The B2B website has never been more important than it is today. So why are so many organisations failing to get it right? We surveyed 250 B2B decision makers in the UK to get to the heart of what really matters when it comes to building a website in today’s ecommerce world.
What’s clear is that users and the role of the website have evolved significantly in recent years, if your website hasn’t evolved too, you’re in danger of getting left behind.
Familiar tools such as Google Analytics and Clicky quickly help you paint a picture of how users find your site, what devices they’re using and which pages the visit most often. This is useful data however to build a successful B2B website we need to dig much deeper. Just how important is your organisation’s website? Is it playing a limited role and you’re not tapping into its true potential? How do users feel about personalisation? Where are they when they conduct their research, at home, in the office, commuting on a train?
Increasingly, c-suite executives turn to 18-34 year olds to conduct research. It’s important to remember that these are digital natives and their first instinct is to search online. In our survey 76.8% of our interviewees told us that B2B Decision Making Cycles begin with a search engine. 54.8% also stated that they use social Media as part of the process.
In our survey:
76.8%
OF OUR INTERVIEWEES TOLD US THAT B2B DECISION MAKING CYCLES BEGIN WITH A SEARCH.
54.8%
ALSO STATED THAT THEY USE SOCIAL MEDIA AS A PART OF THE PROCESS.
The fundamental purpose of the website has shifted in recent years. It’s no longer enough for a website to simply act as a digital brochure or a one-way broadcast channel. The continuing consumerisation of B2B audiences means that today’s users expect an interactive and personalised experience that evolves as they move through the sales process.
To achieve this, we must think of the website as a platform that sits at the heart of the business as an integral piece of infrastructure. It should have a relationship with the back office, using customer data intelligently to create more compelling user experiences. It is a backbone to the sales funnel as decision makers look to it as the single source of truth. 94.4% of the decision makers we surveyed state the potential suppliers website is the most important channel when researching It must play a fundamental role across search, discovery, social, PR, events, purchasing and support activity. In the last three years, we have seen many organisations make significant investments in new website technologies however the vast majority are only scratching the surface when it comes getting the most from things like CRM integration and personalisation.
94.4%
OF THE DECISION MAKERS WE SURVEYED STATE THE POTENTIAL SUPPLIERS WEBSITE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT CHANNEL WHEN RESEARCHING.
There are some extremely powerful personalisation tools available however it’s important to find the right level for your B2B audience. This will vary across market sectors however of the 250 B2B decision makers that we surveyed, 42.4% felt that website experiences should be ‘moderately’ personalised. Just 5% didn’t want their experience personalised at all.
Personalisation can range from a simple Geo IP look-up which can be used to serve a local language site or it can be taken a step further by presenting localised case studies from a centralised website for example. Companies such as Sitecore are the trailblazers in this space with their content management and multichannel marketing automation software, however we’re currently only seeing a fraction of the functionality put into action. With persona development in B2B far more advanced than it was 5 years ago we have both the tech and audience insight to now be serving fluid and dynamic user journeys based on on-site behaviour i.e. if I self-identify as a finance professional give me content that will be nuanced to my professional interests.
76.8%
OF OUR INTERVIEWEES TOLD US THAT B2B DECISION MAKING CYCLES BEGIN WITH A SEARCH.
The line between work and life is increasingly blurred. Over 70% of those surveyed admitted to frequently carrying out research into new products and services from home. 85.2% said that they conduct research into new products and services using their smartphone.
As even the most basic web analytics tools will show you, users don’t just visit your B2B website during office hours from a laptop. For many, office hours are spent attending meetings and delivering on short-term actions while the daily commute for example can be set aside for research activity. And when your audience arrives home, work is often still on the agenda, even at the weekend.
70%
of those surveyed admitted to frequently carrying out research into new products and services from home.
85.2%
said that they conduct research into new products and services using
their smartphone.
70% of our survey respondents stated that the website User Experience is ‘extremely important’ when evaluating a new partner. There are of course many aspects of UX to consider however some fundamentals remain the same across almost every industry.
As we’ve already touched on, flat content is no longer enough. Your site needs to feel accessible and energised. This can be achieved in many different ways however video content and interactive tools xx are all good ways to differentiate yourself from your competition when clearly telling your story. Remember, users don’t want to trawl through large volumes of copy and web pages on their first visit, if they can’t find the information that they’re looking for quickly they’ll go elsewhere.
While it’s important not to dumb down your products and services you should avoid the temptation to overload your audience with copy-heavy web pages. Consider what you look for when you land on a new website. The list is usually pretty short. You want confirmation that you’re in the right place, reassurance that the organisation has good credentials and a clear understanding of what to do next. You probably don’t care what year the company was founded or that they’ve just opened up an office in Singapore.
Wherever a potential customer is in the sales process it’s crucial that they quickly and easily have access to whatever they need to progress to the next stage.
70%
of our survey respondents stated that
the website User Experience is ‘extremely important’ when evaluating a new partner.
Predicting the next major event that will change the face of websites as we know them is the wrong way to approach the future of your site. Move from a ‘big bang’ process to an ‘agile’ approach that enables you to respond to new data insight and technology advances like the recent demand for voice search capability and the big buzz around augmented reality and AI
Regularly track site analytics to understand how your customers are using your site. When you spot changes in behaviour, consider what may be driving them and plan how to respond. As always there are many new exciting technology advances on the horizon however the past has taught us that its incredibly difficult to know which will have a widespread impact. The secret to not being left behind is to keep moving and being ready to adapt.
As the old saying goes, “Ask and it shall be given.” Things have moved on since those words were first uttered. Now in a world of voice activated digital assistants, never has this been more true. Each day that passes assistants are becoming more sophisticated, answering questions that range from; “Alexa, were is my pizza?”, “Your pizza is on it’s way and will be delivered by Charlotte.” Or asking you digital assistant to switch the lights off when requested.
As a medium that some people questioned when it originally emerged, it seems as though it is here to stay and will only go from strength to strength. So is voice activation an area your business will look to exploit? Has it even been in your consideration set? “Alexa, how can I make this work for my business?” I hear you say.
Well here at Lewis HQ we have been tinkering away in the LewisLAB and have developed something of an easy entry point. At the same time solving another common place challenge: “How do I sweat the content on my website?”. Introducing Lewis Flash Briefings. Lewis can now set up, test and deploy Alexa Flash Briefings that take their content directly from your website. Using the content found in your News, Insights or Blog feeds, customers and clients are able to hear the latest update from your business just by asking Alexa: “Give me my flash briefing?”. Platform agnostic, we have the ability to add this functionality based on any popular CMS, while having the ability to use any set of content required. As a digital activation medium most commonly found in the home, it is another example of how people are using a BYOD approach that keeps work “Always-on”. By activating an Alexa app you become part of their daily routine from the moment they wake up.
We have always thought our websites were cool, but when they answer your voice, they become really cool.
Time to join the conversation? - literally.
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