Website Articles
The essential elements of a
successful B-to-B Web Site: How does your site measure up?
Web sites have grown over the years to becoming a necessity of doing business.
They’re not only used to present a good first impression of a company and to
give basic information, but they also serve as a point of differentiation from
the competition.
After the “newness” of simply having a site wore off several years ago,
companies began to turn to their web sites to actually grow and run their
businesses.
This includes everything from making potential customers aware of the
organization and its offerings to actually taking orders and fulfilling them.
Web sites now need to function well, in addition to, looking good.
Most of us are familiar with the most popular consumer-focused web sites, either
from personal experience or just from reading the news. Amazon.com, ebay.com,
barnesandnoble.com…these sites have come a long way in taking e-commerce to the
next level.
But what about Business-to-Business (B-to-B) web sites? These are perhaps not as
well known due to the fact that you wouldn’t necessarily search one out unless
it was of interest to you in your line of work.
But for this very reason, the form and function of a B-to-B web site must be
exceptional:
- B-to-B business transactions are more highly considered than consumer
purchases.
- They typically take longer and are more expensive.
- The process usually involves multiple people in a B-to-B purchase, making the
process more complex.
A B-to-B web site must address all these issues if it is to be successful in
moving a business forward.
Web site evolution has moved through 3 major stages:
- Electronic brochure
- E-commerce
- Web-based business application
Your business’s web site is somewhere along this evolutionary path.
1. Electronic brochure
A basic business-oriented site whose primary function is to create a visual
presence for your company on the Internet, and to describe its goods, services,
philosophy and history.
2. E-commerce
An electronic brochure described above, but it has another goal, which is to
actually sell merchandise. Thus they have to do a lot more, including maintain
catalogue and pricing information with frequent updates, allow for shopping by
customers, and provide secure payment processing.
3. Web-based business application
At this point, a web site must not only attract customers to view the site, it
must also interest them, convert them to buyers, and retain them as loyal
customers.
Today, this type of site has become the standard in utilizing the web in the
most effective, strategic way to grow your business.
How does my B-to-B web site measure up?
1. Is my site tied to company objectives and is it designed to grow business,
rather than existing merely for the purpose of having a web site “because
everyone else does?”
2. Is my site content focused on dynamic tools and resources developed
specifically for my target customer (white papers and self assessments) rather
than static product information (pictures & descriptions)?
3. Does the functioning of my site allow visitors to access special areas to
retrieve tools and use valuable resources that will motivate them and help them
learn, rather than view and order products only?
4. Does my site focus more on content that will motivate customers to learn what
they’re all about (educational resources & self-assessments) rather than telling
them what my company is all about (history & products)?
5. Does my site personalize to the extent that I can send targeted information
and start dialogues based on the specific needs and interests of my current and
potential customers?
6. Do I have an automated process for creating content on my site so that it is
always relevant, fresh and interesting to my target, and positions me as an
expert in my area of business?
Your web site may be functioning as an ‘electronic brochure’, or may have been
designed with the primary purpose of taking and fulfilling orders. Or perhaps
you’ve grown into including a few value-added resources on your site.
So what can you do to get your B-to-B web site up to speed?
The good news is that effective web-based business applications are available
and affordable. They can be built as an extension of your current corporate web
site rather than re-designing your entire site.
WebsiteDesigner.Com works with companies – large and small – to strengthen their web
presence, to make it an invaluable tool in their overall business. We’ll work
with you to define goals, and budget, then create the applications that will
make your web site better serve your vision for your company.
Article source:
WebsiteDesigner.Com web design
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