3 Important Tips to Improve Your B2B Website

June 14, 2012

For many B2B companies a real challenge is finding out what can be done to improve your site’s functionality and ultimately get more sales.  The web is full of tips to get the latest sliding menu or gradient background.  With B2C websites there is a “coolness” factor that must be achieved, but with B2B everything is trumped by functionality and conversion.  Simply put… is your website creating sales for you?

So, how do you know your site is operating at maximum functionality?  Below are 3 tips that should NOT be overlooked.  Use these to improve your b2b website:

1. Ask Your Users

Obtaining high quality feedback from real users about their site can be a true challenge for most business owners.  Unfortunately, due to it’s time-consuming nature, gathering the right group of users for testing and consulting can be very difficult and therefore is often overlooked. It starts with an invite.  Check with your sales team or scan your site’s database for quality users.  Target those that have gone all the way through your sales process.  You may be surprised with the amount of feedback you will get from even a small group of users.

2. It’s All About The Action

As mentioned earlier, the conversion or the creation of a sale is the ultimate goal of any B2B website.  Therefore, calls to action are key.  These are specific steps that directly lead users to make a purchase.  This will change based on your site’s goal.  For some it may be a sale for others it may be a newsletter or “guide” download.  Either way, these calls to action should be easy to spot the second a user hits your homepage and should be placed on every interior page of your site as well.

3. Go The Extra Mile

Sometimes getting key messages about your product or service across to your users can be difficult.  This is where a simple “how-to” video or podcast can be a difference maker when it comes to making a sale.  If getting in front of the camera isn’t your thing, then prove you are the expert by developing some high quality content.  Another developing trend picking up steam are mobile versions of your site.  Once thought of as a “cool” add-on, more and more people are using their phones to search.  Even adding a “mobile template” to your site that gets shown when a user enters your website via their phone is a great way to greet your mobile users.