Your website is your online location, a place for you to share about your brand, products and services. In today’s digital first world, where buyers discover you through web search, your website is a critical information source. Modern buyers use important insights you provide at various stages of their purchase journey for decision making purposes. So as to not turn them away, it is essential that you provide high-value content, in an easy to consume format to build trust and influence. Providing a great digital experience via your website is critical to standing out in their hearts and minds vis-a-vis your competitors.
So what kind of b2b content do buyers really care about seeing?
Let’s have a look -
1.Easily accessible information - Do you have too much gated content on your website? Do you have long forms that require buyer’s contact information before they can download an ebook or a whitepaper? While situations like these are important for you from lead nurturing and conversion purposes, they can be a deterrent to your prospect and might even turn them away. 65% of buyers prefer easily accessible content on your website. So why not provide a mix of gated and un-gated content.
2.Relevant information - Buyers are on your website for a purpose. They are looking for targeted information that helps meet their business needs as well as solve their ecommerce challenges. They want to know what kind of product solutions you have, technologies you use and details on your pricing. They also want to know how you compare with competition. Most importantly they want to know whether you understand their business wants and needs. Irrelevant content is the number one reason buyers won't engage with vendors. So what kind of information should you consider providing? Content such as - product brochure, buyer’s guide, replatforming guide, commerce technology guide, competitor comparison, product demo, free trial/accounts (buyers have relied on them for information consistently) - are all useful for them to not only learn about your products but also see how buying and implementing your offerings will help them have a business impact.
3.Targeted information - On a buying committee there are several people - business and technology decision makers, researcher, user, developer. While they all collectively have the same business goals, individually they have their own pain points and agendas. Is your website addressing what each one is concerned and looking for? Is your web copy speaking to them individually? Is your content addressing their individual needs at various stages of the buyer's journey? 55% of buyers feel good about selecting a technology vendor who can give them a good mix of content that helps them through the research and decision making process.
Personalization makes your website more effective for all of them. Afterall, it's not one person’s decision to purchase from you, everyone needs to be convinced, you’re the right choice for their organization. For example, a business leader in the buying group will be concerned with things such as - ROI, Cost, Differentiation, Time to market. On the other hand a technology decision maker such as a CTO will be interested in less complexity and - prebuilt solutions and easy integration with current technology stack.
4. Industry information - Does your website showcase both your technology and industry expertise? Buyers are not looking for a one time deal but for a long term partner. According to Demand Gen report - 65% of buyers want someone who understands the business landscape just as much as they do technology. They look for a solution supplier who can guide them, advise them and on top of cutting edge technologies. They want someone who knows digital transformation. So what kind of content should you have on your site? Company blog is great to share information while showcasing your understanding and subject matter expertise. Guides on topics such as - Headless commerce technology will be useful. Webinars on how you plan on improving the ecommerce space is a topic they would be interested in.
5. Partnership - I touched upon this in my previous point but let me elaborate more on how you can be a better partner to your prospect and provide more useful content. Sometimes the buyer does not clearly understand all of their needs, especially if this is their first time with ecommerce technology. They don’t know how buying from you can help them differentiate and stand out in a crowded ecommerce space. They may also not understand all of the various ways they can increase their revenue after implementing your solution. As a vendor you have way more knowledge and experience in this field than perhaps they do. You have worked previously with other clients in similar situations. Sharing your experience and future e-commerce technology vision via webinars, podcasts and guides can be meaningful to them.
6. Customer Reviews - Customer reviews are important for your business. Prospects want to know how others who have already bought from you before feel about your offerings. Though they are user generated, I wanted to include them here as they should be part of your content. Up until recently, customer reviews were thought to be important in building credibility in b2c context but as the lines continue to blur between b2b and b2c, a great percentage of enterprise buyers have come to rely on them. According to G2 and Heinz marketing - 92% of b2b buyers are likely to purchase after reading a trusted review. Encourage your current customers to leave reviews on third party sites and definitely include them on your website.
Keeping your website copy relevant, clear and simplified will help you better convert and drive sales.
