Does a manufacturer need video? Does a service company need to be on Facebook?
We work with many business-to-business firms (B2B) that struggle with what to do with their websites. One thing is for sure: B2B websites are sales magnets. Nearly eight out of ten prospects visit your website before making a purchase from you.
Through Farris 5-Star Web Design, our website development service, we see what works and what doesn’t. You’d be surprised.
WHAT WORKS
Video, video, video. And by the way, did I mention video? Study after study shows that given a choice, most web visitors will choose a video demonstration or answer to a question over a written one.
Want to show your product works faster? Put a timer on it and show it with streaming video. Want to answer Frequently Asked Questions? Let your engineers or your vice president answer FAQs on camera. Illustrate the answer with animation if you can.
Don’t just use these videos on your own website — post them on YouTube and other video media sites. Link them back to your website. This will reach additional prospects and influencers — and perhaps more importantly, increase your Internet footprint and improve your search results.
WHAT ELSE WORKS?
Social media. Yep, you can bet that more than a few of your prospects are on Facebook (along with 350 million other people). Create a Facebook page for your business, even if your business is finishing steel or selling widgets. Post the content of news releases, link to industry articles and news that would interest your prospect. Again, this increases your chances of being found in a search by a prospect.
Newsrooms. Most B2B websites miss this. There are plenty of developments you can publish in your own newsroom — from product improvements to industry awards or new contracts — that can help you be found by qualified prospects.
Testimonials. Geez, why these are overlooked as much as they are, I don’t know. Many of the firms we deal with have terrific, loyal customers who are glad to give them a short testimonial to post on their website. How about yours?
WHAT DOESNT WORK
Mission Statements. This left-over junk from the 90s is read once every 100,000 visits. Forget about it.
Excessive details. No matter what business you’re in, you need to SELL your product or service. If you answer every single question and reveal every single detail of your product, how much opportunity are you going to have to sell? Not much. Unless you have an e-commerce website, most sales still depend on some sort of personal contact. Don’t give away the farm on every visit to your site.
LEARN MORE
There’s only so much I can cover here, but if you want to get a better response from your website and Internet presence, you need to take advantage of these relatively low-cost efforts. Call or email Farris and we’ll help you get started.
Stay Tuned and Stay Smart.
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