BtoB Magazine shares their list of top ten business-to-business web sites.
"B-to-b sites are all about effectiveness," said William Rice, president of the Web Marketing Association. "You need to find the quickest way to get potential customers to understand not just about your products but what the real issues are in their industry and how those products can solve their problems and challenges. It's also crucial to build a long-term relationship rather than simply hawk your wares."
Well said, but I would also add: business decision-makers are people too (well, most of them). They are influenced by what they see on consumer sites and are expecting similar levels of quality in the design and usability of a B2B site.
In addition, I personally believe that infusing some appropriate personality into a business site can provide much-needed differentiation. Let's be honest - most B2B sites are drop-dead boring. B2B marketers seem afraid to offend, or else they assume the folks on the other end of the PC are so "just the facts" oriented that they will be turned off by any sense of originality.
But let's not forget - humans make decisions based on emotions and facts. It's been shown that many (most?) humans make an emotional decision first, then try to justify it with "research." Is your B2B site delivering an emotional as well as logical experience for your customers?
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