{"id":41,"date":"2005-02-22T16:19:57","date_gmt":"2005-02-22T20:19:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/getgood.com\/roadmaps\/?p=41"},"modified":"2005-02-22T16:19:57","modified_gmt":"2005-02-22T20:19:57","slug":"a-good-b2b-website-is","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/getgood.com\/roadmaps\/2005\/02\/22\/a-good-b2b-website-is\/","title":{"rendered":"A good B2B website is.."},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: \">Not too long ago, I posted in some detail about <a href=\"https:\/\/getgood.typepad.com\/getgood_strategic_marketi\/2005\/01\/why_corporate_w.html\">why corporate websites suck<\/a>. Today I thought I\u2019d move to the other side of the coin, and give you my definition of a good website. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt\">\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: \">But before we get to the good, let\u2019s review what I mean by bad. I am primarily talking about business-to-business (B2B) websites that purport to be communicating with prospects and generating leads <u>from the website<\/u>. The reason they are so awful? They forget to sell! <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt\">\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: \">They forget that the main lead generation tasks of the website are:<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 1in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 1.0in\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol\"><span style=\"mso-list: Ignore\">\u00b7<span style=\"FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 7pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-VARIANT: normal\">&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: \">to provide the prospect with information about that product that is relevant to his needs and; <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 1in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 1.0in\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol\"><span style=\"mso-list: Ignore\">\u00b7<span style=\"FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 7pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-VARIANT: normal\">&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: \">to provide a clear path that moves the prospect to the next level of engagement with the company (download a trial, purchase, order a white paper, sign a petition, whatever).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in\">\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: \">Instead what you usually find is a jumble: lots and lots and lots and lots of product information (especially in high tech, where product marketing seems to be paid by the word); investor relations; tons of logos of partners and press, often with no clear understanding of just WHY these logos are there; maybe a customer support site; a news section etc. etc. etc. Plus lots of flash, PDFs and Powerpoints. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in\">\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: \">You land on one of these suckers and you just don\u2019t know where to go. Except NOWHERE.<span style=\"mso-spacerun: yes\">&nbsp; <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt\">\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: \">Even the \u201cworst\u201d business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce site (direct consumer sales via Web) does a better job of communicating its value proposition to the visitor. Because it remembers that it is trying to SELL something. And the good ones like Amazon don\u2019t ever get confused about what they are trying to do. Amazon\u2019s website is about selling. You want investor relations, look for the <span style=\"font-size: 0.6em;\">teeny print<\/span> at the bottom of the page. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt\">\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: \">In fact, B2B marketers can learn a lot from looking at successful B2C sites like Amazon, LL Bean, pick your favorite. The good ones are all about selling. Anything that is extraneous to that effort gets put in its proper place. It\u2019s there, but it is subordinate to the primary job of the website, which is to sell. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt\">\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: \">So that\u2019s our main requirement for a good B2B website: <strong>it focuses on SELLING, not on telling.<span style=\"mso-spacerun: yes\">&nbsp; <\/span><\/strong>Easier said than done<strong>. <\/strong>Here\u2019s my suggestion on how to do it, and this will work whether you have an existing site or are developing a new one. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<ul type=\"disc\" style=\"MARGIN-TOP: 0in\">\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: \">Cut back to the bare minimum number of pages and information until all you have left is a clear product message for your prospect that tells her what you have in the context of her needs and the next step. Less is absolutely more. <\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: \">You may have multiple products and multiple audiences. Think carefully about whether you can serve them all from the same website or if you need to break up into sub-sites. Either works, but you do have to pick one model or the other. We\u2019ve all seen sites that try to do a little of each\u2026.. <\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: \">Take everything else and put it SOMEWHERE ELSE. Do not let all that other stuff (investor relations, support, press section etc.) be more important than the main job of communicating with your sales prospect. Yes, you need to have it, but don\u2019t let it get in the way. You can still have everything on your corporate \u201ckitchen sink\u201d site, but if your website is about developing sales prospects, that stuff should be subordinate to the selling messages. <strong>If the primary purpose of your website is to generate sales leads, LET IT DO ITS JOB<\/strong>!<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: \">When someone wants to add something to the website, the first question should always be: <em>how does this information or page add to the basic sales message?<\/em> If it contributes to the prospect\u2019s understanding of the offering, and how it can help him, by all means, add it. If you are adding it <em>for any other reason<\/em>, think long and hard about going down that slippery slope. Because there lies website bloat. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in\">\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: \">Here\u2019s the rest of my list of good website requirements, in no particular order:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: \">Deliver key information in an RSS feed, especially information that you update frequently;<\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: \">Create sub-sites\/subsections whenever possible for focused groups, like investors, channel partners, customers, press etc. This is a two-fer: it allows you to shift focus on the subsite to delivering your message in a fashion relevant to their needs and it gets their special needs out of the way of your main selling message. Trust me, investors WILL find the investor section, even if it is in <span style=\"font-size: 0.6em;\">teeny print<\/span> at the bottom of the page. <\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: \">Keep your message simple and direct, and always in the context of the buyer\u2019s problem, not your product. It bears repeating: <em>no one really cares about your product but you.<\/em> What the prospect cares about is how your product might solve his problem. Stay on that. Benefits in the context of the problem, GOOD. Feature lists, BAD. <\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: \">Minimize PDFs and Powerpoints. If you feel you must offer them, fine, but make sure you\u2019ve got the content summarized in the content of the website page as well.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: \">Capture the voice of your customer. The traditional way is case studies. <em>Yawn<\/em>. My suggestion: Incorporate a blog. Perhaps written by your product managers or a support rep. Perhaps with client contributions. There are many ways to add a blog, and just about everyone one of them (except a <a href=\"https:\/\/getgood.typepad.com\/getgood_strategic_marketi\/2005\/02\/when_is_a_blog_.html\">\u201cfake blog\u201d)<\/a> will add a level of dimension to your site that will encourage prospect and customer engagement. <\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: \">Flash, video, film clips, sound files. I\u2019m pretty neutral on them. If they help the prospect understand the offering, go for it. If you don\u2019t know why you are adding it except that it will make your site more \u201csexy,\u201d don\u2019t bother. <\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: \">Remember: someone has to read all this information on your website. Whenever possible, write in a conversational style, avoid jargon and corporate speak. Lighten up! Just because this is serious business, doesn\u2019t mean you have to be dull. <\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: \">Make it <strong>easy<\/strong> for the prospect to <strong>engage<\/strong>, whether it is to buy your product or download a free trial or order a white paper. Don\u2019t put lots of roadblocks in the way. Don\u2019t leave them wondering what the next step is. Offer multiple ways of engagement; if all you offer is \u201ccall for more information,\u201d you will rarely get prospects early in the sales cycle. You can have a website form, but make the questions meaningful. And most important of all, FULFILL FAST. My ideal: for a hot lead, the prospect\u2019s phone is ringing before she is even off your website! <\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in\">\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in\"><span style=\"FONT-FAMILY: \">Going forward, when I find them, I will post examples of good B2B websites. In the meantime, I recommend the following book on web usability. It is short, sweet and to the point: <u>Don\u2019t Make Me Think<\/u> by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sensible.com\/index.html\">Steve Krug<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in\">\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Not too long ago, I posted in some detail about why corporate websites suck. Today I thought I\u2019d move to the other side of the coin, and give you my definition of a good website. But before we get to the good, let\u2019s review what I mean by bad. I am primarily talking about business-to-business [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":""},"categories":[4,8,9],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/getgood.com\/roadmaps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/getgood.com\/roadmaps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/getgood.com\/roadmaps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/getgood.com\/roadmaps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/\/getgood.com\/roadmaps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/getgood.com\/roadmaps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/\/getgood.com\/roadmaps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/\/getgood.com\/roadmaps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/\/getgood.com\/roadmaps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}