Rethink your web strategy

Businesses selling their goods and services to other businesses (B2B) face the same fundamental challenge as all marketers - determining, exactly, who the audience is and how best to reach them.

The overwhelming trend documented since at least 2002 is the shift to sourcing on the web.

Industrial Strength Marketing has conducted surveys that show 90 percent of industrial buyers go to the internet at some point during the buying process, and well over half start the buying decision process online.

The shift to online sourcing means marketers need to rethink website strategies:

  • In-depth product and service information is more important than ever. Many times you are dealing with someone who needs very technical, specifications-based data. Is it fast enough? Does it have enough output? What is the stock on hand? B2B marketers need to make sure there is good information and that it is available online.

  • You can't assume there is one best way to reach your audience. An integrated approach is needed because you may have different behaviour patterns amongst prospective purchasers. Indeed within the same company, one purchaser may have 20 years experience in their industry and rely extensively on trade media and relationships while another may be an up-and-comer who is getting online, using vertical search engines, downloading podcasts and attending online seminars to research and learn.

  • Keeping content up-to-date is important for marketers because updated content is one of the triggers that general search engines like Google and vertical search engines such as GlobalSpec or ThomasNet use to determine relevance and ranking.

  • Content should also engage prospects and build relationships. White papers, email newsletters or podcasts are useful tools. Online video is coming of age and is looking to be particularly promising because B2B buyers are often looking for details that are hard to explain in print.

  • Don't fall into the hard-sell trap online, particularly in webcasts, podcasts and online video. You need to be conscious of creating a message that is directed toward what is going to help solve a problem for your prospect or customer. Another trap for audio and video online is to limit the time you are asking clients to commit. A good rule of thumb is to limit podcasts to 30 minutes and video to 2 minutes or less.

Fragmentation of media is a macro trend that makes talking to a specific audience - your audience - more and more difficult.

The starting point is to nail down exactly who your audience is. Are they influencers? Are they the specifier? Are there other people on the team helping with the purchase decision? Now the time has come to figure out how to reach your audience.

People are getting their information from many different sources. It's not a simple matter of placing an advertisement in a trade magazine and thinking you'll reach your audience. It's about knowing where your audience is (geographically), where they gather (online, reading material or conferences) and then being ready to engage them with messages and content that answers their questions and solves their problems.

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