - you should make the investment in personalization (below is how you defend that decision).

The Value of Personalization

Personalization is crucial in the B2B marketing world because it helps create tailored experiences for users, leading to higher engagement and conversion rates (Forrester, 2018).

The good news it that you can achieve world-class personalization for your customers using the data and tools you already have.

PSA: If you haven't had a deep conversation with your marketing ops team (or you don't have a marketing ops leader at your company) about how to achieve deeply personalized marketing programs, PLEASE do that before buying more software.

Impacts of Personalization on Conversion Rates

I'm not gonna lie.

Getting personalization right isn't easy. But, just as it can make an immense difference in email marketing, there's a very clear case for investing in website personalization.

• Enhanced User Experience

Personalization contributes to a seamless user experience by presenting relevant content, offers, and recommendations based on user behavior, preferences, and data (at least that's what marketers are measuring to see how personalization is impacting their efforts per Salesforce). As a result, users are more likely to engage with your website and ultimately convert.

• Increased Engagement

Personalized content can lead to an increase in user engagement by capturing their attention and motivating them to spend more time on your website (Statista). We all understand, on some level, that there are two big coal mine canaries when it comes to website conversion:

Bounce rate

Pages/session (length per session)

Beeketing did some great back-of-the-napkin math on the impact of personalization on bounce rates. Generally, bounce rates range from 40%-70% and personalization on a landing page can decrease that rate by 20%-30%.

And, if we're just being good stewards of our brand and treating our prospects the way they want to be treated, we kinda have to execute personalized marketing.

• Higher Conversion Rates

As users engage with personalized content, they're more likely to convert. A study by Monetate found that businesses that personalized their websites saw an average conversion rate increase of 19%. They also saw another example of a 5X increase. And McKinsey has found that top quartile leaders in leveraging personalization increase revenue by 40% over their peers that underutilize personalization. And Uplead found that top quartile web conversion rates in B2B are 4.31% compared to a B2B average of 2.23%.

• Bigger Average Contracts Values (ACV)

Here's a huge knock-on effect - visitors enjoying a personalized experience on your website will spend, on average, 10% more when they convert.

Just Give Me The ROI Calculator Already

Let's make this wicked simple and ignore the softer (read: less measurable) impact of "enhanced user experience."

Say you do the hard work of getting 1,000 leads to reach a landing page for a B2B product with a baseline ACV of $10,000.

You guys.

That's a 2.5X return in pipeline generation.

If your sales team can close at 30% in an impersonal world you're closing $33,450. In a personalized world you're closing $85,338.

Leveraging Existing Software Tools for Personalization

Here are some examples of how you can utilize the software tools you already have to achieve website personalization:

• CRM (Customer Relationship Management) Systems and CDPs (Customer Data Platforms)

CRMs and CDPs store valuable customer data that can be used to personalize website experiences. By integrating one of these tools with your website, you can deliver content based on each user's past interactions and preferences.

Keep in mind you need to build out the logic here that says, IF USER = [SEGMENT A] THEN SHOW [CONTENT A].

• Marketing Automation Platforms

Marketing automation platforms, such as HubSpot or Pardot (now Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement), can help you create personalized email campaigns and landing pages based on user data and behaviors much as we've done on our own website.

Again, you need to draft the logic as you would with a CRM or CDP unless you're using Air Traffic Control which automatically makes all those choices for every contact.

• Web Analytics Tools

Web analytics tools like Google Analytics provide insights into user behavior, which can be used to inform personalization efforts. For example, you can segment users based on their location or browsing history and tailor content accordingly.

In B2B marketing, this is a personalization strategy that has less power than it does for B2C where things like location, weather, and other location and device-related insights can drive relevancy.

• A/B Testing Tools

A/B testing tools like Optimizely can help you experiment with different personalized elements on your website, allowing you to identify the most effective personalization strategies for your audience.

This is very similar to how you'd use a marketing platform, CRM or CDP - you'll still need to create logic and experiments, but that which gets measured gets improved.

Conclusion

Personalization has the power to significantly improve your B2B website's conversion rates. By leveraging the software tools you already have, you can create personalized experiences that enhance user engagement and ultimately lead to higher conversions.

Now that you've got the business case, what'll you do next? :-)