Among the measures to improve the conversion rate of a website, improving the input form, which is the conversion point, is a measure that has a very large impact on the numbers.
BtoC conversions are directly linked to sales, so improving the input page will lead to increased sales, but BtoB conversions need to be improved while taking subsequent sales activities into consideration.
This time, we will explain EFO on BtoB sites.
What is EFO on BtoB sites?
EFO
is an abbreviation for Entry Form Optimization, which means optimization of input forms. Refers to all measures to reduce exit rates and increase conversion rates by improving website input forms.
The difference is that on BtoC sites, conversions from input forms are directly linked to sales, whereas on BtoB sites, conversions from input forms are inquiries and requests for materials, so they are not directly linked to sales. In BtoB, after a conversion, lead information (information about the customer who made the inquiry) is passed from marketing to sales, goes through the process of negotiation and order acceptance, and finally passes to customer success.
Lead information will be used in multiple departments in addition to marketing, so in BtoB input forms, you must enter not only personal information, but also information about the company the person belongs to and information used for sales. I need to get it.
Also, from the perspective of EFO optimization, it is important to look at not only the conversion rate but also the negotiation rate and order acceptance rate. For example, adding items to prioritize approaches to leads generated from inquiries and document downloads, so that sales can make appropriate approaches to each lead, can lead to improvements.
In this way, for EFO on BtoB sites, it is important not only to improve conversion rates through marketing, but also to create optimal input forms in collaboration with sales.
Appropriate items for B2B sites
The first thing to consider at EFO is the number of input form items and content, but it is difficult to immediately find the optimal answer for your company. In order to consider the appropriate number of items and content, we will explain from two perspectives: post-conversion approach design and micro-conversion installation.
◇ Post-conversion approach design A study says that if you reduce the number of items by one, your conversion rate will improve by 2%. However, if you reduce the number of input items to two, “name” and “email address,” the conversion rate may increase, but with only those two pieces of information, you won’t be able to tell which company the sales person is from, and you won’t be able to decide on your approach. . Furthermore, even if you can find the company name from the domain, you won’t know the phone number, and you won’t be able to approach them in real time.
It is necessary to design with an eye to the timing and method of the post-conversion sales (or inside sales) approach. Specifically, it would be best to consider the following four points.
① Items required for sales to contact you Example: “Name”, “Email address”, “Telephone number”, “Company name”
② Items to determine whether sales should approach you
Example) “Industry type”, “Company size”, “Position”, “Department name”
③Items for prioritizing approaches for sales Example: “Industry type”, “Company size”, “Job title”, “Department name”
④ Items that can be set arbitrarily to avoid the risk of withdrawal as it takes time to input them. Examples) “URL” and “Inquiry details”
◇Micro conversion installation
HubSpot, which provides CRM and MA tools, sets up multiple microconversions depending on the user’s marketing stage.
① “Recognition stage”
We offer users who have just become aware of their company’s challenges to subscribe to our email newsletter. By subscribing to the website’s content, the aim is to make people aware of their company’s problems and to suggest that there are solutions.
The input form for subscribing to the e-mail magazine consists of the minimum fields of “email address”.
② “Consideration stage”
This is the stage where you have identified the issues your company is facing and are moving towards solving them. Ask them to download a whitepaper or eBook and suggest solutions from HubSpot.
Because users are aware of the value of white papers and eBooks, the input form has eight fields: “email address,” “name,” “phone number,” “company name,” “URL,” “employee size,” and “competitor confirmation.” Setting.
③ “Decision stage”
Users are starting to consider HubSpot’s solutions as a way to solve their problems. We offer a demo experience to users at this stage. The demo experience not only allows them to actually use the solution, but also provides an opportunity to communicate directly with users.
The input form for the demo experience has eight items: “email address”, “name”, “telephone number”, “company name”, “URL”, “employee size”, and “competitor confirmation”.
In this way, by setting appropriate conversion points depending on the user’s marketing stage, you can set the number and content of input items appropriately according to each purpose.
Measures other than EFO entry form
① Image of service materials/white paper materials
We will display information on the content of the material on the entry form so that you can concretely imagine what kind of benefits you will get by downloading the material. The aim is to lower the input hurdle.
Visually display thumbnail images of the cover of the material and several pages inside, and use text to clearly indicate the table of contents and what kind of problem the material is for.
Furthermore, there are examples of improved conversion rates by displaying document images and entry forms side by side.
② Improving the CTA in the entry form One of the conversion rate optimization (CRO) measures is to place a CTA (Call To Action) button at the bottom of the page or in the fixed footer, but it is also possible to improve the CTA button in the input form.
First, make your CTA button visuals stand out. In fact, there are cases where simply changing the button color from dark blue to bright green improved conversion rates by over 30%.
Then, write the content of the CTA button in a way that makes the user want to take the next action. Improvements can be expected by providing clear instructions other than “send”, such as “inquiry” for inquiries or “download materials” for white papers.
For example, one gym changed its description from “Become a member” to “Find a gym and become a member,” and the conversion rate improved by over 200%. For users, whether or not the gym is located in an easy-to-reach location is extremely important, and adding this to the CTA button led to improvements.
③ Utilizing EFO tools Recently, there are various EFO tools, and you can use them to improve your conversion rate. Specifically, it supports user input, such as a function that automatically displays the address when the postal code is entered, an alert function that immediately notifies you if there is an input error, and a guided navigation function that automatically counts the number of remaining input items. It is a tool to do.
summary
- For BtoB sites, EFO does not chase conversion rates through marketing, but instead works with sales to track business negotiation rates and order acceptance rates while creating optimal input forms.
- The appropriate number of items and content should be designed keeping in mind the timing and method of the sales approach after conversion.
- In addition to inquiries, set up micro-conversions such as email newsletter subscriptions, document downloads, and free demos, and set appropriate items for each conversion.