Problem-Solving: Impressions of a Technology Website, Part 3
Great first impressions in B2B technology will have a laser focus on two key messages. First, that you understand the buyer’s problem. Remember: buyers came to your site looking to solve a problem, not to learn about the technical capabilities of your product.
Secondly, your homepage impression must speak to your ability to solve that problem: present the problem and solution statements as a one-two punch. To do that, follow these guiding principles.
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1. Start with a Problem Statement
Your buyer won’t trust you if they don’t believe that you understand their problem. When redesigning our own website, we found that most of our buyers had similar problems: a lack of sales leads, trouble articulating what they and their product do, or difficulty attracting investors. Our homepage impression speaks directly to the concerns of B2B Tech leaders: “Building and maintaining traction in the market is complex. We get it—and we thrive on it.” By using our online real estate to speak to the buyers’ problems, rather than just to our capabilities, we show them that we really understand them — while still pointing them to the solution we provide.
2. Tie Visuals to Value
Next, tie your visuals to value.
Prescribe Wellness is a HealthTech company that bridges “a gap in the health community.” They might have felt compelled to choose between a very tech-oriented aesthetic or one that focused more on photos of a clinical healthcare environment — but those visuals are already flooding the healthtech market. What would make their website different than their competitors?
Choosing illustrations, as opposed to photos, gave them the flexibility to depict scenes of how their tech could be used, tying the visuals into the overarching sense of community. By tying their aesthetic decisions to the core problem they solved, Prescribe Wellness created a first impression that still belonged in the healthtech space but in a way that was unique to them and memorable to their visitors.
3. Unify Copy and Design
Finally, unify copy and design.
Many times in the process of creating a website, the design and the copy are created separately from each other. We see this all the time in the B2B technology space. However, for a viewer, it’s vital copy and design work together to tell a cohesive story. You want the user to be able to easily digest the information you present; design should enhance copy and vice versa. That way, visitors to your site walk away with a clear view of how you propose to solve their problem.
When working with Talon, a cybersecurity placement agency, we wanted to make sure that the homepage story quickly established Talon’s ability to meet buyers’ specific needs. The statements made on the homepage speak clearly to the buyers’ problems and we created visuals that support it. The homepage impression features an animated gradient that points users to their unique value proposition, rather than distracting from it. The result is a first impression that balances problem statements with a visually sophisticated, credible brand.
The impression that your website creates with the buyer will determine whether you make it to the next round of their consideration. If you successfully position your company as authoritative, credible, and forward-thinking, you will win their trust — and you’re on to the next round in their decision-making process.
