Your website is the centre of your online marketing. It has always played an important role in the marketing mix. Now more than ever: in times when trade fairs are cancelled or postponed due to the Corona pandemic, your employees refer customers to your website even more often. That's why it should be in top shape and continuously updated.
Do you want to convince customers of your solutions and added values right now? Then you should take a closer look at the following 7 success factors for your website!
Perhaps you are convinced that your website is already up to date and meets the current standards? All too often, however, you are blind to your own corporate website and find it difficult to spot inconsistencies. That's why we have summarised the 7 factors that make up a successful B2B corporate website for you below:
Factor 1: Your website goes to the needs of your customers a
As with all your strategic marketing measures, the focus is on the customer. Does your website meet the requirements and expectations of your customers in terms of user-friendliness, content and modernity? To find out, you can ask your customers for feedback on the respective points. You can also consult a web analysis tool. With Google Analytics and the Google Search Console, you can already find out a lot about user behaviour. Which pages do your (potential) customers visit and after how much time do they jump to and, above all, where?
Especially when it comes to the question of whether the content you offer picks up your customers, the use of buyer personas or an empathy map is recommended. With the help of these design thinking tools, you can find out what content your target groups expect on your corporate website.
Factor 2: The operability is optimal and the site has a understandable user interface
The usability of your website should be intuitive. This means that new customers should be able to find their way around. This requires sophisticated user guidance. On the one hand, you can influence this graphically by structuring the user interface. On the other hand, you can use internal links and call-to-actions to guide users to further content and shape the customer journey in a targeted manner.
Factor 3: You offer a interesting and exciting Content mix
Design is not everything. First and foremost, of course, is the valuable content that you convey to your target groups via your B2B website. Subpages on products, an overview of services and texts explaining your corporate mission are now standard. Try to make your messages appealing through varied content formats. In addition to text and images, you have many ways to present content in an exciting way these days. So why not surprise them with innovative formats such as infographics, podcasts, white papers and so on?
Factor 4: Your website fulfils the latest technical standards
We know it from our own user behaviour on the internet: If a website does not load completely within a very short time, we jump off and go to the next one. This is also the case for your potential customers who visit your site. That's why it's important that your B2B website loads within a few seconds - both on the desktop version and on the smartphone.
A responsive design that works for all content types (buttons, forms, navigation, etc.) is a must these days. Although B2B still does not have a complete mobile-first philosophy, you can still see from your Google Analytics evaluation how many accesses to your website are made via mobile devices: You will be surprised.
Factor 5: Your website design is appealing and reflects your brand reflected
The first visual impression of your website is like the entrance area of your company: Do you have a modern reception area with fresh flowers and friendly staff? Then you should also welcome your digital users to your website in a similarly tidy manner. Avoid overwhelming texts and old-fashioned designs. Instead, you should present your brand in an authentic and modern way. Here, it is not only important to choose the font and colours from your corporate design guide, but also to create a brand world through an image world that conveys your expertise and your message.
Factor 6: The Structure of your website is comprehensible
As a managing director or employee in marketing or sales, you probably know your company website inside out. However, this does not mean that it is structured in a way that is comprehensible to external visitors. You should therefore always maintain a clear structure and not overload your website. To do this, it helps to cluster content and to look beyond your own nose: also look at how your competitors structure their company website and take a look at useful suggestions.
A comprehensible structure is also important from an SEO point of view. Google's algorithms search your website to find content that matches users' search queries. Google rewards a well-structured website and rewards you with better rankings.
Factor 7: You use a Content Management system for maximum efficiency
In the past, corporate websites were still programmed in html language. Today, you can easily maintain your website yourself without any knowledge of programming. Many companies use a content management system (CMS for short). This software helps you create and manage your website via an editor in the back-end. (Website visitors only see your front-end: the user interface of your website).
Investing in a CMS, such as Typo3 or WordPress, is worthwhile. In contrast to standardised website construction kits from providers such as wix.com, Squarespace or Jimdo, with an established content management system you have the freedom to make individual adjustments and clean data management.
Conclusion: Have you a appealing page with intuitive user guidance?
Try to see your website from your customers' point of view. Imagine your most important customer and surf through your website with their eyes: Do you find what you are looking for? Do you get your results quickly? Do they get information about your topics that is tailored to their needs? Is surfing your site fun - and makes you want more? Do you realise that your questions are answered here? If you answer all questions with yes, you have done everything right.
Yvonne Willmer
At Blaupause , my main task is to structure and manage complex projects for industrial clients. From time to time, however, I also write blog articles and social media posts on B2B topics that are close to my heart. Have you already put some of our suggestions into practice? Then I would be happy if you tell me about your results.