Red on Marketing Blog

B2B Websites: Lead generation form dos & don'ts

Sometimes I pit my intuition against the real world at Which Test Won. One recent conversion optimization test on a lead generation form yielded results with a twist.


The website Which Test Won has some thought-provoking quizzes and examples. You can check out your gut reactions by picking which of two versions you think would yield the better response. Then you can click through to see if you were right, and read an analysis on the differences between the A and B samples.*

The one I'm writing about today is covered in "Results for: What’s The Best Way To Get Qualified Leads?" (viewing article requires membership).* First, there's the test itself, two versions of a contact page. They've also posted an interview with the person who designed it: Josh Krafchin of Clever Zebo.

The interview is valuable because we get to see the original page that led to the A/B revisions*, and we learn his thinking behind the decisions that he made.

Clear the clutter

This test was for American Life, a real estate development company that helps foreign investors get visas to come to the United States. The original contact page was way too busy. There was the detailed contact form itself, of course. Then off to the left was a column of links. Off to the right was a column of unrelated information. Across the top was the navigation bar.

"You really need to isolate what is the information we want from someone and highlight that on the page, rather than there being a lot of distractions," Krafchin says in the interview.

The revised contact page would present a simpler experience: what the company does, why we should do business with it, and how to get in touch.

Click to visit the Which Test Won article (Pro membership to view full)

Qualify or not?

Ah, but which revision would prove better? Both followed the same basic formula. The logo anchors the top of the page. Next comes a headline that explains what American Life does. The form takes center stage. There are two art elements — a background photo of a large commercial building, and a small shot of passports. At the bottom, all the key information about the company is spelled out in bullet points: What you need to know about the firm, how to work with it, why the process is safe, etc.

With this design there's no need to click away from the contact form. Everything a visitor needs to know appears "above the fold," meaning that on a standard screen you won't have to scroll down to see any of it.

"I was expecting that this version would have fewer overall leads, but of those leads we'd have a higher percentage who are higher quality," Krafchin says. The higher quality would mean less wasted time for the sales staff.

The result?

"My personal instinct on the test was wrong," Krafchin says. It's just conjecture, but he thinks people were driven off by the banner highlighting the $500,000 minimum, even if they qualified.

I have to agree that the $500,000 minimum looks intimidating. It's getting toward the end of the month, so I don't have $500,000 sitting around the house.

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*Note: To see full text of articles at the links above, you need a WTW membership. I'm a Pro member but otherwise have no financial connection.

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Topics: Lead Generation Design Conversion Optimization