The CV you aim for on a BtoB site is inquiries and requests for materials. The CV that BtoC sites aim for directly leads to sales, but BtoB sites require a long period of time to obtain appointments, conduct business negotiations, develop projects, and even receive orders.
A CV on a BtoB site is just a starting point with the goal of receiving an order, and not all CVs will lead to receiving an order. Therefore, on BtoB sites, you are required to obtain a CV that may lead to orders.
The important thing here is the CTA. This time, we will use the site of a
SaaS
company as an example to introduce points for installing CTAs that lead to CV.
What is CTA?
CTA is an abbreviation for Call To Action, which means something that triggers or induces an action. On a website, it refers to the element that guides users visiting the site to take a specific action.
In short, it is the behavioral line that a company that provides a product or service wants to evoke in prospective customers. Specifically, these include actions such as inquiries, requests for materials, and transitions to specific pages.
Also, the number of CVs and CVR will vary greatly depending on the wording, design, and location of the button. CTA is a very important element that is directly linked to marketing results.
Points to consider when using CTA ① Free account or downloading materials?
There are various types of CTAs for BtoB sites, as shown below.
If you place unnecessary CTAs such as inquiries, request/download of materials, online consultations, free demos, free trials, free accounts, useful materials in ebook/white paper format, introduction case studies, seminars, e-mail newsletters, etc., users will be discouraged. It’s confusing, and setting up a CTA that ignores sales resources isn’t optimal for either your users or your company. It is important to design with the intended action in mind.
There are two main types of SaaS company services. One is Product-Led Growth (PLG), where products sell products, and the other is Sales-Led Growth (SLG), where sales sell products.
PLG is often found in SaaS services like Zoom and slack. It is characterized by a short lead time until receiving an order, an easy-to-use low unit price, and an easy-to-understand product that anyone can easily use.
Therefore, PLG is a self-serve model where users understand products and services on their own and use the services themselves. The strategy is to minimize sales resources, strengthen marketing, convey value through the product, and increase the number of companies using the product.
In this case, the appropriate CTA to increase the number of companies using your site is a free account or free trial. We focus on getting interested users to experience our products and services first, and then conveying the value of our products.
On the Chatwork website, a business chat tool, the first view of the top page has CTA “New Registration (Free)” and “Download Explanatory Materials” side by side. Global
Navigation
also has a “New Registration (Free)” option, which is designed so that you can initially use the service for free.
Source:
https://go.chatwork.com/ja/
On the other hand, SLG, like salesforce.com, increases the number of companies using it through sales. This applies to sales processes such as those exemplified by The Model. It is characterized by a long lead time before receiving an order, a high unit price, and a certain level of knowledge and know-how required to use it effectively.
For this reason, SLG will secure sales resources and will actively communicate with users by providing face-to-face introduction support, holding in-house briefing sessions, and customizing the service to meet the needs of individual companies.
In such cases, the appropriate CTAs to increase the number of companies using our service are online consultations, document downloads, and free demos. In order for salespeople to have contact with users, we place emphasis on acquiring appointments.
The Motivation Cloud site, which provides engagement surveys, has a “Watch Free Demo” CTA on the first view of the top page. There are also “read materials” and “participate in seminars.”
In addition, the global navigation features “Estimate” and “Inquiry” sections, which are designed to allow sales staff to have contact with users.
Source:
https://www.motivation-cloud.com/
Depending on the target, there are cases where the CTA to be placed changes. The CTAs on the MoneyForward cloud site vary depending on the user. For personal use and small and medium-sized enterprises, the option is “Start for free,” but for listed companies and companies preparing for IPO, the option is “Inquiry.”
Source:
https://biz.moneyforward.com/
CTA consideration points ② Installation (wording, design, location)
There are three points to keep in mind when installing a CTA button:
①Wording
Instead of writing things like “Download materials” or “Free demo,” write messages that encourage users to take the action you want them to take.
On the site of Kaonavi, which provides a talent management system, the download of materials is written as “I want to check the materials now”, and the free demo is written as “I want to see the Kaonavi screen”, which are tailored to the needs of users.
Source:
②Design
Create button and banner designs that match the atmosphere and content of your site. Use colors and shapes to distinguish CTAs from other buttons. Also, the text should be centered, and if the button is colored, it should be written in white to make it stand out.
On the top page of the Boxil website, which provides a BtoB matching platform service, “Request materials” is a green button that matches the atmosphere of the site, and “Contact us” is an orange button.
“Contact Us” is highlighted so that it stands out from the other elements, and you can see that the action that we especially want to induce on this site is to contact us.
Source:
https://boxil.smartcamp.co.jp/
In addition to the buttons, it is also important to place lead sentences to guide users to actions, as well as operator images and characters to give the user a sense of security and familiarity.
On the top page of the Logizard ZERO site, a lead text and illustration are placed in the middle of the CTA that says “Please apply for the information session/consultation session” to encourage applications for the information session/consultation session.
Source:
https://www.logizard-zero.com/
③Location
The location of the CTA is also an important consideration. Be sure to include a CTA in the first view of the top page and in the global navigation. It is recommended to place a CTA in the first view even on lower-level pages.
Additionally, for articles-based pages such as case studies and columns, it is effective to place a CTA at the bottom of the page after the reader has finished reading.
Furthermore, it is also effective to place the form directly on the first view of the top page. Desknets Neo, which provides groupware, has a product catalog form installed in First View.
Source:
https://www.desknets.com/
Additionally, the website for the electronic contract service CloudSign has a free account registration form on the first view of the top page.
Source:
https://www.cloudsign.jp/
summary
- CTA is an abbreviation for Call To Action, and refers to the elements of a website that induce users to take a specific action.
- A suitable CTA for PLG is a free account or a free trial. Focus on getting interested users to interact with the product/service first and conveying the value of the product.
- SLG’s appropriate CTAs are online consultation, document downloads, and free demos. Emphasis on acquiring appointments for sales to interact with users
- There are three points to consider when installing a CTA: wording, design, and location.