4 Reasons to Fix Your B2B Website Content Strategy

4 Reasons to Fix Your B2B Website Content Strategy

Inaccurate, inadequate and outdated B2B website content is a big problem for nearly 6 out of ten companies. inRiver study: Savanta surveyed 333 senior decision makers in various B2B industries in several countries and found that B2B marketing teams are struggling to generate sufficient content. This is creating difficulties for these companies as they compete in multiple markets, and across multiple marketing channels.  

1. Inaccurate B2B website content regarding offerings creates costly customer problems

STUDY: 58% of businesses say outdated or inconsistent website content (about products and/or services) led to customer returns or some other form of customer dissatisfaction.

This is serious business and these mistakes are costing companies billions worldwide. Regardless of the size of your organization, content that is inaccurate, incomplete or inadequate can result in a customer feeling like there was some kind of bait-and-switch. Once damaged, it’s extremely difficult to repair trust in the customer relationship. When it comes to your online content:

  • Who’s responsible for keeping your website updated?
  • How often are old pages reviewed for accuracy?
  • How often are product and service pages reviewed?
  • What’s the process for creating new content when new products or services are released?
  • Who cross-checks the information that goes onto the website (or in email marketing, on social media, in print ads, etc.,) for accuracy?
  • Do you have a formal content strategy?

2. Inadequate B2B website content creates obstacles that prevent sales

STUDY: 51% of decision-makers (you know – BUYERS) say poor product information is their biggest obstacle to stocking, or convincing distributors to carry, their merchandise.

There’s no question that this is important. A majority of B2B buyers have completed 57 percent of their buying process by the time they reach out to speak to a company representative (Accenture, 2018). And guess what? This isn’t going to change any time soon. Half (or more) of today’s B2B buyers are Millennials (Google, 2015)

Not only is it important for a B2B website to have accurate, up-to-date information, its format matters too. Remember those B2B Millennial buyers? 85 percent of them said they purchased something after watching a video, 46 percent said it’s their preferred form of brand communication and 56 percent said video is more engaging than other forms of content. About one third (29 percent) of Millennials also said video is the most memorable form of content, handily besting:

  • 13% – display ads
  • 9% – email marketing
  • 4% – case studies
  • 2% – text ads

(Brightcove’s 2018 Video Marketing Survey)

3. Underperforming B2B websites can kill product launches

STUDY: 29% of global product launches are unsuccessful because of limitations in technology.

Not only must your website and overall content strategy be continually reviewed and expanded, the capabilities of your digital real estate have to evolve, too. How easy is it for website visitors to find the information they need to make a decision? What’s your plan for pushing content about new products and services out (not just waiting for prospects to find you online)? How can you use technology after the sale to support the customer?

4. B2B websites must pull their weight now, more than ever before

STUDY: 71% of B2B companies are competing against more rivals now than they were 5 years ago.

As more and more global marketplaces open up, competition is only going to get even more fierce. B2B companies are going to have to move faster. Marketing teams won’t have the luxury of taking months (or even years) to develop messaging. The faster the competition, the faster everyone has to be.

It’s never been more important for a B2B website to pull its own weight. Your website and social media channels are like virtual employees who can work 24 hours a day in attracting and converting prospects. How are they doing?

If the answer is “poor” or “I don’t know,” then it’s time to find out whether your online content is getting the job done. And, if not, then it’s time to develop a B2B content strategy that will.

You might also like: Win Over Business Buyers by Fixing 7 Types of B2B Website Content

6 Keys to an Effective B2B Website Content Strategy

What is content? Everything. Words. Colors. Images. Interactive media. Videos. Tone. Personality.

A content strategy should address “the planning, creation, delivery, and governance of content” (Usability.gov). As part of that you must define the process and assign accountability for:

  • Content standards – what are they? who decides? how do they reflect company values/voice/brand?
  • Content creation – who? what type? for which channels?
  • Content editing – once created, who approves for publication?
  • Content maintenance – once published, who reviews and edits it, and how often is old content reviewed?

Ultimately, you want to have a content strategy that produces results (sales, followers, referrals, retention, etc.) To be effective, all of the content produced for your B2B website, social media, digital ads and images, email marketing, etc., should:

  1. Reflect a deep understanding of the needs/wants of the particular customer who is the “ideal customer type” for any given product or service
  2. Add value for the customer (be meaningful, poignant, educational, entertaining or engaging in some other way)
  3. Equip the prospect with the information they need to make the best decision for them
  4. Be accurate, transparent and adequate to inform the customer
  5. Support the customer’s expectation of what their experience with the brand should / will be
  6. Consistently put the best face of the brand (voice, values, quality) forward

Is your website isn’t doing it’s job to help you land more leads and sales, or worse, if it’s actually hurting your business because it contains inaccurate or outdated information, we can help. Reach out for a quote for a new or revamped WordPress website.

Featured image @FreedomTumZ via Twenty20