Understanding your website communications goals has never been more important for the tech-sector SME. In broad terms, a technology B2B website aims to do one or more, of three things. Identify what you want to do and develop a content strategy that will help you realise your goals.
1 You want your website to sell products or services online
If you want to sell a product or service online, your audience needs to be able to buy with relative ease. While your designer and UX specialist will play the main role in ensuring your site is easy to navigate, it’s your copywriter who needs to know how to guide a reader around your site and get them to the ‘buy’ page with minimum fuss.
You need to ensure they arrive at the ‘buy’ page happy and informed. That means they get there with enough information and conviction to buy. Rush them and they’ll feel pressurised. And then you’ve not just lost them this time – you’ve lost them for good.
Starting point – make the focus of your site about guiding the buyer to purchase. Write engaging product descriptions by merging features and benefits together, one sentence at a time. Make your descriptive copy scannable by using bullet points.
2 You want your website to inform and educate prospects
Content Marketing and lead-generation methodologies have transformed direct sales. Anybody who has worked in IT sales or account management roles before the advent of this marketing revolution will tell you all about wasted, demoralising hours spent ‘working the phones’. One thing has always been clear – engaged and informed buyers buy technology solutions to solve the problems they face.
Designing your web content strategy as a means to educate and inform your prospects can be achieved through original and insightful content. By using your site to develop highly qualified leads, you’re solving a serious business issue and you’re giving your site a primary focus.
Starting point – create original content like a white paper or e-book that has something new to say or an engaging case study detailing how you solved a technology problem for a particular type of client. Use lead-generation software and platforms to help you build a lead-gen strategy.
3 You want your website to develop business relationships
This is a similar approach to the previous goal but with a major difference – your goal is to meet in-person or at least on the phone. If you are aiming to connect, your site will inform to a degree but you will mostly be trying to start a conversation with your prospects. For example, events have played a prominent role in forging bonds between buyers and sellers in tech sector marketing.
You might seek feedback on an IT discussion paper, you may run a competition for tickets to a third-party event or a one-on-one session with a specialist engineer or subject matter expert. Or you might even run your own event or briefing – in webinar or physical format. If your goal is to meet prospective buyers in the flesh, ensure your copy and content matches your ambition.
Starting point – start small with a lunch briefing event for 10-15 serious prospects. Develop your invitation content around what will be covered at the event and why people should attend.
Trying to get your website to do more than one thing or achieve multiple goals can be tricky. By clearly defining your communicating goals and building your approach to copy and content around them, you’ll ensure clear focus and a truly purpose-built B2B website.