Mobile phones are not just an item of technology, they’re an extension of us. 81% of people have their mobiles at arm’s reach every minute of every day for anything from texting to shopping, with 92% of users who searched for a product on mobile going on to buy a related product. So, it’s not surprising to hear that whilst ad spend is up 15% YoY, mobile now accounts for 51% of all digital ad revenue. In short, mobile cannot be ignored. 

This increase in mobile use isn’t limited to the B2C space either; the average B2B worker is expected to increase mobile use from 2 to 3 hours a day by 2020 and 50% of B2B executives have bought IT products for their business on mobile.

If mobile spend continues to increase, logic tells us that we will see the number of mobile conversions increasing YoY for both B2B and B2C campaigns. However, whilst it may be this straightforward in the B2C space, B2B marketers should be wary when jumping to make the decision to shift their desktop strategy to mobile. There are multiple nuances that must be considered first. 

Qualifying your campaign conversion

B2B clients will usually treat conversions as either a form fill or a land. In the consumer world, conversions usually qualify as sales and an increase in conversions is directly correlated to money spent on digital mobile advertising and to time spent on mobiles.  

A B2B campaign usually has a significantly higher price point offering products such as IT software, high spec laptops and business investments. If the desired conversion was a 39-page PDF download or to purchase IT software that affects a company globally, it’s unlikely to happen from a mobile phone. But, that’s not to say it will never happen.  

Mobile media: social vs publisher in-app  

It’s important to consider where your mobile traffic is coming through, social vs publisher, Twitter vs LinkedIn. Both platforms can work as well as each other, depending on your objectives or KPIs. 

The B2B nature of LinkedIn means that it isn’t necessarily the best channel for high CTRs, however, it does tend to lead the way with conversion rates. LinkedIn will offer an engaged audience in a business environment. Also, LinkedIn PMPs (Project Management Professional credentials) guarantee high viewability and ‘first-look’ at LinkedIn display inventory, which allows for the delivery of high-quality ads at scale.  

However, the value that social platforms, like Twitter, provide shouldn’t be ignored. Brands can have meaningful interactions with an engaged audience, particularly as business development managers have a much more relaxed mindset on the platform. Unlike LinkedIn, Twitter and mobile go hand-in-hand: business development managers spend 3.7x more time on Twitter per month on their mobile than on LinkedIn.  

The sign-off process  

B2B projects will usually have multiple people involved in the sign-off process, simply due to the nature of the products advertised. B2C sign off can be every few seconds which can result in an aggressive retargeting method; a tactic which doesn’t work and may even be detrimental in a B2B campaign.  

Therefore, if the qualifying conversion is a sale, this will undoubtedly take longer than a B2C project. 

Value of product  

The average value of a product bought over mobile for a B2C campaign is £102, whereas for products in the B2B sphere may reach upwards of six figures. 

This is why nearly all purchases are being made on mobile are from a B2C audience so it’s important to identify what you’re treating as a conversion. What’s ‘normal’ for a B2C campaign shouldn’t be the benchmark when running a B2B campaign. 

Website design  

A poorly designed website will lead to clunky and slow user experience, frustrating the consumer and limiting conversion.  

If a site can be easily navigated and options such as autofill are offered, not only does this make it easier for the consumer to purchase, download or fill in a form but, it can help to capture minimal prospect data. By asking for a simple work email address to offer gated content in return, with consent, this will allow you to extrapolate most other fields – name, company, sector and so on.  

B2C sites are better at this – the nature of their products and the reality of ecommerce make this necessary but, B2B sites have come a long way and most clients understand the mobile experience is as important as the desktop experience. 

We’re inevitably going to see an increase in the number of conversions from B2B audiences on mobile devices, especially as mobiles are bigger these days, being used where desktops once dominated. But it definitely depends on what we’re classifying as a conversion first and foremost, and then the numerous variables that play into whether an individual will convert successfully or not. 

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