Traffic Control
No matter how your prospects initially learn about your company and its products or services, your website is typically the next place they will visit for more information. What they see, learn and experience when they get there helps them move forward with their consideration and buying process—or, directs them straight to your competitors.
For a website that helps attract B2B leads and moves prospects from simple awareness to serious consideration, follow these seven strategies.
1. Purchase the book “Don’t Make Me Think” by Steve Krug. It’s a quick read, yet full of helpful hints and ideas to make your website user friendly. It’s available at most online bookstores and at Krug’s website, www.sensible.com.
2. Be sure your website quickly clarifies what your company does and who it serves. Most B2B marketers are skilled at describing the products or services they provide and the applications they support. However, most of their websites fail to clearly describe the types and sizes of businesses or institutions they serve and the geography they cover. If your website accomplishes this, visitors can determine if your company is a good fit for them.
3. Clearly explain why your company is a better choice than the competition. Prospective customers are trying to decide between your company and, probably, many others. Help them along in concluding your company is the best choice.
4. Back up your claims. Everyone claims to be great at what they do. Stand out by proving the claims you make on your website. For instance, list any special certifications or awards the company has earned. If your people have years of business and technical experience, and advanced certifications of their own, mention it. List a sampling of clients and industries that you serve to prove you already know your visitors’ business.
5. Tell site visitors what it will be like once they become customers. Don’t just explain your support and training resources. Salt-and-pepper your website’s pages with testimonials from happy clients as proof that your customers really are satisfied.
6. Include offers on every appropriate page of the site. This is the key to getting prospects to identify themselves as leads, and start sales-winning relationships. Use multiple offers—each designed for different stages of your prospects’ buying cycles. For example, offer white papers and info kits for B2B leads just beginning the process, and checklists or Webinars for those further along in the buying process. And, offer in-depth seminars, demos and on-site evaluations or “buy now” incentives for those well into the buying process.
7. Make it easy for prospective customers to take the next step. Provide contact information, such as phone, e-mail and links to request forms, on every page of your website. Don’t just bury it under a “contact us” link hidden in the margins.
A final bonus tip: Make it easy for your prospects to navigate your site from their point of view. Allow them to navigate by their industry or application so they can quickly determine the appropriate products or services for their specific situation.
Your website can be an excellent source of B2B leads. Make the most of it to drive profitability.
BY M. H. “MAC” MCINTOSH, CBC
M.H. “Mac” McIntosh, CBC, is a business-to-business marketing consultant and publisher of the newsletter “Sales Lead Report.” McIntosh also teaches university-level courses in sales, marketing, direct marketing and telemarketing, and conducts seminars and workshops for leading corporations and associations around the world. He can be reached at (800) 944-5553, mcintosh@sales-lead-experts.com and by visiting www.sales-lead-experts.com.
- People:
- Steve Krug