Wouldn't it be impolite to meet one of your best customers at an event and call them by another customer's name? Or maybe you just remember their name on the phone, but forget all about them when they show up at your door. Well, the same things may be happening in your communications with customers and prospects at your front door (i.e., your website).

Getting started with web personalization isn't only a nice to have these days, it should be a critical part of your revenue strategy. Let's take a look at what personalized data is and four simple steps to B2B personalization and revenue success.

What Is Personalized Data for B2B?

Though it's been around for decades now, web personalization is more real today than ever given the new technology that makes it accessible to most digital marketers.  "Web personalization," is a concept Optimizely has defined for some time now as follows:

"Website Personalization is the process of creating customized experiences for visitors to a website. Rather than providing a single, broad experience, website personalization allows companies to present visitors with unique experiences tailored to their needs and desires."

However, getting personalization to work at scale hasn't come without its challenges. Experian notes that data plays a big part in getting personalization right with nearly 40% saying that having enough data is a problem as well as 38% saying that inaccurate data can be an issue.

Many personalization vendors today solve the data issue by providing data integrations. These integrations allow B2B buyers to have access to company and contact attributes that enable a very high level of personalization (install data, media consumption, content consumption, intent data, etc.).

What Are the Benefits of using Personalized Data?

Efficiently personalizing your B2B website will help you attract precisely the kinds of customers your business needs. You'll be able to create personalized interactions with those customers in real-time and, in this way increase conversions and sales, and you'll be able to do so across multiple channels.  In getting started with personalization, here are four simple ways to begin the journey:

1. Personalized Data Based on Visitor Location

When you personalize your website, you can customize the content and options you provide visitors based on where they live. For example, you might promote upcoming events in one or more of the several locations your business serves, or connect the visitor with a sales resource or channel partner specific to their area. If you offer free access to specific types of customers, you could let those segments know about this benefit without offending visitors from segments that might be paying for access or specific service levels.

2.  Personalized Data Based on Industry

Let's say you offer CRM tools for different industries.  With web personalization, you can show a marketing agency the CRM software which best meets its need, while displaying various tools for manufacturing, healthcare, IT or educational businesses.

When you showcase products and services that precisely align with the industry of your site visitor, those products and services will be instantly more appealing, and those customers will be more likely to make a purchase. According to Marketing Sherpa, for example, more than 80% of site visitors say that content tailored to their industry is "more valuable."

3.  Personalized Data Based on Your Best Accounts

Account-based marketing (ABM) is a strategy that prioritizes those customers who tend to generate the most revenue for your business, and you can effectively leverage it through web personalization. If your top accounts are from large enterprise businesses, you could show visitors from those companies case studies or other content related to similar organizations. This way, you demonstrate your awareness of the specific business needs and increase the odds that they'll purchase your products and services.

4.  Personalized Data Based on Online Behavior

You can alter the content you display based on the web pages your customer visits, the content they download, or the online forms they complete--transforming your interaction with your customers from a monologue to a dialogue. You're creating a kind of conversation in which the visitor "speaks" (by taking certain actions on your site), and you "reply" (by showing content that's responsive to those actions).  For example, if a visitor to your site downloads an article about secure web hosting, you could respond with content about the several hosting options your B2B business offers.

Conclusion

According to a recent study from Swirl Networks, almost 90% of consumers say they're more likely to buy from companies that deliver personalized and connected cross-channel experiences online.  Web personalization is arguably among the most effective means of providing those kinds of experiences that demonstrate to your B2B customers that you know—and care about—who they are and what their business needs.

Mighty & True can help you create beautiful, personalized content and experiences to drive engagement with your customers.