21 Tips to Optimize Your B2B E-commerce Conversion Rate

Summarize this article

Some B2B e-commerce sites get a lot of traffic. Yet most visitors are just window-shopping: they don’t add items to their cart, or they never complete their order. The challenge for these e-commerce sites is to reduce cart abandonment and turn unfinished orders into completed transactions. That means looking at the levers for optimizing B2B conversion and at the tactics that keep existing customers loyal while attracting new ones. Let’s dive in!

Conversion rates by industry, channel and device

When analyzing your e-commerce site’s data, have you ever wondered what your conversion rate should be? Conversion rate benchmarks vary widely depending on the industry, the channel and the device your customers use when they visit your site. They also depend on your content, site performance, user experience and calls to action.

Conversion rates by industry

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to increasing your conversion rate, because every B2B company is different. And the numbers vary widely from one industry to another. For example, B2B conversion rates for professional and financial services can reach 10% on average, while conversion rates for manufactured and packaged goods are closer to 4%*.

* Source: MarketingSherpa.

Conversion rates by channel

Channels are the paths traffic takes to reach an e-commerce site. For example, visitors may come from a social network such as Facebook or Instagram, a search engine query, a direct link or an email campaign… According to Salesforce, the B2B e-commerce site is the main channel for turning prospects into opportunities. But when it comes to turning an opportunity into a deal, referrals from employees and customers are the most effective lever!

Conversion rates by device

While smartphones are handy for quick purchases, large purchases and B2B contract signings tend to happen on desktop computers. This is changing as mobile gains popularity and usage time in the workplace.

Why conversion rates matter in B2B

Conversions are the main performance indicator for B2B sellers and B2B marketplace operators. In a survey of 43 organizations, B2BecNews found that most companies give a score of 8/10 or higher when asked how important it is to know the benchmark conversion rate and the average B2B e-commerce conversion rate for their business.

Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is more complex in B2B than in B2C. B2C e-commerce sites usually target a large-scale, high-volume market. But the difference doesn’t stop there! Consumer purchase decisions are driven by emotion and involve a single individual.

B2B companies, on the other hand, usually handle lower volumes but much larger orders. Their sales cycles are longer and involve many people. They also tend to pay closer attention to customer journeys, because they spend a lot of time nurturing qualified leads.

Setting the right conversion goals for B2B e-commerce

As part of your conversion optimization strategy, it is important to define a conversion goal as a key performance indicator. On top of this overall goal, you can also set complementary goals.

Most B2B merchants don’t expect site visitors to buy on their first visit. That’s why you need to break down and measure every small action that drives traffic and can lead to a purchase. These are called micro-conversions. A micro-conversion can be filling out a demo request or contact form, adding a product to favorites… Here are a few more examples:

• Account creation
• Number of customer reviews or case studies read
• Number of pages viewed
• Product comparisons
• Product spec downloads
• Adding a product to the cart

Once you have defined the micro-conversions that lead to the main conversion (the purchase), you can set the key performance indicators that show how close you are to your goals. These can be conversion metrics such as:

• Email subscription rate
• Pages per session
• Traffic breakdown

The most common (and simplest) way to track your metrics and calculate your conversion rate is Google Analytics. It lets you track many key performance indicators at once, including sign-ups, email marketing campaign statistics, top-performing landing pages…

Heatmaps are another way to gain insight into your conversion rate metrics. Much like an infographic or a dashboard, a heatmap shows the clicks and interactions on a specific page, so you can better understand user behavior and assess whether it is likely to lead to a conversion.

Finally, map your conversion goals to your customer journeys. Not all customer journeys look alike, so the actions you expect within each journey must be tailored to it.

Optimizing conversion rates in B2B e-commerce

Data analytics is like an “engine” working behind the scenes of your business, giving you real insight into how people interact with your website. Where do they come from, and how do they navigate the site and its product pages?

It can be tempting to make decisions based on assumptions, on what you think your competitors are doing, or on inconclusive customer feedback… However, your conversion rate optimization strategy should be about keeping a close eye on data analytics and making informed decisions.

Don’t be afraid to experiment and run A/B tests to guide your decision-making. For example, if tests show that a long product description converts at 3% while a product video converts at 5%, the video is the format to prioritize to secure a high conversion rate.

Data tools such as Crazy Egg, Hotjar or FullStory let you capture page views and visitor counts, and analyze customer behavior and the factors that lead to a purchase or a high bounce rate, in real time.

Tips to improve your B2B e-commerce site’s conversion rate

How can you increase your B2B e-commerce site’s conversion rate? The first step is recognizing that the goal is to improve conversion across the board, so don’t focus on your website alone. Use the following tips to improve conversion across every channel and traffic source that can help you grow.

1. Integrate your CRM

During slow periods or times of financial instability, customers cut back on non-essential spending. That’s why only messages and products that deliver real added value can help you stand out. B2B e-commerce platforms such as OroCommerce come with a built-in CRM that gives you 360-degree visibility into your target audience’s data. This lets you segment customers by buying habits, group them into personas and offer them tailored discounts or pricing.

2. Build customer personas

Speaking of personas, remember that B2B buyers are people too. They have their own demographics, lifestyles and goals, and they don’t all buy the same way. Decision-maker personas can also include hobbies, interests, family situation and more. By targeting these personas, B2B marketers can fine-tune their content marketing strategies and campaigns to improve e-commerce transactions.

3. Adapt to mobile devices

Although smartphone conversion rates are lower than desktop and tablet rates, mobile traffic grows steadily year over year, which makes it a market you can’t afford to ignore. In addition, a Boston Consulting Group study showed that a high percentage of B2B buyers (more than 80%) already use mobile devices at work, and that mobile-optimized sites significantly increase the chances of converting.

Companies looking to improve their e-commerce conversion rates should therefore pay attention to the quality of the mobile buying experience. Without going as far as building mobile apps, they can at least focus on responsive design and e-commerce APIs to build headless applications.

4. Improve search functionality

Online shoppers are used to Google offering accurate suggestions based on their needs. In the same way, customers expect contextual search with advanced autocomplete. Site visitors are then more likely to find what they’re looking for, especially when a product type has many different names, part numbers or other identifiers.

5. Improve site navigation

Beyond search, customers also expect to move easily through the categories, product trees and pages of an e-commerce site.

Breadcrumbs help them find their way. For example, Petra offers a full-page menu that lets users reach the right category in just two clicks. It’s ideal for large product catalogs and for product configurations that combine different sizes, prices, colors and other attributes.

6. Personalize the B2B experience

Consumers expect personalized experiences based on their past purchases and behavior. For B2B customers, it’s more than a nice-to-have. Business customers need e-commerce experiences that closely reflect their business processes, their user access management requirements, their invoicing and payment needs…

Companies can span several vertical or horizontal markets, with unique management structures made up of branches, divisions and departments. Let users define roles and permissions for their account, and make it easy for them to manage quotes, returns and orders. Not only will they convert, you’ll also strengthen their trust in your brand and increase the chances of a repeat sale.

7. Provide clear shipping and pricing information

One of the most common reasons for cart abandonment is a lack of shipping information. Studies have shown that, just like B2C customers, B2B brands are more attracted by free shipping than by any other regular incentive.

The same goes for pricing: offering customers accurate, personalized prices will increase conversions. And when you display shipping costs and return policies up front, customers know the costs before they put an item in their cart.

8. Optimize your landing pages

You can’t count on every visitor converting. A recent study showed that the best landing pages convert at 30%, while the average rate is closer to 4%. The AIDA principle (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) from digital marketing and advertising is a useful framework for creating a high-impact landing page. Test a number of headlines, spark your customers’ curiosity with a compelling statement, identify their pain points and offer a solution with a CTA.

9. Keep your call-to-action buttons consistent

Make sure your call-to-action buttons are consistent with your personas, right down to their text, color and placement. Experts have found that even the smallest changes have an effect on B2B conversion optimization. Of course, the button isn’t everything. Your headline, images, layout and product descriptions play an equally important role in a visitor’s decision to convert or bounce.

10. Communicate value clearly

When you build a content marketing strategy, think from the customer’s point of view. For example, why should they buy from you rather than from a competitor, and what makes your product special? How does your product benefit someone like them? When you create landing pages and product descriptions, make sure the information is clear, concise and easy to remember.

11. Allow pre-orders for out-of-stock items

Nobody is happy when the item they want is out of stock, but it’s even more frustrating when the stockout isn’t flagged. In addition to clearly showing stock status for each product and product configuration, offer to notify customers when items are back in stock, or let them pre-order, as in the Growmap example.

12. Track your SEO performance

According to BrightEdge, organic search generates more than 53% of revenue for B2B companies and other verticals. The top position can capture up to 20% of clicks, while the ninth position only brings in 5% of searchers. To improve your rankings, update every product page with SEO-friendly descriptions. To increase your chances of ranking higher, also use media tags and SEO-friendly URL structures. Optimize page load speed and mobile compatibility. Remember that by investing in SEO today, you secure a stable, long-term source of high-converting traffic for the future.

13. Improve product descriptions

One of the classic ways to increase conversion rates is to provide as much information as possible about your product. Depending on what you sell, you can list every feature and attach instruction manuals or safety certificates to your product pages.

Adding rich media, such as high-resolution images, interactive zoom or videos, brings your product pages to life. Offer a more immersive experience with little effort and improve your customer experience. Customers are more inclined to buy once they fully understand the product.

14. Review page load speed

Slow load times hurt the buying experience. Sites that take more than 2 seconds to load lose customers, whether they are on desktop or mobile. Slow pages can also hurt your SEO rankings, your digital campaigns and, by extension, your e-commerce conversion rates. What’s more, HubSpot found that slow sites make 80% of customers less likely to buy again, a huge loss of potential customers.

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15. Promote high-converting products

Focus your marketing efforts on the products that perform well. Highlight best sellers and high-margin products, or offer bundles of items that sell well together. To do this, you can use custom price labels, retargeting and Google ads. You can also create “recommended,” “similar” or “frequently bought together” product banners that can provide social proof to hesitant customers.

16. Display your contact options

In any online business, and especially in B2B e-commerce, customer service is essential. Make sure all support options, including phone numbers, email addresses and live chat, are clearly visible on your website. Managing these contact options lets you quickly resolve customer issues and answer product questions.

17. Use lead generation strategies

Lead generation is a highly effective tactic. Experiment with gated content such as white papers, presentations or webinars. An account-based marketing strategy can target the most promising prospects within key accounts. Finally, AI chatbots are also very useful for lead generation, especially with contacts who abandon key pages, don’t want to fill out a form or leave a page.

18. Create loyalty programs

B2B buyers are naturally looking for long-term partnerships, so offering them a loyalty program as a reward can make sense. Since B2B customers often order larger volumes and have a high value, a membership loyalty program can be an excellent financial investment. It can take the form of partnerships, referral programs, discounts or installment purchases. Make sure to highlight the program’s benefits.

19. Include product testimonials

Social proof matters to everyone, not just retail consumers. B2B buyers are always looking for products that help companies like theirs succeed. A face and a brand behind a name aren’t enough. If you want customers to notice you and convert, include compelling figures that show the efficiency gains or the money saved by existing customers.

20. Focus on the channels that work

If your priority is a high conversion rate, you’ll get better results by focusing on your best-performing channels. For example, review your analytics to track email opens, social media engagement and organic search clicks. Find out where your best-performing traffic comes from and redirect your marketing resources to where they generate the best return on investment.

21. Never stop testing!

Your product pages aren’t the only place to run split tests. You can A/B test different layouts, a different navigation style, product categorization or checkout steps.

See whether conversion rates change when you replace “Add to cart” with “Buy now” as the CTA on your purchase button. See whether removing one or two unnecessary steps increases the conversion rate. Try one-page checkout flows versus multi-page checkout flows.

For more effective testing, use the same traffic sources. For some tests, you can split traffic across different pages. In other cases, you can send different types of traffic (SEO and social media traffic) to the pages they prefer.

Strive for continuous improvement

Use slower periods to invest time and effort in raising the average conversion rate of your B2B e-commerce store. Determine your current conversion rate and set improvement goals. Experiment with how users interact with your website’s different features. Rethink your landing pages and checkout steps, optimize speed and SEO… And above all, never stop testing and improving!

Article written by our partner Oro Inc. and adapted by Synolia.