How to Use Website Personalisation as Part of Your Lead Generation Strategy
By Pete Winter

How to Use Website Personalisation as Part of Your Lead Generation Strategy

Use website personalisation to attract the right leads and increase engagement with a unique user journey.

As our B2B buyers like to research and educate themselves before contacting us, we’re producing more blog posts, infographics, slideshares and eGuides than ever before to inform, win trust, and build a relationship with them. According to the Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs, 76% of B2B marketers will create more content in 2016 versus 2015. But how can we make sure we’re getting the right content in front of the right person at the right time to turn them into a fully qualified lead for our sales team?

Website personalisation is how. Technology now exists to adapt the content on your site depending on who is viewing it. For example, you can show first-time visitors completely different messages and images to someone who has already visited your site several times. Now, you can identify where unknown visitors are likely to be in your sales funnel, whether they are a brand new prospect on a discovery mission or a serious lead actively evaluating your product, and provide the right content to progress the relationship.  

How does website personalisation work?

Essentially it uses sophisticated tracking and data analysis to tailor content in real time that each user sees on your website. So your visitors don’t have to spend time finding information themselves, instead they are presented with the information that is most relevant to them. It allows you to ‘learn’ about their needs and interests as they visit your site so you can create a unique user journey and deliver a more personalised and interactive experience.

Using web personalisation to engage and nurture leads

First of all, you need to define your user journey: who are your audiences and what online experiences and interactions do you want to give them. Identify target groups of ideal customers that tie in with your account management strategy. Then develop buyer personas for each segment to map relevant and useful content to their needs. As 95% of B2B buyers are willing to consider vendor-related content as trustworthy  (DemandGen Report – 2016 Content Preferences Survey), this is a unique opportunity to start authentic conversations and build relationships.

The next stage is to work out how to engage with visitors at different stages of the buying cycle. Identify what type of content is suitable for each stage of the sales funnel. Initial interest can be captured with shorter content, such as blogs, infographics, and thought leadership pieces that educate, whereas those closer to purchase need information to help them evaluate: case studies, longer eGuides, and product assessments. Identify behaviours for the top, middle, and bottom of the sales funnel and how content and calls to action can be tailored to meet their needs. Here are some examples:

4 ways website personalisation can be used as part of a lead generation strategy 

1) Tailored website content and creative

Change images and content to appeal to different target sectors. Using imagery, client logos, and messaging appropriate to their industry will reassure visitors of your credentials and increase engagement. According to Marketo, 82% of B2B buyers find content related to their industry useful.

2) Adaptive calls to action

Use information about what your visitors have already viewed on your site, like the different type of pages viewed and how long they spent on each one, to deliver tailored calls to action. This allows you to highlight other content that they might be interested in or alert them to forthcoming events, webinars, or other in-depth content to encourage them to move down the sales funnel.

3) Retargeting

If your visitors are not in a position to buy at the moment, keep them coming back with personalised ads on third party sites such as LinkedIn and Twitter. Stay top of mind by directing them to more relevant content that they haven’t yet seen on your site so that when they are ready to buy, they come to you first.

4) Integrated campaigns

You’ll no doubt have a treasure trove of content already. Make the most of it by updating and tweaking it for your current campaign audience. Use your repurposed content to create bespoke landing pages that integrate with other channels such as email or account-based marketing. 

B2B buyers are content-hungry: 47% of B2B buyers consume 3-5 pieces of content prior to engaging with a salesperson and 51% rely more on content to research and make their purchasing decisions than they did a year ago (DemandGen Report – 2016 Content Preferences Survey). So interactions in the sales funnel that would have traditionally involved sales teams now happen online and sit within marketing.

Website personalisation means that you are better able to track and control those interactions by matching user interests and requirements. You can lead prospects further through the stages of the sales funnel and then hand over more qualified and higher quality leads to your sales team. With the extra insight into what content they have viewed and what they are interested in, your sales teams are in a better position to continue an informed conversation and develop the burgeoning new relationship that you have established.

Takeaways:

  • There’s more content out there than ever before. Use website personalisation to make sure your visitors are seeing the right content for their needs, at the right time.
  • Map content to different stages of the buying cycle and use personalised calls to action to help conversion at every stage of the sales funnel.
  • Website personalisation makes it easier for you to speak directly to different industries and sectors without them having to delve deeper into your site.
  • Integrate a personalised website with other personalised activity such as email and ad retargeting for maximum impact.
  • Use website personalisation to gather more information about your lead at every point in the user journey so you can hand over a fully qualified opportunity to your sales team.

Find out more about how website personalisation and a custom user experience can generate higher quality leads. Download The CMO’s Guide to Lead Generation Websites

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