How Mobile is Redesigning the B2B Landscape

Posted on July 15, 2019

Fifty percent of B2B search queries today are made on smartphones. That figure is expected to grow to 70% by 2020. The next generation of B2B buyers is amongst us. Historically, B2B companies relied on personal relationships to build their business, from in-person conversations to industry tradeshows and events, or over the phone communication. The relationship between businesses and customers has pivoted and mobile has been the main contributor to that changing dynamic. B2B customers today do not expect, nor wish to interact with a salesperson until it’s time to decide and they are ready to buy. More importantly, B2B customers expect the same digital experiences that they encounter as consumers – they expect a seamless mobile experience regardless of the industry.

Hello everyone, we’re going to be discussing how mobile is redesigning the B2B landscape. To start we want to take a quick step back and look at some data and talk about why we’re doing this webinar in the first place. Here’s what we plan to cover:

• Google’s Mobile Algorithm
• The B2B Sales Funnel and Mobile
• Importance of Mobile UX
• B2B Hours are Changing
• Cross-Device Tracking
• Mobile Ads Do’s and Don’ts
• How Mobile Impacts Job Searches

So to start, I am Erik and I have a little over 5 years experience in marketing and lead the SEO team here at Top Floor. I keep the team up to speed on training and up to date on the latest trends.

Hello – I am CJ, I work on mostly paid search with some SEO as well.

Google released in October 2018 a major study with the Boston Consulting Group. They found some very interesting statistics around mobile and how it’s affecting the B2B landscape. Historically, B2B relationships were more in person, referral based. But not anymore, B2Bs are being seen more and more like B2Cs and want the same types of things on mobile.

“50% of all B2B search queries today are made on smartphones, and this number is expected to grow to 70% by 2020” – Google

Essentially what mobile is doing for you is fast-tracking that “time to purchase” by upwards of 20%. People are doing the initial research on mobile versus starting on the desktop. Mobile drives or influences an average of more than 40% of revenue in the B2B space.

Google’s Mobile Algorithm

In June of 2018, Google began ranking page speed as a factor for mobile searches. They encouraged developers to think broadly about how performance affects a user’s experience of their page and to consider a variety of user experience metrics. This is something that we need to be very thoughtful about because user experience and page speed are key and directly influencing rankings. Google does have some great free tools you can use to test your website to see where you’re at.

The B2B Sales Funnel and Mobile

What we’re seeing is that most research starts on mobile devices outside of the office. Searchers can fill out a form for more information on a product and re-engage with future informational content.

Local, Mobile SEO: In general, these three facts all relate to mobile searchers

1. Utilize shorter keywords than on a desktop
2. Want digestible content
3. Are more likely to interact when content is tied to their location

Importance of Mobile UX

1. Every point of contact should have a similar experience, messaging, and feel
2. Avoid common UX mistakes: pinch to zoom, swipe to continue reading, small font sizes, touch elements too small or close together, multi-column forms, tap to email, call functionality is a must

B2B Hours are Changing

• People are using multiple devices throughout the day
• People are using those devices for different purposes
• People are starting tasks on one device and picking up later on different devices (about 75%)
• People are conducting business outside the typical 9 to 5 workday schedule

Cross-Device Tracking

The biggest question here is how do we stay in front of users when they go from device to device? The best answer is cross-device tracking, it is the use of data to expand your custom audience and reach the same user on multiple devices. It works when the ad platform you are using (Google, Choozle, Bing, etc) matches one user profile with other accounts and online and offline data to match one user with multiple devices.

Benefits of cross-device tracking

• Expand your targeted pool to be seen in more places
• Better awareness of what is leading to a conversion
• Reach users on different devices when they’re at different stages of their day and buying cycle.

It’s important to note that a person may be in different parts of the sales funnel depending on what type of device they’re on and what time of day. Cross-device tracking really helps close the loop.

Mobile Ads Do’s and Don’ts

Do use mobile-friendly extensions

– click to call, click for directions, callouts specifically for mobile

Do focus on driving calls

– Ad copy, ad extensions, and landing page experience should point to phone calls

Do increase the position on mobile

– less ad space means a position 3 is no longer above the fold

As far as display targeting goes, there are four main things that you should be paying attention to.

1. Audiences – groups of people with specific interests, intents, and demographics, as estimated by Google
2. Demographics – targeting by age, gender, household income, parental status, etc.
3. Topics – targets placements based off of a theme/topic. Example topic of “cars” will show ads on websites and apps related to cars.
4. Placements – target specific URL’s to show on ex: ESPN.com or Forbes.com

Don’t make obtrusive pop-up ads 

• 74% of mobile users find ads that pop up annoying
• 50% of users would not recommend that business
• Make sure to block mobile apps because it not doing so can lead to higher bounce rates

How Mobile Impacts Job Searches

Our last section and one of the most important that we’ve been seeing lately is how mobile impacts job searches. The worker shortage in the B2B space has been increasing and one thing that we wanted to walk through as it relates to mobile is that need for really streamlining your information and career website. Job searchers are looking on mobile more and more, meaning it’s incredibly important to have optimized and mobile-friendly websites. If you’d like more information on the case study we shared, fast forward to the one hour mark for some images and before and afters.

If you do any job-related search on a mobile device, Google has started added “answer boxes” – so before you get to any websites, you’re going to be served what Google considers the best possible answer for you.

Final Thoughts

Looking organically there is a lot you can do, and if you really have a mobile strategy in place there is a lot of success that can be found. – Erik

Everything is situational, so its best to test it out first and tweak as you go. – CJ

If you have any questions about the presentation or would like more information, please reach out to us. We are happy to provide a free Digital Marketing Audit, which would be a great starting point if you’re thinking about your mobile presence.