Two Things Your Website Must Have to Appeal to B2B Tech Buyers
When marketing a B2B technology solution, good website design highlights the sophistication of your solution, the expertise of your team, and your ability to solve their problem. We’ve covered each of those goals in this three-part series. Today, we’re tackling the final point: proving that you can solve their problem.
The first impression is the most important 8-10 seconds in your marketing cycle. You only have a few moments to capture your buyers’ attention and win their trust. Great first impressions in B2B technology will have a laser focus on two key messages:
First, that you understand the buyer’s problem — remember that 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 achieve that, follow these guiding principles:
1. Start with a Problem Statement
Your buyer won’t trust you if they don’t believe that you understand their problem. That’s why it is so essential to communicate that understanding in the first impression. For instance, when redesigning our own website, we found is that most of our buyers had similar problems: a lack of sales leads, trouble articulating what they and their product do, and difficulty attracting investment, among a few others. Once we understood the common problems our personas were facing, we reflected those back to them through our web copy and design.
We created narratives around these issues and how our capabilities contribute to solving them. Instead of promoting our ability to provide website design, digital marketing, content strategy, or PR and strategic communications, we created solutions such as “Launch our product”, “Fill the funnel”, “Put us on the map”, “Tackle a big project” and “Make us look bigger than we are” with associated graphics. These are the problems our market faces time and time again, and we use a combination of several of our capabilities to solve those problems for them. By using our online real estate to speak to the buyers’ problems, rather than just to our capabilities, we build trust while still pointing them to the solution we provide.
2. Tie Visuals to Value
Trends come and go. Visual sophistication comes from finding the core of the problem and making sure that all design decisions reflect that. The path will — and should be — different for every website. For example, Prescribe Wellness is a healthtech solution but their main value is bridging 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 environment. The problem with both options is that prospects have seen it before; those visuals are already flooding the health tech market. What would make their website different than the ten competitors that prospects had already seen?
Prescribe Wellness did a great job of finding the core of what they do, “bridging a gap in the health community”, and making that the basis of their aesthetic. 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 was able to achieve a first impression that still belonged in the healthtech space but in a way that was unique to them and in a way that was helpful and memorable to their visitors.
3. Unify Copy & 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 — there is a disconnect between the target audience and the tools used to reach them. 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. They serve candidates who are looking for a job in IT as well as companies with positions to fill. The statements made on the homepage are strong and direct; they speak clearly to the buyers’ problems. To balance that powerful statement, we decided to create visuals that subtly support copy. The homepage impression features an animated gradient that points users to their unique value proposition, rather than distracting from or contradicting it. The result is a first impression that balances problem statements with a visually sophisticated, credible brand.
This “first impression” that your website creates will determine whether you are dismissed or if you make it to the next round of their consideration. By using design to prove your understanding of the buyer’s problem and your ability to solve it, you will capture the prospect’s interest and they will probe further into what you have to offer. If you successfully position your company as authoritative, credible, and forward-thinking, you will win your buyer’s trust — and you’re on to the next round in their decision-making process.
Missed the first two installments of this series? Find them here: 3 Ways to Effectively Showcase Your B2B Tech Solution on Your Website and 3 B2B Website Ideas for Establishing Credibility with Buyers.
