We’ve all talked about online quizzes at some point, like “What Friends character are you?” or “How much of a geek are you?” to test your knowledge about some subject. If you’ve ever read a BuzzFeed article, the platform lives for quizzes.
People love quizzes. And though we fill out quizzes for fun, B2B companies use quizzes as part of their lead generation, and they are remarkably effective tools.
We’ll discuss why you should use a quiz for B2B marketing automation with our tips, tricks, and best practices.
1. Make a Quiz Part of Your Overall Marketing Automation Toolset
Marketing automation is here to stay. A March 2021 Zapier survey of 2,000 marketers reported that more than one-third of marketers received a raise after implementing marketing automation tools correctly. Raises usually don’t happen without increased sales and revenue.
But is your team using the right automation tools to generate leads? One often overlooked marketing automation tool for B2B companies is a quiz.
Quizzes are not the end-all, be-all of marketing automation that will solve your push for more efficient lead generation. However, a quiz provides another interactive method to foster leads.
There will always be people who love filling out forms, using pop-ups, or sending an email when they’re interested. But a quiz can increase your opt-in by over 50%, according to some studies.
Think of lead generation like a buffet. People pay for a buffet not because they will eat all the food but because they have the freedom to eat what they want. Give your B2B customers what they want with the freedom of choice of how they want to interact with your brand with a quiz. You may find that a quiz offers higher interaction rates than other channels. Some statistics show that quiz opt-in rates are as much as 55% higher than other opt-in types.
2. Give the People What They Want
Your business model must stand out from others to capture people’s attention. How many of your competitors use a quiz to generate leads? If they don’t, they should. A 2020 study compiled by Gartner indicates that 80% of B2B sales interactions between suppliers and buyers will occur via digital channels, and 33% of all buyers want a seller-free sales experience without any human interaction whatsoever. That doesn’t mean someone wants to purchase your B2B products or services online. But it means they want as much information as possible before buying.
To have a seller-free sales experience, you need improved marketing automation and something that delivers value. Quizzes help differentiate you from others in your space. Marketing automation platform Mediafly states that 88% of companies that embrace interactive marketing said their brands stood out from others. Interactive content saw 94% higher views than static content like blogs and forms.
3. Provide Highly Relevant Information in Exchange for an Email
The overall goal is to present the person taking the quiz with valuable, unique information they can’t get otherwise. For a B2B company, two highly relevant pieces of information are a quote (or quote range) and a calendar invite to discuss the quote with a sales consultant.
For example, you manufacture stem bolts for industrial equipment manufacturers all over the world. Your quiz starts with what type of stem bolt the company needs, followed by how many and how often. At the end of the quiz, you can deliver a quote or range of quotes based on the compiled answers. A company needing 1,000 self-sealing stem bolts with an aluminum housing every week would get a different quote than a parts company requiring 10,000 ordinary stem bolts made of stainless steel every month.
You could even add more information to the quote, such as a relevant case study for the chosen products or the technical specifications of the products the potential customer wants.
But the answers to the quiz determine the quote and information you give them. All the person needs to do is input a name and an email at the end of the quiz.
4. Create a Fun & Engaging Quiz
Think of your quiz just like a Google Ad or social media ad because the first engagement must be structured similarly for the best results.
Much like headlines on an ad that capture your attention, a quiz is the same way. Forget saying “Take Our Quiz” to generate leads. Boring. Make it closer to what your target audience wants to see, like “How Much Do You Want Your Internet to Speed Up?” or “CRM Matchmaker.” Your headline doesn’t have to say “quiz” in it. But you should say “Take Quiz” on the button to start it or maybe “Get Started” to begin the interactive portion of the quiz.
5. Keep It Less Than 3 Minutes
Much like shorter videos offer more engagement, keep quizzes shorter. It’s easy to get carried away and caught up in the fun of making an interactive quiz. But try to keep it 3 minutes or less to fill out. That’s usually six to eight questions total, although you may find five questions or less to be even more effective.
6. Have 3 to 4 Answers to Each Question
Quizzes offer a single choice to move through, with three to four possible answers for each question. The key to this process is like an inbound marketing workflow you set up for your marketing automation. Each answer branches out to a related follow-up question in your B2B marketing efforts. In this way, you can tailor each level of answers based on the specific responses. Plus, each answer further qualifies your lead because they give you vital information with every answer.
Depending on how your target audience answers each branch of questions, it will lead them to a specific outcome.
7. Use Photos, GIFs & Video
If your quiz is about wholesale linens, showcase a variety of colorful table linens. Or you could create a photo that speaks to the emotions behind your brand. If your company has a goofy vibe, have a silly photo from a meme. You can occasionally put a cute dog or cat GIF in there to liven things up.
8. Simplify the Form Submission at the End
The final step of the quiz is to implore someone to submit a name and email to look at the results based on their choices. The purpose is to get that contact information as part of your marketing automation efforts with this sales qualified lead. Have a radio button that the person must select, indicating that they agree to the terms of use.
9. Automatically Send Results
Your lead should get instant results once they submit their contact information. Remember that 90% of consumers are willing to share their email for an incentive. While there are no hard numbers on B2B customers, you can expect that tech-savvy B2B leads will want to give their contact information in exchange for customized content tailored to their needs.
10. Continue to Nurture Leads
Suppose the SQL makes an appointment with your team. Great! But that’s not the end of your story. If the person does not set an appointment, you can send a follow-up email a few days later, almost like an abandoned cart email. Utilize the data you collected from the quiz to tailor messaging to that person.
Something like, “We see you’re interested in our aluminum housing self-sealing stem bolts. If you want more information, here are some case studies using our products and how they helped our customers.”
Remember, each qualified lead took the time to complete the quiz. Depending on how they answered these questions, that’s how you control the engagement moving forward. How they engage with the content moving forward helps you nurture those leads.
Need Help With Marketing Automation?
Once you get your lead generation automation set up, it will make your sales reps more efficient as you land more B2B customers. Our team can help you find the leads you want to engage with through a comprehensive inbound marketing strategy and implementation that covers all aspects of your sales or marketing funnel.
Contact us or call (417) 799-2233 to consult. We’d be happy to guide your efforts.
