How to Reduce Friction and Increase Conversion Rates in a B2B Lead Generation Model?

We have helped dozens of brands generate thousands of sales-qualified leads (SQLs) for B2B models who need to see a return on their paid ads investment (plus, we run a B2B Lead Generation Model for our own agency). Here are some recommendations to ensure your brand generates the best results and to scale your revenue and profits. So let's get started!

Facebook Instant Forms vs. Website Lead Forms

With the unprecedented success of Facebook Instant Forms, it's hard to deny their immense potential for B2B lead generation. This tactic helps thousands of brands to reduce friction in their funnel and capture the data of prospects to facilitate the sales process. 

However, website lead forms are the best option for some businesses because it provides an alternative way for customers to access information about your product or service. Still, more importantly, it allows potential customers greater flexibility and control over the rapid-fire submission process associated with FB Instant Forms.  

For one of our B2B LeadGen Clients in the SaaS space, we ran an experiment to understand which one was the best option to boost their revenue. Check out the results:

Our client had a high ticket value (as many companies in the SaaS space), and their overall goal/KPI was to maintain the cost per lead (CPL) under $97. 

So we allocated 22% of their budget to a FB Instant Form Campaign to generate the leads on Facebook and then transfer them into their CRM to connect the new prospects with their Sales Team. The results were quite interesting. The FB Instant Forms campaign showed an improvement in cost per lead (CPL) of -77% ($87 vs. $20 CPL). However, the lead quality dropped dramatically.

The conversion rate from the leads generated with the lead form dropped significantly, showing a ROAS of 1.3X for the Instant Forms Campaign. While the Website LeadForm Campaign generated 3.98X during the experiment.

“Lower CPL doesn’t always translate into higher ROAS or MER.”

So here’s the big question… Which one is right for your business? Both or one of them… Here are a couple of questions that will help you figure that out. 

- Who is your ideal customer profile (ICP)? 
- What information do you need to capture from prospects?
- What’s your current cost per lead (CPL) and your goal?
- Is your product/service easy to understand? 
- What’s the price range of your product/service? 
- What does your sales funnel look like?

There’s no definitive answer to this question. Most businesses need to test it out. However, there are dozens of variables to take into account. If you need help making this decision, book a discovery call with our team of experts here. 

Use Custom Audiences to create Lookalike Audiences

Harnessing the power of custom audiences to create lookalike audiences can be a powerful way to leverage user data and expand your campaign’s results. Through custom audiences, you can provide pinpoint targeting on customers based on existing information such as purchase history or page engagement. These targeted lists can generate even more targeted lookalike audiences, leveraging the power of similar customer traits. 

Using Lookalike audiences (LALs) is essential for most lead generation models and even more for brands seeking other businesses as clients. However, it doesn’t work exactly as in an eCommerce model. A common practice we’ve seen by B2B brands is generating lookalike audiences from the lead event firing with the pixel. 

However, we’ve seen a huge variation in lead quality when the lookalike audiences are created from a custom audience of the SQLs or the top leads generated and filtered by the sales team. This practice can potentially increase the share of SQLs by more than +23%. 

Select your lead form fields strategically!

In theory, too many fields equal a higher cost per lead but result in higher lead quality. So how do you find the sweet spot? 

When selecting the questions to ask prospects, you should consider primarily: 

- What information do you need to estimate the revenue potential of the lead?
- What information does my sales team need to know to discard a lead? (to avoid wasting time and resources)
- What insights can help me provide the best experience for my leads?

However, the most crucial question is: Would this have made a difference during my sales process with the prospect if I didn't know this information? If the answer is no, you should remove it and save your prospects their time. 

Effectively managing your lead form is a critical part of maximizing the visibility and impact of your lead generation model. To do this, you should only use the essential fields in your lead form - too many additional fields might discourage users from taking action and add friction to your sales funnel. 

Even if the information from an extra field is nice to have, it's important that you prioritize gathering essential data. We suggest using only a few key fields for contact forms for B2B businesses to guarantee higher conversion rates from impressions to leads. After all, it’s better to collect more information after initial contact is established than not making contact at all!

Measure Lead Quality

Lead quality can make or break your lead generation model. By measuring the success of your leads, you will be able to identify areas of improvement that can increase conversions and revenue. Keeping track of the performance of your lead generation efforts can help target those that are most likely to become paying customers. 

Additionally, understanding how campaigns perform against one another will give you valuable insights into how to improve them for maximum return on investment (basically, not using CPL as the only parameter). Working with a growth marketing agency can equip you with the knowledge and tools needed to assess lead quality accurately and effectively to maximize your lead generation results.

Reducing friction and increasing conversion rates in a B2B lead generation model requires thought, effort, and experience. There are dozens of variables to consider, and fast decision-making will be the key. 

One should choose between Facebook Instant Forms or an optimized Website Lead Form. Creating Lookalike Audiences the right way is also essential to success, as it helps identify potential leads with similar characteristics to those who have already converted into customers. 

Additionally, deciding on the right amount of form fields can be tricky; too many may increase the cost per lead, but more form fields will give you higher-quality leads. Every decision you make will have an impact on the results. So keep testing, and keep track of your results on each experiment, and you will have higher chances to succeed.

If you're ready to take your B2B Lead Generation Model marketing to the next level and see what strategic improvements can be made - schedule a free discovery call with our growth experts here at EmberTribe. Together we'll help chart the best path toward successful conversions!

Grow Faster, Smarter with EmberTribe

If you are stuck on the half a million yearly revenue plateau, you need a growth agency that will get to know your business, audiences, and growth opportunities like the backs of their hands—and let you in on everything they learn. 

No secrets, no bull. Just making sparks fly together.

✅ Focused on revenue

Look elsewhere if you're looking for a new logo or brand identity via 200-page slide decks. Those marketing disciplines have their place, but they're not our focus. We've doubled down on growing sales and injecting our clients with cash flow.

✅ We move fast

The typical agency model moves slowly: endless meetings, thousands of email threads, lots of talk, but little action. EmberTribe is different. We know what it takes to grow fledgling brands into formidable empires: a hell of a lot of execution.

✅ Trusted by the best

We've been recognized by Facebook and Google as one of the top agencies in the world. We're a mentor to startups within Techstars, Y Combinator and regularly consult with programs at MIT and Harvard Business School. Now it's time to add you to our Tribe.