How Reducing Friction For B2B Buyers Can Boost Conversion & Revenue: 3 Examples From Star Marketers

I recently went to IKEA to buy a new bed frame, but I somehow ended up with a shopping cart full of twinkly string lights, a new houseplant (even though I never water my old ones), a bag of frozen Swedish meatballs, and a jar of lingonberry jam.

Why did this happen? It’s because IKEA makes it so damn easy to buy their stuff.

Did I wake up that morning intending to buy an unusual, tangy Swedish jam? I certainly did not. But since IKEA provides such a delightful and easy shopping experience, I was compelled to make a bigger purchase than I would have otherwise.

IKEA knows that people are wired to take the path of least resistance to meet their goals. So making things easy for them is a surefire way to increase the likelihood of a desired outcome.

The basic principle behind this scenario is rapidly taking root in the B2B world, where top marketers are now focusing on enabling their buyers to make purchases. Since today’s self-determining buyers are in the driver’s seats of their own journeys, the marketers who carve frictionless paths for their buyers to buy are the most successful in today’s marketplace.

What is buyer enablement?

Gartner defines buyer enablement as “the provisioning of information that supports the completion of critical activities necessary to make a purchase.”

We like to think of buyer enablement as removing friction for your buyers by allowing them to binge on relevant content. Because we know that when buyers self-educate, they become more qualified leads who convert at a higher rate and make bigger purchases. It’s win-win because removing frustrating barriers gives buyers a far superior experience, while it also drastically improves marketing performance.

In this blog, we’ll share 3 examples of stellar marketers who are enabling their buyers and seeing meaningful increases in funnel conversion and revenue.

1. How Tim from TIBCO doubled conversion rates on his ABM campaign by creating frictionless experiences for target accounts

Tim Noble, Digital Marketing Specialist at TIBCO faced a tall order: build a successful ABM program from the ground up. He knew that the key to converting target accounts into qualified prospects was to enable them with personalized content, packaged up in a way that was easy to consume.

He used PathFactory Content Tracks to create content journeys tailored for each target account. Instead of giving them one asset at a time, he recommended the next best asset every time, making it easy and natural for prospects to binge multiple assets in a single research session.

This buyer enablement strategy was a major success—Tim got his target accounts to consume 65% more TIBCO content compared to other campaigns, and he doubled his MQL conversion rate. (Read more about Tim’s story here.)

Takeaway tip

Personalized content recommendations remove friction from the buying process, making it easier for your buyers to self-educate.

2. How David from Mandiant increased new leads 2X by ungating their high-value annual report

David Cheng, Marketing Operations Manager, at Mandiant knew his buyers faced significant barriers when trying to self-educate on FireEye offerings. Between gated assets, a complex resource library, and one-and-done content experiences, buyers faced endless friction as they tried to navigate the path to purchase.

When David released the annual M-Trends Report, a premium asset, he decided to ungate the report to make it easier for prospects to access the information they need without friction. He used a dismissable, time-based form that only appeared after buyers spent meaningful time with the report. This ensures only truly qualified leads are identified and passed to sales. He also packaged the report in a Content Track, allowing readers to binge on related content after reading the report.

“Enabling buyers to consume more content has lead to a remarkable increase in pipeline in a short time,” says David. (Read more about David’s story here.)

Takeaway tip

Package related content together on all channels to encourage content binges (just like Netflix!). Experiences that only present single assets don’t make the most of precious moments of your prospect’s attention.

3. How John from Kareo saw a $1.2M increase in revenue by delivering more content per click

John DeBrincat, Director of Demand Generation at Kareo, pumped dollars into PPC campaigns that weren’t working. Buyers who clicked on ads were sent to demo request forms or free trial sign-up forms. This wasn’t a good experience for top-of-funnel prospects who were simply seeking information.

When John started pointing all ads to Content Tracks—where forms are only served after value is delivered—he started to see conversion rates speed up 2.3X. By enabling buyers with curated streams of relevant information at the exact moment need it, John is effectively removing friction from the buyer journey. This change in strategy helped John convert more leads, and increase revenue by $1.2M.

“PathFactory has helped Kareo improve lead flow, speed-to-learn, and down-funnel conversion by accommodating our prospects’ appetites for more content in-the-moment,” says John. “It gives us additional opportunities to engage and convert prospects who were initially reluctant to fill out a form.” (Read more about John’s story here.)

Takeaway tip

Asking for a form fill before delivering value is a prime example of the friction you want to avoid as a marketer. Delivering value first gives prospects a better experience and ultimately leads to more hand raisers.

Now it’s your turn to start enabling your buyers

The proof is in the pudding—enabling your buyers is the surest way to boost marketing performance in today’s market. If these forward-thinking marketers have inspired you to ask yourself how you can reduce friction in your own buyers’ journey, then check out some of the other blogs in the Buying Friction Series. They’ll provide practical next steps to start increasing your own marketing performance.

• Why Content Hubs Frustrate Your Prospects And Slow Them Down
• Are Your Landing Pages Helping Or Hurting Your Marketing?
• 4 One-And-Done B2B Content Experiences To Avoid
• Buying Friction Series: Confessions of a Form-Hating Marketer

The Buying Friction Series reveals how B2B marketers end up preventing their buyers from getting the information they need to buy. They do this by creating various points of friction throughout their buyers’ journeys that slow them down along their path-to-purchase. The Buying Friction Series helps B2B marketers identify and remove these points of friction to better enable buyers to make smarter, faster purchase decisions.