B2B personalization examples for businesses

Good businesses make things personal. 

In other words, they leverage data to create personalized digital experiences for their customers, creating deeper relationships, boosting engagement and conversions, and even increasing customer loyalty. 

We often think of personalization in the context of individual customers visiting websites or interacting with apps, but the principles apply just as much in B2B contexts. And so, while the B2B factor can make a difference to the way that content teams develop and deploy personalization strategies for customers, it doesn’t change the potential value of those strategies.

With that in mind, in this blog post, we're going to discuss B2B personalization and how it improves customer engagement, conversions, and retention. We’ll also share some B2B personalization examples that you can use to take your business higher and further. 

The importance of B2B personalization

In a modern, competitive landscape, B2B personalization can be a huge advantage for companies seeking to tailor their marketing efforts to meet the specific needs and preferences of their customers.

At its core, B2B personalization relies on using contextual and behavioral data about individual customers to create targeted content and marketing messages. By focusing on this kind of targeted engagement, businesses can better connect with their customers, build long-term relationships, and drive greater sales results.

There are a number of key benefits associated with B2B personalization, including:

• Increased revenue: When businesses use personalized campaigns to reach out directly to their target audiences, they’re much more likely to see an increase in their sales results. That’s because customers are more receptive to personalized marketing messages than generic, one-size-fits-all approaches.

• Improved customer engagement: By tailoring content and communications to suit the specific needs of individuals, businesses can build stronger customer relationships and encourage stronger engagement. That improved engagement typically leads to increased satisfaction, loyalty, and word-of-mouth referrals.

• Greater ROI: With targeted campaigns that leverage data about individual customers' preferences, interests, and purchase patterns, businesses can achieve a higher return on marketing spend while also driving greater sales success.

Why B2B website personalization?

There are numerous reasons to implement B2B website personalization — and benefits for both businesses and end users. 

For businesses, personalized websites can improve traffic and conversions by making it easier for visitors to find the information they're looking for, and encouraging them to stay longer on the site. Additionally, businesses may combine targeted marketing campaigns with personalized websites to make messaging more impactful and relevant for their target audiences. 

Similarly, tailored experiences make it faster and easier for website users to find their desired content. For example, if a customer has recently viewed a particular product on your site, you may leverage that information to display related products or special offers during their browsing session. 

Personalized websites aren’t just about showing customers related content. You can also make the end-to-end browsing experience more enjoyable and engaging by leveraging design elements and interactive elements. 

B2B personalization examples

Personalization doesn’t happen by itself. You’ll need to develop a B2B website personalization strategy to achieve your content goals. However, with the right tools, people, and processes in place, you’ll quickly position your brand to reap those benefits. 

To help you kick-start your personalization campaign, let’s explore some examples of B2B personalization. 

1. Hero personalization

The hero section (the element above the fold of the page) is the first impression your customers have of your website. Its primary purpose is to convert visitors into leads by engaging customers in a way that appeals directly to them.

However, that’s easier said than done and, on websites that haven’t been personalized, every visitor sees the same hero content on their landing page. 

You can personalize the hero section in a number of ways — let’s look at a few of them. 

Headline personalization

You can give your hero section a competitive advantage by dynamically adapting its headline.

Personalized headlines are more likely to capture the attention of your target audience by appealing to individual needs and interests — which means that potential customers will be much more likely to engage with your content, and convert at a higher rate. It’s also likely that the engagement you build translates to increased loyalty, since customers feel that you understand their needs and are able to provide desired solutions. 

Here is an example of headline personalization for different business verticals:

• Original• Personalized

CTA personalization

Hero personalization might also involve call-to-action (CTA) personalization. 

The main purpose of CTAs is to capture visitors’ attention and encourage them to take specific actions, such as signing up for a newsletter, downloading an ebook, watching a video tutorial, or filling out a contact form. With that in mind, it makes sense to consider them a personalization priority. 

You can create personalized CTAs based on different firmographic, behavioral, and psychographic data. Examples of CTA personalization include:

• CTAs personalized to a visitor’s stage in the sales funnel: “Learn more,” “Buy now,” etc.

• CTAs for customers and non-customers: “Start your free trial,” and, “Claim your exclusive discount,” etc.

• CTAs personalized to a user’s location: “Find services in LOCATION,” “Receive a free quote in LOCATION,” etc. 

Here is an example of CTA personalization for different business verticals:

• Original• Personalized

Hero image personalization

Tailoring content to specific customer interests isn’t just about the headline and the CTA —  images also play a part in personalization.

And so, hero image personalization can not only drive conversions but create a connection with customers that’s distinct from personalized text. Hero image personalization might entail showing different products to different groups of customers based on verticals, personas, or company size.

Here’s an example of hero image personalization for different business verticals:

• Original• Personalized

2. In-line personalization

In-line CTAs are links placed within the body of your content rather than in a peripheral area, such as the sidebar or footer. In-line placement ensures that the CTAs are seen by readers who are actually engaged with your content and not just skimming over it.

What's more, in-line CTAs are usually highly relevant to the topic at hand. This means that they are more likely to catch the reader's attention and encourage them to take action.

Here’s an example of in-line CTA personalization. In this case, we’re looking at ebook download forms that are situated inside blog posts that are dynamically showing the most relevant ebooks on each blog post:

• Original• Personalized

3. Navigation/menu personalization

Navigation personalization is a critical component of any successful B2B website. 

This aspect of personalization enables companies to tailor their menus to the unique needs and preferences of their target audiences — in service of a more engaging user experience that encourages visitors to explore and interact with the site.

There are several key benefits of navigation personalization in B2B websites. 

Content relevance: Personalized navigation enables businesses to highlight the content that is most relevant to different groups of users.

Previous behavior: Navigation personalization helps companies create a more engaging user experience by providing targeted content recommendations based on previous browsing behavior. This makes it easier for users to find the information they are looking for while also encouraging them to explore different parts of the site.

Increased product awareness: Navigation personalization can drive website conversion rates and sales by increasing awareness of specific products or services.

Here’s an example of effective navigation personalization:

• Original• Personalized

4. Social proof personalization

As competition for customer attention increases, companies often stand out from the crowd by showcasing the experiences of their wider customer base — in content known as social proof. 

Social proofs add credibility to the value you're promising because the proofs reflect the authentic opinions of customers’ peers. There are plenty of different types of social proof, but some of the most common are customer testimonials, product reviews, customer logos.

You can be specific in your approach to social proof personalization for each target audience. For example, visitors to your site from the gaming industry might be shown company logos and testimonials from related gaming companies. 

Here’s an example of social proof personalization based on industry:

• Original• Personalized

5. Badge personalization

At the core of any successful B2B marketing strategy is a strong, well-thought-out website that provides valuable information to prospects and customers alike.

With that in mind, badge personalization allows you to dynamically tailor the look and feel of your site based on a user's individual preferences or behaviors. Badge personalization can reflect a user’s location, industry, age, buying habits, and any other relevant personalization variable. 

Here’s an example of badge personalization based on industry:

• Original• Personalized

Personalization for profitable growth and better digital experiences. 

In a hyper-competitive marketplace, businesses must go beyond simply providing generic products and services — they must deliver individualized, tailored experiences relevant to individual customers. With that in mind, content personalization can be the edge that a business needs to achieve profitability.

And, while there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to personalization, you can give your marketing team a headstart by implementing the right personalization technology. Whether you’re still developing your strategy, or looking for ways to take it to the next phase of growth, Contentful can put an array of automated personalization tools at your fingertips.

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