B2B or business to business marketing is continually going through transformations. Social selling, enterprise applications and CRM have moved beyond preached buzz words to become foundational requirements of B2B marketing, lead generation, sales and growth. As digital marketing continues to evolve, mobile is just one of the B2B marketing trends that marketers can no longer ignore.
Mobile responsive websites are just another challenge B2B marketers are scrambling to address. Whether the company is a startup or online business SaaS application, or something more industrial in nature, the target market they are trying to reach is ultimately a human one. Those humans have mobile devices and are using them to access the web more than on their desktop. At this point in our technology driven world, B2B purchase decisions are still made by human beings, not robots and therefore B2B brands have to be online with mobile accessible websites and solutions that address that mobile human audience.
Do B2B Marketers Need A Mobile Responsive Website?
First, lets address what a mobile responsive website is… A responsive website is one that modifies its structure, functions and look depending on the device the user is using when they access it. In other words, a responsive mobile website will change how it looks and operates automatically, whether a user visits the site from their phone, tablet, laptop or desktop device.
Often behind on technology, Business to Business brands are finally coming to understand the importance of the mobile website. Marketing to their target audience, regardless of the device they are using has become just as important as having a website to begin with. In fact as of two years ago, only 57% of B2B marketers had a mobile optimized website, as compared to the 79% that say they do now.
For the B2B marketers that do not currently have a mobile optimized website, nearly 2/3 of B2B brands said they plan to invest in a mobile website this year. Beyond that only 15% of those B2B brands surveyed expressed that they had no plans to invest in a mobile website this year. So, the current state of mobile B2B marketing websites is that a full 21% don’t have one, leaving themselves vulnerable to innovative competition.
The fact is that since 2014, mobile internet activity has surpassed desktop usage, which means regardless of your B2B target market, industry or location, your audience is accessing the internet and content using mobile. Not only that, they are accessing mobile content and websites more than when they are at their desk or in the office!
When a B2B brand has visitors to their website which is not optimized for their mobile device, the bounce rate tends to dramatically increase. If your B2B startup, wholesale or tech company has not addressed the access to your SaaS, front end website or purchasing platform for the business mobile user, you are likely losing opportunities, leads, and more importantly sales. What’s more, most B2B marketers are likely not even aware of this losing scenario.
Our B2B Brand Website Is Already Mobile Enabled, But…
We also know that mobile users tend to bounce (leave a site from the page they originally entered on) at a higher rate than desktop, B2B Marketers should be making additional modifications for their mobile visitors. So, even though your B2B brand has created a mobile responsive website, B2B marketers should be monitoring and analyzing that mobile traffic and making improvements that address their mobile users activity.
Since a majority of 79% of B2B marketers have a website that is mobile accessible at some level or another, additional mobile marketing and innovation will be the logical next area of focus. As competition in the business to business, startup, enterprise, SaaS and social selling environment continues to increase, B2B marketers must continue to evaluate, optimize and improve their prospects mobile presence and more importantly, their users mobile experience.
B2B brands should be taking it even further by developing targeted mobile content that addresses the needs, challenges and interests of their B2B customer. Innovation on mobile devices that focuses specifically on the B2B mobile user base is the crucial next step that brands must require of their marketing team.
