According to a recent survey done by Forrester Research with Marketing Profs, "94% of respondents consider corporate Web sites a key element in the marketing toolbox and 84% of buyers say Web sites matter in purchase decision making."

That said, Laura Ramos also points out that most B2B corporate websites "lack the basic building blocks to build customer relationships."

It's time for B2B companies to regard their corporate websites with a more flexible mindset. This is no time for turf battles, ego or company posturing. If your corporate website isn't playing a key role in generating qualified prospects and enhancing customer relationships, it's not doing its job.

You know that buyers are waiting longer to involve sales in their buying process. Longer sales cycles mean escalating sales costs. By enabling your website to deliver better information in formats your buyers find valuable, marketers can transform their website visitors from tire kickers into interested, active prospects.

Here's a little test for you to evaluate your corporate website for engagement:

  1. Choose a problem your customers solve using your products.
  2. Go to your website as if an unfamiliar website and see how many clicks it takes you to get to relevant information. (You don't know your product names, either.)
  3. What information exists to help your buyers in different stages of their buying process?
  4. Is there a natural flow to how they access this information or does every piece of it have to be found separately? You know - white papers in the white paper section, case studies in the case study section, etc.
  5. Now look at navigational paths in your website analytics and see how your website visitors are moving through your website.

    Can you tell when they find something of value?
    Where are you losing them?

Corporate websites are often arranged based on separate categories. Almost all of them have solutions, industries, products, company on their navigation. Is that how your buyers want their information?

Start thinking about the words you use and how you present that information.

  • Can you orient it around problems and priorities on your buyers' minds?
  • Can you combine content to tell a threaded story instead of asking your website visitors to spend their time searching unfamiliar territory?
  • What types of interactions could you add to help?

    For example, Genius customers are getting great results by chatting with prospective customers in real time about the subject matter displayed on the page the prospect is on.

    Do you have newsletter subscriptions available for specific interests?

    Can they sign up for webinars on the subject?

    How about videos and podcasts with a way to share them with others on the buying committee?

The more information you can provide to buyers across the stages of their buying process, the higher impact you'll see in lowering sales costs. Salespeople will be focused on the most interested opportunities, the ones who raise their hands. Self-identification will happen when your website serves buyers well because they'll have learned what they need to know to build their confidence that your company is the right partner to choose.

B2B websites can be very powerful sales tools if companies start designing them as an integral part of a customer-focused buying process and not as a digital version of their corporate brochure.

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