Clicks 'n Conversions Blog

This article was originally published on the Tatum Marketing blog on August 12, 2008.

According to some highly reliable research I read recently but can’t put my finger on right now, a very large percentage of B2B companies are planning to update or replace their websites within the next 12 months. It’s a good thing too, since b2b buyers are basically unhappy with vendors’ website. (I do remember where I got this info — it’s in MarketingSherpa’s 2007 home page design study. On a scale of one-to-seven with one being the lowest, the average user satisfaction score was 4.39 and the highest was 5.19. Nobody even made it to a 6.)

Unfortunately, if the past and present state of B2B website design and development is any indication, chances are good that any website update or redesign will be a colossal waste of money. But have no fear; I am going to share with you some best practices of business website development that will help you avoid paying for a bad website and to reap the many benefits of creating a good website.

First let’s look at the difference between and good website and a bad one.

The good; the bad; and the ugly.

Most people – brilliant B2B CEOs and marketers included – tend to judge a website by how it slick it looks. This may be a natural reaction to a visual stimulus, but when it comes to evaluating websites, it’s a mistake. While a poorly designed website can wreck a sale, a pleasing visual design doesn’t ensure that the site will do its job. It’s not that easy.

A “good” website is not just one that makes you proud to look at it. A good website also delivers a great return on your investment by producing the results you want it to produce. Simple idea, but judging by many of the website stats we see, one that is often overlooked.

The criteria we use to evaluate website effectiveness focus on how well the site communicates to the target audience(s). This means how well it draws – rather than repels -  qualified visitors; how much of the site gets read; and – most important – how effective it is in getting the visitor to take the desired actions..

Sounds a little like how you evaluate your sales people doesn’t it? There’s a reason for that. Today’s website is far more than just an online brochure. A good website actually performs many of the initial activities that used to be the responsibility of a sales team.

Sure, a sloppy, unprofessional sales person can screw up even the most solid deal. But a slick talking, well-dress salesperson who arrives unprepared is not going to make the sale either.

Take a minute and think about your customers and prospects, and how they make their buying decisions. In general, it begins when the prospect recognizes a need. They start to research the problem and potential solutions. In B-to-B – especially business technology – this is usually done online, well before the prospect is willing to commit to a call with a sales person.

If you’re beginning to think that redesigning your website or creating an all-new one is going to take more thinking than just about the visual design – you’re right!

Here are the 7 major components to a great website:

• Website strategy. This involves taking a close look at your objectives, your audiences, your competitors, and your traffic sources.
• Content. Whether it’s text, illustrations, demos or whatever, this is what people come to your site for.
• Visual design. Yeah, yeah. It’s important too.
• Performance. This may not be the sexist part of the site to anyone but a programmer; but nothing will drive visitors away like slow loading pages, dead links, or a site that can’t be read on a Firefox browser.
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO). While I recommend against compromising your best selling content in order to meet perceived search engine requirements, good search engine ranking is important.
• Analytics. How do we know a website is performing well? We measure it! Analytics provides the proof that something is working (or not working) and it shows where the greatest opportunities for improvement are located.
• Testing. Even after 15+ years of working with websites, I am still constantly – constantly – surprised at how little we really know about how people are going to respond, and how small changes can make a great difference in performance.

In coming articles I’ll cover each of these components in more detail. Meanwhile, let me know what website development issues are concerning you. Just leave me a comment below.