What Kind of First Impression is Your Website Making?

Prospective buyers are forcing B2B marketers and salespeople to rethink the discovery process.

Determining whether a buyer is qualified used to be the job of the seller.  You'd have a few discovery meetings by phone and in person to determine need, fit, and a desire to move forward.  Buyers are now taking over the process through search engines and conducting their own research before they ever get on the phone with you.

The good news is:  if your website provides the information the prospect needs to move forward with you, you have a qualified opportunity.

The bad news is:  if your website is dated and lacking compelling content, you may never know you lost an opportunity.  The prospect simply won't include you on their short list.

What kind of experience does your website offer?  Is it time for an overhaul?

Here are some articles to help:

Your Role in Building Your New Website

What Type of Saleperson is Your Website?

B2B Marketing - Inbound Marketing is Occurring: Are You In the Market?

A final note:  make sure that your website is built in such a way that it is EASY for YOU to make changes and add content.  My preference is working with websites using WordPress.  Do invest thousands of dollars in a website that make you dependent on the website designer to make any changes or to add content.

What do MoneyBall and B2B Marketing Have in Common?

How do you compete with the likes of the New York Yankees when they have four times as much money as you do to spend on players' salaries?  The answer to the question is the subject matter of the book MoneyBall which has recently been made into a movie.

In an excellent article by Lisa Shepherd posted on Canadian Business Network, Why B2B Marketing Is Like MoneyBall, Shepherd suggests that you have to figure out a way, usually contrary to conventional wisdom, to beat the big guys with deeper pockets.

I love the notion of blazing a path free from the rest of the "me too" crowd. Mimicking what the majority is doing will not result in a breakthrough for your business.

You can also out-personalize the competition.  You can out-deliver the competition.  A good question to ask your customers is why they chose to go with you rather than a larger company - what is it that they most value?