Nearly half (44%) of people are willing to pay a premium of more than 5% for a better customer experience – Oracle

In a blog about B2B marketing responsiveness, the statistic above may seem slightly out of place, but that’s not strictly the case. The fact is, in today’s modern world, if your buyers don’t get the service or user experience they are looking for, they’ll simply go to one of your competitors. And what does this have to do with responsiveness? Well, the user-experience they desire so badly will be based around their engagement with your business via various communication channels such as the website, emails, social media etc. If your marketing doesn’t respond to their needs or the device they’re using, they’ll be sure to quickly find an organisation that can.

Multiple devices

A PC, a laptop, a tablet, a smartphone, smart glasses, a smart watch… how do your buyers typically engage? In today’s hyper-connected world, the variation of devices used to access the internet and engage with companies is huge. And guess what… you need to be responsive to them all. Ensuring the best customer experience means communicating with buyers on the channels that suit them, not you.

The best place to start is your website. Is it mobile responsive? This is the central point which the majority of your marketing will link to, so if you’ve managed to convince a prospect to click a link and visit your website, then you best make sure it looks right on whatever device they are using. Websites that are not responsive mean mobile users have to zoom in and out, read tiny fonts and texts, and battle with difficult navigation. How long do you think a prospective buyer will tackle these challenges before they give up and try another site (probably your competitors)? That’s right, not long at all!

Programs and responsive design 

One of the best-loved and most used communication channels by B2B marketers is email. It’s quick, it’s easy, and generates results quickly. But, if the design and layout is not optimised for mobile devices (and each of the different email programs), you can be sure it’ll end up in the trash bin before you can say ‘responsive’. The world is obsessed with mobile devices and most people are never further than an arm’s length from their device of choice (usually a smartphone). So, if you choose to email prospective buyers, leads or customers, you best ensure that the email design is optimised for their email program and responsive to their chosen mobile tech. The process is not particularly difficult, and most email sending programs will offer a user-friendly solution. But, failure to use these tools could have catastrophic consequences on your future results.

Search engines aren’t happy

In addition to failing to provide an engaging customer experience and ultimately losing future revenue, a lack of a responsive website can also have a dramatic affect on your standing within the search engine results pages. Search engines recognise the benefit of responsive sites and their value to users, and will therefore prioritise responsive websites. So, to clarify the entire topic, if you want prospects to find you online, if you want prospects, leads and customers to engage with your company, and you want your business to grow, then responsive design should be pretty high on your to-do list right now.

As with all things marketing, your only chance to get buy-in from the board and budget allocation is to prove ROI of your activities. A responsive website and email tools will be no different, but thankfully measuring the ROI of these channels is not particularly difficult.

To find out more about generating the greatest ROI from your B2B marketing channels…