Time to Revamp Your Company's Website?
The spring season is the perfect time to do a little "spring cleaning"
on our websites. It's time to clear out any "clutter" in our content,
making sure each word and graphic has a purpose and clearly communicates
our messages to our customers. It's also time to evaluate the overall
effectiveness of our websites, monitoring where visitors are spending
their time, where they're coming from, and what actions they're taking
when they're visiting our sites. (Take a look at last month's issue of
The Industrial Marketer
for more information about web analytics.)
The wealth of information that our "spring cleaning" efforts can
provide can tell us what's working on our sites, and what's not. Also,
it can tell us if it's time to revamp our website to make it more effective.
Are you
giving your customers what they want?
Is your website a selling machine? Is it helping you secure more business?
If it isn’t, it should be. Remember: the main marketing
objective for our websites should be to convert website visitors to
customers. On your site, make sure you're providing the type of
content your customers want to see when they visit, such as detailed product
information that's easy to find and very easy to understand, plus the ability
to buy or take action right away.
Today's industrial buyers are active
online buyers. In a ThomasNet/Google Survey, industrial buyers say
they research and compare products and services online. They source products
and increasingly complete the buying process online: more than 55% purchased
industrial products online in the previous year. The report also shows that
90% of industrial buyers are online, and they're hungry for
information. An industrial buyer is quoted as saying, "I'm a power shopper
online and spend almost a quarter [25%] of my work week sourcing for products
and services."
Your website should meet potential buyers' expectations to easily find
quality information on the site. Buyers expect to find the following:
∙ Detailed product information
∙ Up-to-date information
∙ Search tools and functionality
∙ Ability to take action.
∙ Ease of use
Ask yourself these questions:
∙ Does our website give potential customers the information
they need to quickly determine that our company sells the products or services
they need?
∙ Is it easy for customers to contact us with their
questions and requests?
Your website is -- or should be -- your 24/7 online sales channel and it
needs to encourage and make it as easy as possible for industrial buyers to
do business with you. It needs to answer all of a prospective customer's
questions about your offerings, your services and your company. And, to
truly qualify your prospects, your website also needs to "ask" them the same
questions your salesperson would ask them on the phone. Anything you can do
to help your customers decide to buy from you can -- and should -- be
accomplished by your website. Focus on and evaluate the content,
functionality and navigation of your website to determine if the site is as
effective as it can be as a "selling machine."
ThomasNet's "VSET" - an easy-to-do
evaluation process
Evaluating the effectiveness of your website doesn't have to be a difficult
process. ThomasNet develops web solutions for thousands of industrial
manufacturers and recommends that you evaluate your website by taking a look
at it from your customers' perspective.
ThomasNet offers a "VSET" checklist -- an easy-to-do evaluation process
that reviews customers' experiences on your website and reveals possible
areas for improvement. VSET stands for verify,
search, evaluate and take action.
By applying the VSET evaluation to your website you can determine if
prospective customers are finding the information they need when they visit
your website. Here's how to do this now:
- VERIFY that you offer the products/services they need
- Does your website make it easy for potential customers to immediately
determine whether you have what they're looking for?
- SEARCH for specific products
- Can buyers search your website in multiple ways (part number, keyword,
or by product specifications)?
- EVALUATE your product offerings
- Do you provide buyers with enough detailed information so they can make
a buying decision? Can they compare products side-by-side? Or, if it's appropriate
for your business, do you offer CAD drawings for potential buyers to download
to see if your products fit their specs and designs?
- TAKE ACTION
- Do you offer multiple ways for buyers to request more information from
you or buy from you, including contact information, RFQ links, contact phone
number on every page, and links to "place an order"?
Before VSET evaluation…
Specialty Mfg. Co. recently partnered with ThomasNet to overhaul the
company's website. Before the partnership, Specialty Mfg. Co.'s site offered
little detail about the products the company offered.
After VSET evaluation…
Specialty Mfg. Co.'s revamped website
(www.specialtymfg.com)
provides potential customers with everything they need to easily make
purchasing decisions.
When potential customers quickly and easily find what they need on your
site, they're more likely to take the next step and contact you. If built
properly, your website can be an effective sales channel -- helping you attract
new customers and increase sales from existing ones. If your website doesn't meet
potential buyers' expectations, you'll experience "buyer-seller disconnect" --
where the buyers won't know that your company offers what they need and they'll
look elsewhere. For more information about avoiding "buyer-seller disconnect,"
listen to a brief podcast.
For additional information about ThomasNet Web Solutions and
promoting your business online, visit the ThomasNet website.
For a free copy of the white paper Is Your Website Winning You
Business? from ThomasNet, click here.
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Sources:
ThomasNet/Google Survey, October 2005
Is Your Website Really Winning You Business?, a white paper published
by ThomasNet, April 2008.
