10 Must-Have Web Design Features for B2B Success
Introduction:
First impressions matter. Running a business means you cannot afford to miss the opportunity for a great first impression. In fact, according to WebFX the user’s first impression is 94% impacted by the design of your website. After reading this article, your B2B website will have the features needed to turn website visitors into customers.
What is B2B?
B2B stands for “business to business”. This essentially means that one company is selling its products and services to other companies, and not the end-user or consumer.
How is B2B different from B2C?
Business-to-business purchasing and selling is different from business directly to the consumer. As a seller, you must work to satisfy the needs of your customer for success, and the needs of a business and a consumer are much different.
Agenda:
Competitive Advantage
Build Credibility
Broadcast Your Wins
Show How Customers Felt
Calls to Action, Everywhere!
Blog With a Purpose
Social Media Presence
Leverage Emails
Implement AI
Utilize Your Data
Competitive Advantage:
The easiest way to set yourself apart from the competition is to deliver your unique value proposition as soon as possible. To distinguish yourself from other businesses, answer these questions early in the user’s website visit:
- Who are you? Explain the personal journey to forming your business. What things have you learned or experienced that make you qualified in this field?
- What do you do? Think of this question from the customer’s perspective, “how can you satisfy the needs of my business?”. Explain the end result and how you help them reach it.
- What sets you apart? This section should be the easiest to provide to potential customers. Without a clear understanding of the competition and your audience, this part will not have much value.
- What is next? Good website design helps lead users throughout the customer journey. There should be next steps for users looking to learn more about your company, what you do, and the ways to purchase.
Build Credibility:
If your business is selling to other businesses, expect them to flip your website over looking for evidence that you are the right choice. According to Hubspot, companies with over 10 landing pages get 55% more leads than those with less than 10.
Service pages should be crafted carefully using relevant industry keywords that will gain exposure. Separate yourself by using original videos and photos to engage your website visitors. Answer the frequent questions customers ask and eliminate any uncertainties within the purchasing process.
Broadcast Your Wins:
Meeting your customer needs is not enough, you must show potential clients how you solved their problems.
Case studies are a great way to show client experiences and how you adapted as a seller to meet their needs. Convince the reader that your product or service has the ability to scale to their own business. Walk through the problem solving process using an article or video, and attach this to relevant pages within your site.
Show How Customers Felt:
Testimonials are the easiest way to invoke an emotional reaction within your readers. Show how your customers felt about working with you using video and quotes for credibility. The voice of your past clients will be very relatable and useful to potential clients for determining their path of purchase.
Gather direct quotes to scatter throughout your website. Reviews from social media and business listings are all fair game to add to your site. Attach a name and photo if possible to increase your credibility.
Calls to Action, Everywhere!
For a website looking to convert, the purchasing process must be flawless. Keep in mind that each visitor will be at a different point in their customer journey.
Here are the funnel journey points that you must cover within your website.
- Awareness. A customer must solve a problem, and they will find various solutions to that problem. Make your website visitors aware of what you do right as they land on the page. Place key information regarding the problem you solve before the fold, where a user does not have to scroll.
- Consideration. The customer wants to learn about your solution and how it differs from the competition. This section utilizes service pages describing your benefits to the website visitor. Testimonials and case studies go a long way in creating relatable content for potential customers to envision how their needs can be solved.
- Conversion. The customer wants to purchase your solution to their problem. Make it very clear what products and services all entail for their price points. An easy conversion process will give you a leg up on the competition. Check out our blog page entirely about designing websites for conversion.
Blog With a Purpose:
On average, businesses will read over 10 content pages before making a decision regarding purchasing products or services, (Marketing Charts).
The easiest way to create more pages for your website is to blog. Use your industry knowledge to supply your readers with the information needed to make a purchasing decision.
Another reason you should be blogging is to show that you are updating along with your industry. Every aspect of your business should be broadcasted using blog pages reflecting new information. Create new posts using keywords customers looking for your solution would be searching for on Google. Updating your website with new pages is a great way to stay relevant in search engines and by posting on social media.
Social Media Presence:
Potential customers can be on any social media platform, even if they aren’t directly looking to solve their needs through it.
Amplify your online presence by having active social media profiles and posting relevant information and updates regarding your products and services. Link content back to your website for users in the consideration and conversion phases of the customer journey. Always keep these links updated and visible in the header or footer of each web page.
For businesses looking for a professional audience, LinkedIn is key.
Not only does LinkedIn have a prominent target market of business professionals, but it is very easy to spread messages using this platform. Organic engagement includes likes, shares, and comments, and LinkedIn will share all of these with your own connections. Leveraging employee profiles and sharing with their connections can be a very effective driver of website traffic.
Leverage Emails:
According to the Content Marketing Institute, 31% of B2B marketers attribute their lead generation to email campaigns.
Creating a contact list of emails puts you in a prime area to engage your prospects. Email lists can gather value quickly because customers may return for more products or services. Craft emails for customers at each stage in their journey, especially post-purchase. Ask for reviews to improve your processes and share success stories.
Implement AI:
The pandemic flipped the way businesses engage with their online audience. According to McKinsey, 70% – 80% of B2B purchasers prefer to engage with self-serve digital elements. Saving time is invaluable for these professionals.
Enable AI chatbots or forms within your website. These help gather information about your visitors quickly and can point them in the right direction to continue their customer journey. If you can collect their email or other contact information, keep the conversation going and supply them with enough information to make a decision.
Utilize Your Data:
The last step to perfecting your B2B web design is to test it.
Install Google Analytics or analyze your website audience using other software. Find what pages are performing well, and improve those that are not. Experiment with your changes and export data within a spreadsheet to compare over time.
Conclusion:
Every business is looking for its advantage. Utilizing these 10 B2B web design features will certainly point you in the right direction for curating the customer experience for visitors.
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