Marketing trends are constantly changing, but the importance of customer engagement remains constant.
There is also a profound difference in the way B2C and B2B companies engage with their audience.
As HubSpot CRM implementers, customer engagement in the B2B realm is something we talk about all the time. We use it when we are selling. We use it when we are implementing. And we use it when we are called in to fix underperforming CRM systems.
Watch it instead?
Click below to watch it on YouTube. Just take note that the “Measuring customer engagement” section below is not included in the video.
What's different about B2B customer engagement?
When selling directly to a consumer, you have to appeal to their emotions to prompt a purchase.
For B2B companies, however, the target market is entirely different.
Businesses work hard to streamline their processes and operations to cut down on costs and boost revenue and growth. So most purchasing decisions are based on logic.
Emotion and logic are two entirely different forces. Both can be incredibly powerful drivers of change.
With this in mind, as a B2B company, how can you increase your customer engagement?
What is customer engagement?
Since customer engagement can mean something slightly different to everyone based on their industry and business goals, let’s use a strong definition. The one we prefer to use is that of Paul Greenberg.
"Customer engagement is the ongoing interactions between company and customer, offered by the company, chosen by the customer."
What are the benefits of great customer engagement?
Customer engagement is about more than just customer service and satisfaction. It is a crucial business tool that generates new leads, helps reconnect with existing consumers, and increases profits.
Having a good customer engagement strategy can increase revenues significantly. This awareness has pushed forward-thinking businesses to make customer engagement a priority
Measuring customer engagement
To understand if your efforts are turning into revenue and growth, you will need to measure and track the engagement you generate. There are a few methods you can employ to track your engagement effectively and know where to focus your time and money.
Website traffic
This is not as simple as just tracking the number of visitors and sessions you have on your website. To get a full understanding, you will need to look into the individual pages that are racking up those sessions.
Identifying which pages are providing your customers with the most engaging content, which pages are converting the best and which sources are bringing in that traffic must form the basis of tracking your website engagement.
Below is a screenshot from HubSpot Traffic Analytics, but you can get this information from Google Analytics just as easily. In green, we have strong engagement on this blog post you are reading. An average of 9.6 minutes dwell time.
However, in red, the bounce rate of 95% is not great. To create more engagement, we need to present a strong call to action to send visitors deeper into our website and ideally to a product or service page.
Email open and click rate
You could be sending thousands of emails a month, but if those emails are going out to the wrong people at the wrong time, or without personalised and relevant content, you are wasting your time.
Begin with your email lists. Ensure they are segmented correctly, with the right personas in the right stages of their buyer’s journey. Remove unengaged contacts from the list entirely.
Look at open and click rates to see which content in your emails is generating the most clicks. You will begin to see which content your audience is finding the most engaging and what you should be focusing on.
Social media
The basic measurements of likes, comments and follows all indicate which content your audience is finding useful. These signs help you further identify which customers or leads are engaged with your sales process, or if they are customers, engaged with you as a company.
Repeat business
If your customers keep coming back for more, you have got to be doing something right. This information can also help you hone in on the services that your customers actually want and what your business should be focusing on.
Send your customers surveys and track your NPS (Net Promoter Score). We use HubSpot Service Hub to send these out quarterly on an automated basis.
Referral business
Through the Net Promoter Score, you can identify how likely your customers are to recommend your services. You can pick up problems before they become systemic. This will help you improve your services and customer experience.
So now that we have covered some of the elements to measure, let’s dive into the 10 ways you can improve your B2B customer engagement.
10 ways you can improve your B2B customer engagement
1. Gather customer feedback to predict customer behaviour
Predictive analysis equips you with the relevant information to fulfil your customer’s needs. Based on research from the Aberdeen Group, organisations that focus on predicting customer behaviour have twice the customer lifetime value.
The passive data you gather from your customers contains information such as their history, expectations, wants, dislikes, and more. This can then be used to create sales and marketing strategies that address all their needs, and the needs of your prospective customers.
An integrated sales and marketing CRM system is an invaluable tool to gather these data points.
2. Personalise your support
Most B2B companies focus on their sales strategies and forget to show their customers how much they mean to them. In fact, more than 65% of businesses lose their customers because they are indifferent and lack interest.
Personalised customer support is a reflection of how much a company values its clients. It is also as easy as installing a live chat feature on your site and having one of your support staff attend to queries on a real-time basis. The live chat feature will also increase conversions considerably, as you will be providing solutions to your clients at the exact time they need them.
In a YouTube video that I watched recently by Neil Patel, he praised the conversion rate increases and client satisfaction increases brought about by live chat on company websites.
3. Include CTA's on landing pages
Business purchasing decisions are preceded by extensive research, which is why landing pages are important. However, having a landing page is not enough; you need to include a targeted call to action.
Which action do you wish your clients to make? Do you want them to ask for a quote or call you? For increased engagement, a “call us” button will not work. You have to provide the customer with value. Free trials are one effective way of doing that. Let them try your solution first and then upsell it.
You could also offer free reports or a free demo of your service.
4. Use testimonials as a method of brand promotion
Did you know that approximately half of B2B buyers rely on testimonials and referrals?
Direct referrals are critical when it comes to B2B sales. Customers are likely to trust a recommendation from a trusted source more than they will trust your sales team. Increase customer engagement by asking your past clients for referrals and recorded testimonials.
It is vital that your target market has confidence in your products or services, and having your customers advocate for your brand is extremely effective.
5. Humanise your brand
You may be dealing with other businesses, but the fact is that you will be selling to people. As such, you will have to create connections with decision-makers by creating a story around your brand. People do not buy products or services, they buy stories. Use storytelling to create lasting connections with your target audience.
Create videos and content demonstrating the lengths you go to in order to create solutions for your customers. Show some behind-the-scenes photos and highlight your employees on social media. By humanising your brand, customers will find it more approachable.
6. Create engaging resources
Everyone has questions and is eager to learn something new to solve the problems they face. If you can identify that potential problem and know of a solution, share it.
There is no need to be afraid of giving away too much information. If your potential customer knows they can turn to your company for answers, they are that much closer to converting.
7. Respond fast
Much like B2C, B2B audiences expect a prompt response to their queries. This is especially true when they are asking about costing or signing up, as they may be in the decision phase and deciding which business is the best fit for them.
The web is full of studies on how lead quality decays over time. The best time to respond to a lead is within five minutes of the enquiry. Most of your competitors take a day or more.
Time in this case really is money. Set guidelines and dedicated people or teams to handle these queries timeously.
8. Build a community
Your customers probably have the same challenges, issues and victories, so they can relate to each other in some way. It is very beneficial for your customers to share their successes and the solutions you provide with a community.
This community can attract new potential customers seeking a solution to a similar problem they are facing. Having your community share that solution builds trust in your brand and inspires advocacy and loyalty.
Your community will need your active participation and inspiration to work effectively. Moderators should confirm the solutions provided and jump in when none is put forward.
Communities can be built online, or through regular in-person and focused industry events hosted by you.
9. Reward engagement
Sometimes you will need to be strategic in your effort to generate engagement. This can be achieved by rewarding customers for that engagement.
You could set up rewards along the customer’s entire engagement journey, from offering certificates for training to sharing your customer success stories to hosting a customer awards event.
These rewards should be in line with your business and customer goals. If you are not sure what to offer, ask your customers.
10. Nurture
Building an effective nurture campaign will position your business in front of your customers at the right time with the right information. This begins with mapping out your customer journey. This journey identifies all important touchpoints, bottlenecks, and challenges your customers may meet.
Knowing your customer, where they are at and where they are going is essential for converting and upselling. This will also aid in the personalisation of content and drive conversion rates.
An effective nurturing campaign can be as simple as a pop-up on your site to a returning customer offering relevant content.
Bonus Tip: Leverage Live Videos
B2B buyers engage more with live content than with blogs and emails. Go live on your socials and give your client a chance to ask you questions and interact with your company.
I am following this principle right here with the video above. Not all our potential clients have time to sit and read a 10-minute article. Some of our clients just prefer to watch. I know I do. Meet your clients where they want to consume solutions. That primary place right now just happens to be YouTube.
There you have it. The above tips will win you more clients while helping you retain your current ones. Please feel free to contact me to learn more and find out how we can help you supercharge your B2B customer engagement and even implement a CRM if you do not have one already.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is B2B customer engagement?
B2B customer engagement refers to the ongoing interactions between a business and its customers, chosen by the customer and offered by the company, that build trust and strengthen the relationship.
Why is B2B customer engagement important?
It helps businesses improve retention, increase referrals, strengthen relationships, and create more opportunities for growth.
How do you measure customer engagement?
You can measure customer engagement through website traffic, email open and click rates, social media engagement, repeat business, referral business, and customer surveys such as NPS.
What is the best way to improve B2B customer engagement?
There is no single best way, but the strongest results usually come from combining personalisation, fast response times, useful resources, clear CTAs, and ongoing nurturing.
